BreakThrough
by NarutoPlug
Summary: Naruto Bael was born a low-class devil before the Great Devil War ever was a thing. Realizing how the devil-class system subjugated devils of lower class, Naruto will represent his origins as he rises and expose the corrupted system that he lives in, and he'll do it without the high-class devils even realizing it. Power of Destruction Naruto! Mass character crossover.
1. Prologue

**Ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, jumping out the trap house and back into Fanfiction, ya digg.**

 **Now, since this is my return into the Fanfiction world, I would like my faithful fans to hit me up and give any type of input or ask any questions in the reviews or you can pm me. I prefer you review your questions cause then that'll increase the number of reviews I have, which will make me look even better, ya heard me.**

 **This is a Naruto x Highschool Dxd Crossover and I hope you all like it. I'm taking a new approach with the devil society and making it more realistic than what the anime makes of it. Of course I'm going to add some of my comedy in their cause then it wouldn't even be a NarutoPlug type of fanfiction. So I hope you all enjoy my return of putting my wild mind on the internet for everyone to enjoy. And if this story doesn't do as good as I want it to be... then I'll just kick it. This chapter is just the testing grounds.**

 **But enough talking, time to get into the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **Prologue**

 **(Post Devil Civil War)**

 **Bael Clan Territory**

 **Low-Class Devil Holdings**

The Bael Clan, the highest ranking devil clan in the Underworld, holds the title of Great King of the Underworld. The Bael Clan is a prideful group of devils, believing that power was everything and how it should be used to rank others. Lord Bael, the leader of the Bael Clan, controls his family with an iron fist, not allowing any of side branches of the clan prosper over the main branch. The headstrong man sowed his beliefs into his followers and they were punished if they didn't agree with his method of rank.

Now, in a small house in the Bael territory holds a family. Inside one of the many rooms sleeps our hero.

Introducing Naruto Bael, a low-class, pure blood devil son of Minato Bael and Kushina Bael.

Suddenly, a ringing alarm floods the room.

*beep* beep* beep* be-

Slamming his hand down on the alarm, a grumpy young Naruto slowly pulls himself from under the covers, revealing his face.

Naruto squinted his eyes as he yawned while running his hands through his blonde-spiky hair that covered his head. He opened his to show the world his marvelous blue eyes, a feature he received from his father. He got up from his bed, showing he was only wearing blue gym shorts for pajamas, and walked to his mirror and grabbed his comb. Childishly, young Naruto tried to comb through his unkempt hair but failed to do so.

"Damn it. Stupid hair." He whispered to himself as he threw his comb back down on his dresser.

After taking a quick trip to the bathroom to brush his teeth, Naruto happily headed to the kitchen where he sees his father, Minato Bael, reading a newspaper while drinking coffee.

"Mornin' Dad!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped at his father, who almost dropped his coffee onto his son.

"Naruto!" he yelled as caught his son from falling down on the ground. A smile grew on Minato's face, which looked to be carbon copies of Naruto's, as he looked as his sons smiling face. "Good morning to you too".

"Naruto!" a voice from the kitchen yelled, "Stop harassing your father!"

Entering the dining room was the all beautiful Kushina Bael, Naruto's mother and wife to Minato Bael. She was currently in a maid outfit and was bringing in a plate with Naruto's breakfast on it.

"Good morning Mother!" Naruto said with a shining smile on his face, which also put one onto Kushina's face as well. His happiness was impossible to evade.

"Good morning, son." She said calmly as she set his breakfast down on the table, in which he started to gobble down like an animal.

Ignoring the beast that was eating her food, she turned to Minato. "Love, I have to leave now. They want me in early today."

"Alright Kushina." Stated Minato as he got up from his seat and kissed her cheek. "Have a good day."

The family consisting of Kushina, Minato, and Naruto were all low-class devils from the Bael Clan. They were all pure-bloods, but they just ranked low in power. Kushina was a maid for the main family of the Baels, which included Misla Beal and Lord Beal himself, who lived in Bael Castle. Her job was to help Misla Beal with jobs around the castle as well as taking care of castle itself, making sure every room was kept clean. She worked 6 days a week and was called whenever the main family needed her services.

"Goodbye, Naruto! Be good at school today!" said Kushina as she slowly teleported away for a day at work.

"Naruto, aren't you late as well?" asked Minato as he looked at the clock.

Minato Bael, a low-class pureblood is currently a solider of the Underworld, ready to be called in whenever enemies threaten their home. He surprisingly had time off from the war devils were currently in, which was against the Angels and Fallen Angels. Tensions between the three factions were getting smaller day by day as the number of losses on all sides is affecting the decision-making process of the leaders of each faction.

Naruto turned his head to see the clock which read 7:45. Naruto's eyes shot out as his head as he looked at the time and quickly inhaled his food. "I am late!" he yelled as he ran back upstairs to throw on some jeans and a shirt.

Before running out the door, Naruto turned around and hugged his father. "Bye, Dad! I'll see you later so we can train together again!" he said as he finally ran out the door with his backpack in hand.

With a chuckle, Minato watched his child run down the street to school.

"Have a good day Naruto…"

 **Sitri Territory**

 **Sitri Mansion**

"Serafall-sama, are you ready for school today?" asked a female devil with a maid uniform on.

"Yes." said a soft voice coming from a small-devil in a fancy school uniform.

Introducing Serafall Sitri. Serefall is a young, female, pure-blood devil that is the heiress of the Sitri Clan. Serfall has long, black hair that covered her small frame along with the prettiest shade of pink eyes that gleamed with innocence. Being from a family like the Sitri, Serafall is privileged with things like living in a huge mansion, having maids to serve her, and many more things.

"Serafall," said an incoming voice. The young Serafall turned her body around to see her mother, Lady Sitri, walking towards her. All the maids bowed to Lady Sitri and slowly backed away so that Lady Sitri could meet her daughter. "Good morning," she said calmly.

"Good morning, mother," Serfall stated, hugging her mother's waist. Lady Sitri smiled as she covered he child with her arms. Serafall was Lady Sitri's proudest accomplishment. She loved her daughter so much and she knew that Serafall would do great things in the future.

"Are you ready to go to the Academy, my child?" asked Lady Sitri, her voice barely a whisper.

"Yes ma'am." answered Serafall as she backed away from the hug to look her mother in the eye.

"Good." Lady Sitri stated as she put a hand on Serafall's shoulder. "Remember that you are the heiress of Sitri. Our family's future lies in your hands, so you need to learn and train as much as possible in order for you to make your family proud. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." answered Serafall with a small smile as she looked up to her loving mother's similarly pink eyes.

Lady Sitri stared back at her daughter for a while with a smile, proud of her daughter's manners towards here. She then looked up to the many maids surrounding the two. "Take her to school. Make sure no harm is brought to my little girl," demanded Lady Sitri.

"Yes ma'am!" The maids answer. One of the maids approached Serafall and held out their hand. Serafall grabbed and the group teleported to Serafall's school.

 **Timeskip**

 **Hibiya Academy**

"Okay, now that everyone is here, we can start class." said the devil teacher as she finished counting roll.

One of the students in the class raised their hand, getting the attention of everyone in the class. The teacher saw this and pointed to the student, giving them the floor.

"What is it that'll we'll be learning today?" asked the student.

"Great question," said the teacher as she adjusted her glasses. "Today we will be learning the differences in classes of devils."

In her seat in the front row, Serafall perked up at the topic. She always wanted to learn more about the devil ranking system that they all followed and knew that she would have to learn this in order to become a proper heir to the Sitri Clan.

"These rules that we follow are set to differentiate the lower-class devils from the higher devils." The teacher then pointed to all the students in the class. "Each and everyone one of you in here are high-classed devils because of the families that you come from. Your individual families have exclusive powers and talents that benefit the devil society and you all should be proud that you come from such amazing and important families," the teacher explained.

Serafall raised her hand next, in which the teacher called for her to speak. "What about middle and lower-classed devils?"

"Well," said the teacher as she adjusted her glasses, "you can still be born into those to classes, but you can also be promoted as well. Most middle class devils are devils that have purpose in our society. They are excellent workers and have mid-tier to high ranks in the military. They are the closest devils the garnering the statues as a high-class devils."

"And the low-class devils?" one student asked.

The teacher smirked a little as she adjusted her glasses once more. "Low-class devils aren't anything special. They are servants for higher-tier devils and will always remain at the bottom. They don't have any special abilities and are our foot soldiers. Never take any disrespect from a low-class devil."

"But," said Serafall as she raised her hand, "shouldn't we be nice to those below us?"

"You can be," said the teacher. "But it isn't need. Always remember, my prestigious students," the teacher once again adjusted her glasses as she looked up to her class that was listening to her every word.

"You are better than any lower-class devil. Remember that."

 **Exceeding Excellence Academy**

"Class, please quiet down." said the teacher in his chair as he drank his coffee in stress.

"I'm the Maou of the whole Underworld!" shouted a student as he stood on top of his desk.

"No, I am!" shouted another.

"Me!"

"Me!"

"ME!"

"ME!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP I SAID!" said the teacher as he slammed his hand on the table, scaring his obnoxious students.

Naruto sat towards the back of his class folding paper, an activity he picked up after seeing some of the other kids do it. He used tape to hold the paper together and made it to where the paper looked like claws. He inserted his fingers into the paper claws until it looked like he had claws for fingers.

Smirking deviously, Naruto jumped at one of the students that were standing on their desk and swiped at them with his fake claws.

Picking up on what he was doing, the student acted like his neck was bleeding out and fell on the floor as he faked died. All of the students, including Naruto, laughed at the scene and pointed at the child.

"Who's next?!" said Naruto as he held up his fake claws in victory.

"Next to go to detention, I presume?" asked the teacher who appeared right behind Naruto and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders, slowly adding pressure.

"OW! OW! OW! OK, I'M SORRY!" shouted Naruto as he tried to get away.

The male teacher smirked a little at the squirming Naruto and let him go. "Maybe you all should get back to your seats before I do it to everyone in this room!" he shouted.

The room suddenly went quiet as all the students went back to their seats as expected. The male teacher grunted before returning back to his desk and grabbing the roll call.

"Kurumu Kurono."

"Here!"

"Akame"

"Here.."

"Naruto Bael"

"I'm not here!"

*twitch* "Kensai Belial"

"Here."

The teacher went on until he finished the roll call and put the list back in his desk. He sighed as he drank the rest of his coffee and looked up at his students.

"Today's lesson isn't as fun as the others." said the teacher as he got up from his desk.

"What do you mean? None of your lessons are fun!" said a student that got the class laughing.

After the students finished laughing, he continued, "Today's lesson is about devil rank." He stated as he wrote the words "Devil Rank" on the chalk board. "Does anyone know the three ranks a devil can be?" he asked.

One student raised their hands. "Please answer, Kaito." said the teacher.

"There are low, middle, and high ranking devils, right?" he answered/asked.

"Correct." said the teacher. "Most of us in this room are low-class devils, with a few of being middle-class devils. This, my students, is a real world situation that I hate about our society."

"What do you mean?" asked another student.

"Well," said the teacher as he sat down on the edge of his desk. "Because of your devil rank, most of you are already judged, from the day you are born, as 'lesser'".

"Lesser than the high-classed devils, you mean," Answered Akame.

"Correct again." He said as he ran a hand through his hair. "As long as you remain a low or middle class devil, you will always be below the higher devil and remain servants for the rest of your long lives."

"But why doesn't it have to be this way?" asked an unnamed male student. "Why can't everyone be equal? And what judges what rank you are?"

"Power." The teacher simply said. "Those who are strong will always remain at the top. The rest of us will remain in places like this fucked up school." He slowly took out a pack of cigarettes and placed on in his mouth. He moved to a window and opened it up.

"But why is it like this?" asked the same student, not even caring that he was smoking in front of them.

The teacher put his thumb on the end of the cigarette and it all of a sudden lit. He inhaled some and blew the smoke out the window. He looked outside for a while before looking back at his class.

"My name is Asuma. No last name. Because I don't have a last name, one can tell that I don't come from a family. Some of you may have known of this." Said the now named Asuma as he looked at Akame specifically.

"Certain families have power because of abilities they have is specific to their own clan. They are high-classed devils and will always rule the Underworld…..while the rest of us get treated like dirt…."

It was dead silent in the class as the students looked at Asuma who seemed to be lost in thought. It was a while before he continued to speak.

"However, there are some of you that come from clans. Take Kensai for example." said Asuma, causing the class to look at the young devil in curiosity.

"Kensai hails from the Belial Clan, one of the lower ranking families in the 72 Pillars, but still a family." Asuma took a quick smoke before continuing. "The Belial Clan has a special ability called Worthlessness. Kensai, do you know how this ability works?"

With a nod of his head, Kensai answered, "Worthlessness allows devils from my family to stop any attack and defense, if I remember correctly. But in order for us to cancel them out, we have to understand how they work."

"Correct." said Asuma. "It is an interesting and powerful ability if in the hands of a master. However," Asuma took another hit before glancing back at his student. "Did you know that there is a high chance that you won't achieve this ability because of your blood?"

"Wha-What do you mean?" asked Kensai.

"If you attend this school, then it is a high probability that your family are low-class devils, correct?" he asked. After getting a nod from Kensai, Asuma continued, "That also means that they aren't very strong, not holding any real position in the military or politically. I'm going to also assume that they don't have your clan's ability."

"Right.." said a now worried Kensai.

"Which probably means you won't be activating that gift during your lifetime as well because your parents don't have the skill either, meaning that they weren't that significant. Maybe their parents were also low-class devils that didn't have the ability. It is hard for low-class devils to achieve their clan's ability because it isn't known in our families. It's common for mid-class devils to have their clan ability, but it won't be as strong as a high-class devils. As for low-class devils, we'll be lucky to be born with slightly larger magic reserves." said Asuma with a sigh.

"Some of your parents are maids or butlers," Naruto's head peaked up at hearing this, "some of you parents are fighting in the war with the Angels and Fallen Angels… a lot of your parents are dead….."

A lot of the children's head lowered in sadness at the statement. Many of the devil children's parents has died in the war, protecting the Underworld and the ones they love.

"Meanwhile," continued Asuma, "the high-classed bastards sit in their mansions, all safe and sound. Some go to the war, but are favorited in many aspects. Their lives are put first. Ours are put last."

"What can we do?" asked Naruto as he looked up at Asuma, who turned his head to his blonde-haired student. "What can we do in order to be like them?"

Asuma smiled a little as he turned his head back to the window, inhaling again from his cancer stick. It took a while for him to speak, but when he did, the room couldn't have gotten quieter.

"Nothing."

 **Timeskip**

 **Sitri Mansion**

Serafall was in the backyard of the mansion sitting with her legs folded with both of her hands together, eyes closed. She was concentrating on her magical reserves, trying to get a feel for it.

Slowly, a blue aura surrounded Serafall's small body. Serafall inhaled slowly as she tapped deeper into her magic.

"Good job, Serafall-sama." said one of Serafall's many instructors as they watched the girl concentrate in the middle of the meadow. "Now use the magic you have built up to attack with a water spell."

Serafall slowly opened her eyes and found a target, and nearby tree just waiting to be cut down. She slowly stood from the ground and pointed at the tree. A spell circle appeared just in front of her outstretched finger and water shot from it, flying like bullets towards the innocent tree. The water streaks slashed into the tree, creating 5 deep cuts imbedded into the tree's bark.

A small applause came from her instructors as they looked at Serafall with pride.

"That was excellent, Serafall-sama." said one of the instructors. "If you keep working like this, then you'll certainly be able to represent the Sitri clan among the other clans in the future."

Serafall saw the nods of approval and smiled to herself. She was going to represent her clan with pride and show everyone the power of Sitri. She was going to have some fun along the way, but she would still work to her goal of being the strongest Sitri there ever was.

"Thank you for training me." said Serafall with humbleness as she bowed to her instructors.

Gasp filled her ears and she looked up to see her instructors with worried looks on their faces. One slowly approached Serafall and gently pulled her up from her bow.

"Serafall-sama, we aren't worthy for you to bow to us like that. We should be bowing at you. Please remember that you are the most important person here." Said the instructor. "Now, let continue on with your training."

With a nervous nod, Serafall began to concentrate again, but she had this nagging feeling in the back of her head, but she didn't know what it was.

 **Naruto's House**

Naruto was back home after a long day and school and reflected on what he learned from his teacher. Would he really be like this all his life? He didn't even think there was anything wrong with his life. He had two loving parents and had what he need to live. Of course, they were some things he wanted but couldn't get because they were expansive and his family didn't that much money, but he was happy. And that was all that matters, right?

Currently, Naruto was in his mother and father's room at the moment. Minato wasn't home and Kushina was still at work, meaning Naruto was at the house by himself. He was doing was of his favorite pastimes, rummaging through his parents belongings to find cool stuff. So far he hadn't found anything yet.

Rummaging through his mother's stuff, he finally found something that interested him, Kushina's pin cushion.

Naruto slowly took the needles out of the cushion and examined the sharp ends. He always found sharp things interesting to him, especially needles. They were so small and could go undetected until the last moment when they entered one's flesh. Naruto didn't know if his fascination with sharp objects was a good thing, but there was no denying that his mother's sewing needles were one of his favorite 'toys' when his parents weren't in the house.

He slowly used one of the needles to trace marks on his hands, making it a game to see if he could do so without stabbing himself. He was doing good, until..

"Ow!" shouted Naruto as he put too much pressure on the needle and it inserted into his skin by a little bit. Suppressing his tears, he pulled the needle out of his skin and watched as a very small amount of blood came from the hole he couldn't even see.

"That…hurt.." he said to himself as he watched the blood drip down his hand. He was fascinated by the red substance and he didn't even know why. The red, thick water of life that kept him alive, slowly exiting a wound he caused himself. It brought an unhealthy curiosity to the child.

What Naruto didn't know what that Minato had made it back to the house with grocery bags in his hands. After putting the grocery bags in the right place, he headed up stairs to his room where he sensed his son to be. Slowly opening the door, he called out to his son. "Naru-

Surprise filled Naruto and instinct took over. An unknown feeling took over his hand as he grabbed the needle, turned his body around, and threw the needle to where he heard the noise.

While Naruto's movements were quick for a child his age, Minato, a well known warrior throughout the low-class devils, quickly moved his head out of the way as the red needle imbedded itself into the door.

Wait…red needle?

Shock filled Naruto's body as he saw his father at the door. He dropped the pin cushion and ran up to his father in worry. "Dad! Are you ok? I didn't mean to do that! You surprised me an-and I didn't mean to do that! I just-"

"Naruto!" Minato yelled out, trying to get his son's attention. "It's ok! Honestly. I'm fine." Minato said with a reassuring smile. He lowered himself down to one knew as he looked face-to-face with his son. "Are you ok?"

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"Look at your hand."

Naruto raised his hand up to see that it was surrounded in a red aura. Amazed by the light show that his hand was giving the father-son duo. Amazed by his hand, he looked up to his father.

"What is this, Father?" asked a curious Naruto.

Minato smiled and put his arm around Naruto's back. " That my son," he said with a smile, "Is your way out of here. You have the Bael bloodline in your hands. A bloodline neither me nor your mother could activate."

"What is it called?" asked Naruto as he father grabbed his other hand and pulled him out to the backyard.

"The Power of Destruction."

 **Later That Day**

 **Sitri Mansion**

Being a high class Sitri devil had many perks. One of those many perks were extravagant dinners made by the Sitri servants every day. Serafall Sitri is sitting with her father and mother, Lady and Lord Sitri, at a magnificent dinner table that could fit over 15 people. Lord Sitri sat at the top of the table with Lady Sitri to his left and his daughter to right.

" So Serafall," said Lord Sitri as he whipped his mouth with a napkin,"how was school today?" he asked.

Slowly gulping down the mashed potatoes she was mashing up more, she answered, "It was good! I made sure to listen to everything that my instructor said and I learned a lot today!"

"Really now?" said Lord Sitri as he looked upon his daughter. "Tell me something you learned today."

"I learned about the ranking system that we abide by, Father." said Serafall as she took a quick gulp of her drink. "Our teacher told us that high-class devils are at the top and that we are better than the other devils."

Lord and Lady Sitri frowned at what their daughter said and also noticed how some of the maids and butlers reacted. While it was professional to keep up an emotional face while working, some dropped their façade and had a face is displeasure on hearing what the young Sitri learned in school.

"Um.. Serafall dear." Said Lady Sitri while reaching out and grabbing her daughter's hand.

"Yes?" she said with a cute head tilt.

"Well…what your teacher said today isn't true." answered Lady Sitri. "While all devils aren't born the same rank, never think yourself as better than low-ranked devils. We Sitris are proud that we treat our servants nicely and with respect...Respect that everyone deserves if you ask me.

"Then why did my teacher say what she said today? About high-class devils being better? If we aren't better, why is there a ranking system like the one we live under?" asked Serafall.

"I'll say, for a young girl, you are very wise, Serafall." complemented Lord Sitri. "Most children don't think like you during their youth." He ate a piece a food before continuing to speak. "Yes, while we do have a ranking system for devils based upon one's power or family they are born into, you shouldn't treat other devils lower than you because we all serve the same purpose of protecting the Underworld. We all want to live our lives out like how we want to and nobody should be discriminated for it. That is how the Sitri live. For other devils, however, this may not be so."

"The respect we have for our servants is what makes the Sitri such a tight-knitted family," Lady Sitri said, picking up where her husband left off. "No matter what rank we are, Sitri look out for each other. It just so happened that you are born into a richer part of the Sitri Clan and you should thank Lucifer for such a life that not many devils have."

"Yes ma'am" said Serafall with a smile as she went back to eating her food.

Lady and Lord Sitri sighed in content, happy that they have such an understanding daughter. Both knew of the troubles that were spreading throughout the land when it came to respecting tradition. Some devils want to change, while others want to keep the same traditions going

 _'Soon'_ , thought both Lord and Lady Sitri, _'Something big will happen..'_

 **Bael Territory**

 **Naruto's House**

Later on the day, Kushina made her way back to the house after a long day of work. When she came home she saw an ecstatic Minato and a slightly confused but happy Naruto. Wondering what her two boys were up to, she slowly made her way to the backyard where there were now small craters here and there.

"What is going on?" asked Kushina as he approached to two.

"Kushina!" shouted Minato as he picked up his wife and spun her around. "Our son is amazing!"

"Mi-Minato!" she shouted as she tried to hold in her giggles at seeing the man so happy. "Put me down and tell me what's going on!"

After spinning her a few more times and then putting her on the ground, our happy Minato explained to Kushina. "Kushina! Our child has a gift! The gift of the Bael Clan!"

"Gift of the Beal Clan? What do you-" Kushina cut herself off as she looked at the many craters filling their backyard and the gears in her head clicked instantly.

"Naruto.." said Kushina as she saw for herself as her child, her baby Naruto, had his hand encased in a red aura.

"NARUTO YOU DID IT!" shouted Kushina as she rushed to her son and hugged him, surprising the boy with her speed. Nevertheless, he laughed and hugged his mother back.

"Yup, yup, yup! I did it! Even though I still don't understand what's so special about this 'Power of Destruction'. I mean, it makes a great shovel if you ask me. Now we can plow up dirt for the garden whenever you want Ma!" said the innocent Naruto.

"Wait…" said Kushina as she released her child, confusing him all the more. She slowly walked up to her husband and pulled him away from Naruto, wanting to speak to him in private.

"So he has the Power of Destruction.." muttered Kushina.

"Yes! This is great for him, right? Hardly any low-class Bael unlocks the Power of Destruction! And especially so young! I would think you would be happier about this. What's going on?" asked Minato as he was worried for his wife.

"It's just.." Kushina hesitated as she look back at her son before continuing, "I don't know how the elders will take this.."

Minato nodded his head, understanding what Kushina met about the the Bael Clan Leaders. They never want to see one of the low-ranking members prosper and will try at anything to stop them from growing in fear of trying to take over the clan. The Elders and Lord Beal himself only wanted those that were high-class devils prospering and representing the clan and they'll do anything to keep it that way.

"Maybe.." muttered Minato as he looked back at his son that was shooting Destruction around the yard. "Maybe we could hide his powers? Let him mature in life and then reveal it the Clan Heads. Then, it will give him time to understand devil society and grow in his magic."

"Hiding his bloodline is impossible." stated Kushina. "He is just a child and he will surely want to use it. Maybe we can keep him from using outside the house. We should keep this a secret between the three of us."

"Yeah, but we don't know the first thing about the Power of Destruction." said Minato. "How can we train him properly if we don't even have that power ourselves?" He questioned.

"Our son is creative. He'll understand it over time. What we need to is make this house a safe place for him. Let's set a barrier around the house so that we'll be alerted anytime some tries to come here. We'll train him in his magic control and he'll have to do the rest. Believe in your son, Minato." said Kushina.

Minato look at his wife's eyes for a while before smiling and nodding his head in agreement. They could do this. All they had to do was inform Naruto.

"Naruto!" shouted Minato as he got the boy's attention. "Come here, please. We have some explaining to do."

 **Years Later**

The relationship between Devil, Angel, and Fallen Angel was still rocky, but there was some peace between the three factions. While the peace was only because of the heavy losses that came on all three sides, peace was still peace. However, this peace was weak and could be easily destroyed even if one small battle happened between the factions.

There was a dispute going on in the Underworld on the Devil's side. There were devils that wanted to take advantage of their enemies' injuries and attack now. Such an opportunity like this wouldn't be available for much longer and these devils wanted to attack now and not later.

This is what history has called the Old Satan faction, a group of devils that wanted to stick with older traditions and attack the Fallen Angels and Angels themselves.

However, there were another group of devils that didn't want this to happen. This group of devils wanted to stray from the older ways and keep the loose peace that they had with the other two factions. Many lives were lost from all three factions. This group believed that they were more vulnerable than the other factions and wanted to rebuild, not go back out and fight a losing war.

This was the Anti-Satan Faction, another group of devils that wanted peace over war. The Underworld couldn't handle another attack from her enemies nor does it have enough military power to attack one of the other factions.

These two beliefs split the Underworld in half, Clans turning on ally clans, families against families, brothers against sisters. The Underworld was currently going through a civil war, a war even worse than the war between the three factions. To fight your enemies is one thing, but for your enemies to be your kin is painful to fight against, both physically and mentally.

 **Naruto's House**

"You be safe out there. Please don't do anything crazy." said Kushina as she looked one of the men that meant the most to her in this world.

Naruto Bael, now in his early 20s, was no longer a little boy. He was a 5'8 man that was stronger than even his old man. After years of training alone, Naruto has become a master of his Power of Destruction. It took some time because he didn't have a real teacher that could teach him, but he progressed over the years and was ready to display his power.

His father was already in the war with the rest of the clan for a while and Naruto was now of age to fight. The Bael Clan surprisingly chose to fight with the Anti-Satan Faction, believing that fighting against the other factions at the moment was stupid and would do no good. It was surprising because the clan's traditions relate a lot with the Old Satan Faction's beliefs, so maybe this was a step in the right direction for the clan.

Suited in a black pants and an orange jumpsuit, Naruto leaned down and kissed his mother's cheek and hugged her. "Don't worry Ma. I'm ready to fight to free the Underworld. I promise you that I won't do anything stupid. I'll stick with my group and not do anything irrational."

"Good. And make sure that your father is okay. Because without him… I don't know what I'll do." Muttered Kushina as she hugged her son tight.

This made Naruto frown a little. Naruto was smarter than what he let on, and many people already believe that Naruto was very smart. Throughout the years, Naruto noticed the love that she would give Minato, his father, over him. Naruto loved his mother to death, that was no lie, but Naruto could tell…

His mother loved Minato more than she loved him.

Naruto didn't know if that was a good or bad thing; Minato was her husband for Lucifer's sake, but as a devil and her child, Naruto wanted the amount of love Kushina would give Minato. But he dealt with it throughout the years. Seeing your husband leave for war every now and then must have been tough for Kushina and Naruto didn't want to add anymore pressure that Kushina had on her shoulders already.

"I'll come back alive, mother. I'll see if I can get in contact with Dad as well. We aren't in the same legion, but I'll see what I can do. It's time to show everybody what I'm about!" he said with a smile.

"Good." said Kushina with a smile as she placed her hand on Naruto's cheek. "I believe in you, my son. Stay alive. Show everyone what you're made of and never forget where you came from."

"Yes ma'am." said Naruto with confidence as he kissed his mother's forehead on last time before slowly backing away.

"I'll be home soon." said Naruto as the Bael Clan symbol appeared below his feet. "Goodbye." was the last words he said as he teleport alone, leaving Kushina by herself.

"Take care of yourself.." Kushina whispered as she watched him leave.

 **Time skip**

"Run, Serafall-sama!" shouted a devil covered in armor. "We have everything taken ca-URK!" the man was suddenly hit with a fire spell that incinerated his body.

A now older Serafall's eyes widened in shock as she saw one of her clansmen die protecting her. Serafall joined the Anti-Satan Faction with her family and wanted to defend her home. Because of the influence she had as a high-class devil and that she was a powerhouse that did a lot in the war, she was high in military ranks.

She was placed in Legion 56, leaded by a high ranking Beal that had tons of war experience from the past. Their mission: help the Belial Clan face off against the rebels of the clan that joined the Old Satan Faction. The house was divided on should they continue to attack or fall back from the Three Faction War which created the situation they're currently in. The Belial Clan's territory was a battlefield as the family fought against each other. Legion 56 was made and sent to help out the Belial that was on the Anti-Satan Faction and was meant to be an easy win by out numbering the rebel Belial, which was already a smaller clan of devils if compared to other clans.

However, the Old Satan Faction anticipated this move and sent waves of legions out to fight, outnumbering Legion 56 and Belial Clan members apart of the Anti-Satan Faction three to one. Legion 56 was trapped and was trying their hardest to survive, but they were slowly dying out.

One of those who were dead was the original leader of the Legion 56. Serafall, however, stepped as the new general to avoid confusion on the battlefield. Accepting her as their new leader, the legion fought with all their might, but the numbers were still against them.

Serafall has spent over 90% of her magical reserves help her fellow members out, but the numbers were too great to save everyone and now Serafall was surrounded by at least 300 Old Satan Faction members.

The devil that incinerated Serafall's guardian stepped up to Serafall, showing that he was the leader of this brigade. "Serafall Sitri! You are to surrender now and come back with us for interrogation! If not, you will be killed here on the spot!" he yelled. His army shouted in agreement. Killing a powerful devil like Serafall could turn the tide of the war in their favor.

 _'Shit!_ ' thought Serafall as she thought about the odds of this battle, which didn't look good. She would have to spend every lost drop of her magic carefully if she wanted to avoid being killed.

She slowly got from the ground and prepared for battle. If she was to die today, she would do so defending what she loved.

"My name is Serafall Sitri and I won't bow down to you scums! You are fighting for a lost cause that will push the devil population down even lower! How dare you side with those who are willing to continue this cycle of war!" she yelled with bravery.

"Like we care what you say. It seems that you won't surrender, so-"

Suddenly, in front of Serafall, a Bael magic symbol glowed, signaling that somebody was teleporting there. Out appeared a devil with black pants, blonde hair….. and orange armor?

"Serafall-sama! I'm here to protect you at all cost!" stated the man that had to be around her age.

"No! Stand down! You can't handle this group! Go run!" she commanded with worry. She didn't want to see another one of her comrades' die in vain trying to protect her.

"No can do.." said the devil as he looked towards the leader. "Plus I have a score to settle with that devil."

"AHAHHAHAHAH!" laughed their leader as he looked at Naruto. "You think you can do anything? I can barely feel out your magic! Fucking weakling trying to play hero!"

Laughter surrounded the two as the whole army laughed at Naruto. He ignored it and pulled out small pieces of paper. Serafall wondered what he was going to do with them, but she almost fell over in shock as she watched the mysterious devil throw the pieces of paper in the air, letting them fall in random positions around them.

This caused another uproar of laughter from the army watching him. Serafall looked at him in range and yelled, "What are you doing! Do you like making yourself look like a fool?"

"Stay inside the circle of papers." Said the devil as a red hue surrounded him.

"Let's end them now! Fire!" shouted the rebel leader. Hundreds of magical blast shot towards Serafall and the mysterious devils position. Serafall created an ice dome to cover the two of them as the attacks made contact.

"Listen!" she said to the man as she tried to hold up the dome. "You need to get out of here now!"

"Have you noticed yet that you're not blocking anything yet?" asked the man.

Serafall wondered what he was talking about when she realized she wasn't using any magic to keep her dome intact.

"The papers are protecting us. They're creating a shield for us." She looked outside of her dome and confirmed that a light green dome was surrounding her own dome. "Once they stop attacking, I'll use the smokescreen to attack from here. Don't use any melee attacks. Stay within the circle of paper." He added.

Serafall nodded and watched as the hue that surrounded the man grow in light. He seemed to know what he was talking about.

"What is your name?" asked Serafall.

The smiled when he noticed that the attacking ceased. Suddenly, the red hue that covered him flowed to his finger tips. Naruto looked back at Serafall and answered-

"Naruto Bael, low-class devil and your protector for this battle."

Turning back around, Naruto started waving his arms around in the air, like he was boxing with a shadow. However, Serafall knew better. She watched as small strands of energy flew from his finger tips as he moved his arms around. Even a high-class devil would have missed it, but Serafall saw it clearly.

"The Power of Destruction? But why are you using it in such a way?" she asked.

Naruto kept his smile up as he continued his deadly dance seemingly with an invisible person. When the smokescreen weakened, Serafall watched as the rebel forces bodies dropped for reason they weren't aware for.

"Hey! What's going on?!"

"I can't move!"

"What did he do?"

Serafall was amazed at what she saw. The tide of this battle turned in only 30 seconds. The only question was how did he do it?

"What did you do?" asked Serafall as she scooted a little closer to her savior.

"Nothing much. I just destroyed their joints. They can recover from my attack if they are saved by their allies so I'll finish them now." Said Naurto as a red ball appeared in his left hand.

"What did you do to my men?!" shouted the leaders as he revealed himself in the air. Serafall squinted her eyes to try to get a closer look at the leader. There were small holes around his arms and leg area.

"So you dodged my attack. Proves that you're good." said Naruto as he looked up at the general.

"Yo-y-you took out the majority of my men with that-that, whatever it was!" he shouted in rage. A purple aura surrounded the man as he prepared to attack.

"Yeah, but this should finish the scavengers." said Naruto as he held up his left hand with the red orb. "Disperse!" he shouted.

Another dome surrounded the two, surprising Serfall again. However, this time, the dome started to grow in a quick rate, marking the ground below it.

Coming into contact with the first fallen enemy, the devil shouted in pain as his body started to disintegrate from the shield. As the he dome past through the fallen's body, not even ashes were spared.

The injured devils could only watch as their death quickly approached them and turned their bodies into flakes. No one spared and what was a full battlefield was now a barren wasteland with only three people.

The general saw red as he watched the last of his group die. Quickly, he charged down towards Naruto, wanting to end his life as painfully as possible.

Naurto took a knee and a deep breath as he finished the job. That move always took a lot out of him. He was going to have to recharge before he could move around quickly.

Serafall stared in shock at the young devil in front of her. For him to do something like this with is power… His control over the Power of Destruction was almost as good as Sirzechs!

"Uhm, Serafall-sama? Can you handle my approaching doom right now? I can't move out the way quick enough." said a slightly worried Naruto as he watched the man fly towards him at incredible speeds.

Snapping out of her shock, she focused on the incoming threat. Summoning her magic, Serafall shot quick ice bolts from her hand and to the general.

Being a general, he easily dodged the attack but was misdirected from the attack. He landed on the ground and charged up a purple beam.

"This is for all of my soldiers you killed you monster! This beam will indefinitely end you and that tired Sitri! Suffer now, because-" he was cut off as an icicle grew from under his body and impaled him, his blood coating the spear.

"He talks to much." muttered Serafall as she turned her attention from the dead general to Naruto. Her eyes soften as she watched him try to stand back up. Putting his arm around her shoulder, she helped him stand.

"Thanks." said a grateful. "That move takes a lot out of my reserves, but I should be ok for now." He said to her. She nodded and let him stand on his own two feet.

Naruto took in a deep breath and his eyes glowed red for a second. The paper that Naruto used as a shield levitated off the ground and flew back into Naruto's pocket.

"Thanks for the help. You really saved me." Said Serafall with a smile.

"No problem, Serafall-sama." Said Naruto with a huff as he slowly gained mobility. "Just making sure that you're okay."

"Hey! Enough of the 'sama' business! Just because I'm a Sitri doesn't mean that you should treat me all royal!" she shouted childishly.

Naurto laughed a little before answering, "Sure thing Sera."

Serafall's heart jumped as she heard the nickname he gave her and a heavy blush adorned her face. Nobody she's ever known has acted so comfortable towards her so quickly. People didn't try to get to know the real her because of her title as heir of the Sitri Clan. She wanted to show that she was worthy for the position, but she didn't want to be alone while chasing that dream.

Noticing but not saying anything about her blush, Naruto spoke, "We still have a battle to win. I know that you're low on magic, so I'll do the heavy lifting. I'll disable our attackers and you'll finish them off with some quick-kill ice magic. Agreed?"

Shaking her head to get rid of her blush, Serafall had a determined look on her face as she put one fist in the air.

"Yeah! Let's finish this!" she exclaimed as the two rushed back out to the battlefield.

 **Hours Later**

While the landscape around them was heavily damaged, Legion 56 and the loyal members of the Belial were successful in their mission in defending the Belial territory. The Belial territory was now under the Anti-Satan Faction's control.

"Victory!" shouted Serafall as she held up an ice spear. The legion shouted a war cry of victory, happy that the day's battle was won.

"Today was battle is won, but there are plenty more enemies for us to face in order to protect the Underworld. But let's show our appreciation for the hero of this battle, Naruto Beal!"

The army cried out again to a shocked Naruto. He wasn't looking for thanks for doing his job. He just wanted to help everyone out. He had to take this battle seriously or he would have lost his own life.

After reviewing the battlefield to make sure that no one was left behind, the legion made their way back to base. The group deserved a few days of rest after such a traumatic battle.

Finding Naruto in the maze of people, Serafall flew down and landed next to the blonde haired hero.

"Yo." He said with a head nod.

"Hi." she said back as she started to walk with him.

"You need something, Sera? Hope I didn't do anything wrong." He said.

"No, no, no! You didn't do anything wrong!" said Serafall as she shook her hands back and forth. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did today. You really took control of the battle."

"It's not a problem. I just did what I was supposed to do. No harm done." He said as he put his hands behind his head in a relaxed position. "However, one thing this battle has shown me is that I need to grow my magic reserves and increase my stamina. I am really burnt out right now and I need to be able to last longer on the field. You, on the other hand, were amazing."

"What?" she said as she looked up to the taller devil.

"The way you handle yourself during battle. You are more confident and stronger than me. I want to reach your level soon so I can keep up with you since we work so well together out there today." He said with a smile.

"You really think I did good?" she asked with big eyes that reminded Naruto of a child seeking approval of their parent.

"Sure did. You are amazing." He said again, this time, looking her dead in the eyes.

Serafall stared back at his baby blue eyes that seemingly had her in a trance. The same was for Naruto as he stared her pink eyes that seemed to call out to him. They were a shade that he never seen before….and he was…attracted to it.

"Hey." he said, snapping the both of them out of their trance. "When we get back to base…do you want to talk at one of the bars?"

Giving him a soft smile, Serafall answered,

"I'd like that."

 **Two years later**

Naruto Bael was slowly making his way back to his mother's home, a sight he hasn't seen in a long time.

The battle between the two factions was still going strong, but Naruto would still fight behind his clan. He and Serafall, after a few battles and get togethers, started to date. She was a shining star in his dark world filled with war and blood.

Walking up to the door, he didn't sense his mother's energy inside, meaning that she must have been out for something. Naruto was sure that she was off of work during this time of day, so he just assumed that she was out for groceries.

Entering the house, a pungent smell assaulted Naruto's nostrils so bad that Naruto had to pinch his nose together to keep from inhaling such a disgusting smell. It reminded him of the dead, decaying bodies that filled the many battlefields he's fought at over the years.

"What the hell is that?" Naruto said as he entered the kitchen.

Walking in, he saw that there were flies surrounding many bags of garbage that hadn't been taken out yet. He also saw that the sink was filled with dishes, a sight he would never see during his childhood. Kushina would always wash the dishes right after they ate as a family.

"What is going on here?" he said to himself as sat down at the dinner table. There was an open letter and his curiosity was too great to ignore it. Opening the letter, he read.

 _Dear Kushina Bael,_

 _My name is Judua Beelzebub, middle class devil and leader of Legion 10. I am sorry to inform you that after a battle with the Old Satan Faction, your husband, Minato Bael, has di-_

Naruto dropped the letter as his heart throbbed in pain. His father was dead.

"Dad…" Naruto put both of his hands on his face and sighed is stress. He was use to finding out that his comrades were dead, but this was something different. The man that raised him was dead. Naruto remembered that Minato would be called to war many times during his childhood, but at least he came back every time. That was a luxury most families didn't have, but now it was his turn to face the fact that war brought nothing but pain.

"Wait a second..." said Naruto as he picked up and unfolded the message. He then checked the top right corner of the letter. "This letter was dated three weeks ago…."

The gears clicked in his head instantly as he jumped from his chair and ran to his parents' room.

"Ma!" he shouted as he kicked down the locked door. She wasn't in there but the disgusting smell was stronger in this part of the house. He ran to bathroom door and opened it, hoping that she didn't do what he thought she did.

Quickly opening the door, Naruto's eyes widen at the sight of his mother hung from the shower head with rope.

" _And make sure that your father is okay. Because without him… I don't know what I'll do."_

"Mother…"

 **Sitri Mansion**

If she had to describe her life right now, Serafall would probably say that it was 'the happiest she's ever been.'

Even thought her home was currently split and at civil war with each other, she had the best support system in the world and it came in the form of one Naruto Bael. She felt safest when she was with him, even though she was stronger than him. It was his determination to protect his home that attracted Serafall to him. While he was a low-class devil, Naruto was a great leader, helping her handle a few of legions under her command. And they both understood each other, understanding that they came from two different backgrounds and had to adapt to one another in order for their relationship to work. Serafall's favorite 'dates' she has with Naruto is meeting him at his cabin, laying with him in the bed, and just talking about random things. It was something that she never had before and it made her feel special. Of course, she would interrupt their conversation with a couple of kiss now and then…

Serafall had a small break from the war and she used it to visit back home. Entering the dining hall, Serafall walked into the scene of her parents, Lord and Lady Sitri, along with Lord Bael and Misla Bael sitting at the dinner table.

"Serafall! It's good to see you." Lord Sitri said as he stood from his seat. "Please, sit with us."

"Umm.. Hello." Serafall gave an awkward wave to the Bael's who waved back at her. She never met the Baels before and she felt a little nervous because they were the leaders of the clan her boyfriend came from.

After taking a seat in front of Lord Bael, Lord Sitri continued, "Serafall, we have heard of all of the marvelous accomplishments that you've done at war in the name of Sitri. You are really made me, your mother, and the whole clan proud!"

"Lord Sitri is correct." stated Lord Beal as he took a quick sip on wine. "I've also heard of the accomplishments you have done. Very impressive."

"Thank you." said Serafall with a light smile, "but I can't take all of the credit. My troops have proven their loyalty and strength when it is needed. While this war may last a long time, I know that the Anti-Satan Faction will win in the end."

"Agreed." Said Lord Beal, "and while I am impressed of your efforts on the battlefield, there is a certain reason why I'm here."

The atmosphere in the room went from calm to serious as Serafall stared at the man in front of her. Just by that comment, she knew what he was talking about. It wasn't a secret that she was seeing Naruto and it's become a popular topic amoung the devils in war. A high-class devil like Serafall, actually dating a low-ranking warrior like Naruto? While Naruto has proved his worth on the battlefield, people weren't used to seeing two devils with ranks as different as the sun and moon, actually dating.

"And your reason?" She knew she shouldn't have said it like that, but Serafall would defend Naruto with all her might.

"Serafall! How disrespectful!" her mother exclaimed. "Apologize to Lord Bael at once."

Lord Bael held up his hand to Lady Sitri. "There isn't a need for that. This is a touchy topic." He said. He took another sip of wine before continuing, "I've heard that you've been dating one of my clansmen."

"Yes, you are correct." she answered with sophistication.

"Naruto Bael, if I'm right?"

"Correct again."

"Naruto Bael…. the low-class devil. That is where there is a problem." he stated.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Serafall's usually happy face was slowly turning sour as the conversation continued.

"Well, dear," interrupted Lord Sitri. "it isn't really….befitting.. for a devil of your stature seeing such low-ranking devil. It could tarnish your image among high-class devils."

On the outside, Serafall look displeased as she heard the adults talk, but on the inside, she was seething.

' _Why does it matter that Naruto's a low-class devil! He's strong than a lot of high-class youth right now! This doesn't make any sense!'_ she shouted in her head.

"Naruto will be a high-class devil after this war." Serafall stated bravely, causing some eyebrow to rise in curiosity. "He has proven himself on the battlefield countless time as stronger than even some of the youth of my generation. He has helped me command my legions and will continue to do amazing things. So I don't understand why we are having this conversation" she stated as calmly as possible.

"You are correct; he is strong, especially for a low-class devil." Lord Bael said. "However, no matter his strength or if he will be promoted after the war, Naruto Bael is a low-class devil. He shouldn't be with you and you need to cut this relationship now."

"Who are you to tell me who to love and who not to love?!" Serafall shouted at the man that was indifferent about her outburst. "Naruto will probably be one of the strongest Baels if he continues to grow! We are you so burnt out about class!"

"Serafall!" shouted her father. "Calm down, now!"

After taking a few quick breaths to calm herself, Lord Sitri continued, "Naruto is an excellent solider, nobody here is doubting that. However, he doesn't have the qualifications to take your hand in marriage! As the future leader to the Sitri Clan, you must think about any relationship you have with anyone and must judge how it will affect the clan! Naruto comes from a low-class family, has a despicable education based off his files, and will probably die during this war!"

The surface of the dinner table was sudden covered in ice. Thankfully, nobody had their hands on the table or the ice would have traveled up their arms as well. Serafall's hair hid her face as she took in what her father said. These people didn't know anything about Naruto. Who are they to judge him?!

"You all don't understand him. He's fought so much and makes me so happy. Why doesn't anyone understand that?" she muttered.

Lady Sitri, making a brave move, scooted closer to her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Serafall. You are a strong devil and I am proud of you. I've told you when you were young that you could do and be anything you wanted to. But Naruto could make it harder for you when you become clan leader."

Serafall revealed her teary eyed face to her mother, showing that she was listening. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Lady Sitri took in a small breath of air before continuing, "The other clan heads have been talking. They've noticed your relationship with the boy. It isn't a good image to them. They believe that the Sitri could be weak because its heir is in relations with a low-class devil. When you become clan head, you could be discriminated against because of your relationship with him. It will make it harder for you to run the clan."

"But mother, I love him." Serafall countered.

"No, dear." Lady Sitri said with a smile. "You 'like' him, but you will get over it after the war is over and everything calms down. You'll understand later."

Serafall, unable to hold back her tears, hugged mother and cried in her chest. Lady Sitri whispered soft words in her ear trying to comfort her daughter as much as possible.

Lady Sitri turned to the two Baels in the room. "Lord and Lady Bael, I have a proposition for you."

"Hmm.." hummed a curious Lord Beal as he rose an eyebrow. "What is it that you have in mind?"

"Will it be acceptable for Serafall to date Naruto Beal for the remainder of the war?" she asked. "While I do agree with splitting the two up, but if we do it during a war, it could mess with Serafall's mental state and it may show during the war with wrongful decision making."

Lord and Lady Beal took a moment to discuss the proposition between them before coming to agreement.

"We agree with the proposition. Until the end of the war, they may continue to be in relations." said Lady Beal, speaking for the first time.

The two Beals got up from their chairs and shook hands with Lord Sitri. Lady Sitri was still holding a crying Serafall, so she only nodded to them as they got ready to leave.

"Serafall Sitri, if I may?" said Lady Beal. Serafall wiped her face with her sleeve before facing Misla.

"We are not doing this to harm you. The Beal's and Sitri's have a good alliance as of now. We don't want that to ruin because of this. We Beal's are looking out for you because we know that you'll become a great leader of Sitri. We don't want you to be distracted from that goal because of one of our own. Do you understand?" she asked.

After a few sniffles, Serafall wiped her face and answered, "I understand."

"Good." said Lord Beal. "I hope you all have a good day." And with that, the two Beal's exited the mansion.

Serafall released herself from her mother and then ran out of the room. "Serafall!" her father shouted to her.

"Let her have her time dear to sort this all out." said Lady Sitri as she watched her daughter disappear around the corner.

 **Timeskip**

 **After the Devil Civil War**

After years of fighting, the Anti-Satan Faction finally won the war.

The fighting had become unbearable, but one side had to win and enforces their belief on how the Underworld should be run. After countless battles against the own kin, the Civil War was won after one of the Old Satan Faction's leaders suddenly disappeared.

The heroes of the Civil War: Sirzechs Gremory, Falbium Glasya-Labolas, Serafall Sitri, and Ajuka Astaroth, were in talks of replacing the previous Great Four Satans. The four devils showed their outstanding power and strategic skill during the war and became instantly famous throughout the Underworld.

In honor of the four heroes, some of the high ranking devils planned a party in their honor, which was happening tonight.

Serafall was standing in front of her mirror, making sure that her dress was ok. She was wearing an all white, strapless dress with layers of frills starting at her waist. She had her hair tied up in her trademark pigtails with pink ribbon. Overall, she looked stunning and would be an amazing date for any male devil in the Underworld.

Serafall turned her head after hearing a quick couple of knocks at her door. After allowing them entrance, Naruto stepped into her room dressed up as well. Wearing an simple all black suite with a white tie, handkerchief, belt, and shoes, a well dressed Naruto walked up to his girlfriend and date for the night.  
"You look absolutely amazing." Naruto said as he bent down a little and kissed her cheek. She giggled a little and hugged her date.

"Don't talk to any other girls tonight. You look to handsome." She muttered as she talked into his chest. She was trying to hide her blush from him because she did look handsome to her very. Very handsome in deed.

Naruto chuckled a little and laid his chin onto of her head. "You've been so clingy lately. I don't know what's gotten into you." Serafall twitched a little but he didn't notice. "You know I only have eyes for you. You shouldn't feel threatened."

"I know." She muttered again as turned her head a little to rest her cheek on his chest. "But I know that now that we won the war, things will change."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. Something seemed the matter with Serafall, but he didn't want to put any more pressure on her than she has already. Tonight will be a big night for her and he couldn't be filling her head with anything other than encouragement.

Meanwhile, in Serafall's mind, she was worry stricken. She didn't have much longer with Naruto and she was going to have to breakup with him soon. She didn't want to, but Serafall's duty to her clan had to come first.

"You won't have to worry about me anyway. I don't even want to go in the first place, so I don't plan on doing a lot of talking." said Naruto.

Serafall pulled her body back some to look Naruto in the eye. "Why not?"

"Ehh… I don't think a lot of devils like me." said Naruto. "Especially the high-class devils. They see me as an annoyance because I'm with you. They don't think I'm good enough for you."

"We-Well they're crazy." Serafall said as she went back to her mirror to check her dress again. "They don't even know you. I think you're taking this too seriously."

"I don't know Sera." He muttered as sat down in on her bed. "I've been getting some bad vibes from some of my clansmen these last few months. I think they may… try something."

' _Damn it, Naruto! You're too smart for your own good…'_ thought Serafall as she bit her bottom lip. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just taking this to the extreme, but the looks they give me….."

Serafall really started to worry now. They were planning something, she just knew it. Naruto had good instinct, something he's relied on during the war to get out of certain situations and it hasn't failed him yet. She needed to take his mind of things.

"I don't like talking about this." She said as she walked over to him. Taking his arms, she pulled him out of the bed and next to her. "Let's enjoy our date. We haven't had one in a long time."

Naruto smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss. "Yeah, we haven't. I'm taking things too far. Plus, today is all about you, right? We should celebrate your success."

The two shared a few more words, made sure that they had everything, and l then headed off to the party.

 **Timeskip**

 **Phenex Clan Event Facility**

The party was has being going on for an hour without a hitch. Everyone who was anyone showed up to celebrate the victory of the Anti-Satan Faction. Glasses of champagne and wine were filled as maids and butlers served the mass amount of devils in the party room. Classical music filled the air and conversations between devils entertained everyone.

Serafall and Naruto were currently sitting at a table with Lady and Lord Sitri. All of the talking with the other devils tired them out and they want a break. The group was quietly talking among themselves to past the time.

"Naruto, can you get me something to drink?" asked Serafall while passing him her glass.

"No problem." He said as he picked up her glass and headed to one of the servers.

After tracking one down and replacing his empty glasses with filled ones, he slowly made his way back over to Serafall and her parents.

An incoming devil bumped into Naruto, causing him to spill his drinks. Thanks to his lightning-quick reflexes, he moved out of the spilling liquids path of staining.

"Low-class scum." Said the passing by devil and kept moving.

Holding back a growl, Naruto went back to the same server to replace his glasses again. On his way back this time, he met a devil but with positive intentions.

"Naruto!" said Sirzechs with a smile. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Sirzechs. I'm glad that the war didn't scar you up to bad." Naruto replied with a smirk.

"It didn't scar me bad, but it tired me out." He said with a chuckle. "Let me introduce you to my date for the night."

It was then that Naruto noticed the gray/silver haired beauty standing slightly behind Sirzechs. "This is Grayfia Lucifuge. She joined our side of the battle mid-way through the war and she's been a big help for me."

"Good evening." Said Naruto with a slightly bow in which she returned with a quiet curtsey.

"What I wanted to talk to you about was how you control your Power of Destruction, but this isn't the place for that. I need to find Serafall because it's time for her to give her speech." Sirzechs said.

"I was heading over to her just now. You can follow me." With a nod, Naruto led Sirzechs and Grayfia over to the Sitri table.

"I brought friends." Said Naruto as he set their drinks on the table and took a seat.

"Sirzechs!" shouted Serafall as she gave him a quick hug. "It must be time already?"

"Correct. I'll lead you up to the stage." He said. Give a goodbye to Naruto and her family before walking away with Sirzechs and Grayfia.

Taking a whiff of his wine before actually drinking his wine, Naruto finally felt comfortable in the crowd of devils. He could feel somebody staring at him, but he wasn't worried at all. He considered himself 'on break' and wasn't going to do anything wild.

"Naruto." said Lord Sitri, gaining the blonde's attention. "I must say that your efforts during the war are impressive indeed."

"Thank you. While I have gained a little fame for my efforts, I just wanted to protect my home and friends. The battle was hard, but I'm glad we're the ones that came on top."

Nodding his head in agreement, Lord Sitri took a sip of his wine before continuing, "All true. However, there is a question I wanted to ask you." Naruto looked up to the man letting him know that he had his attention. "If you had the chance of becoming a high-class devil, would you take it?"

"No." Naruto said simply, surprising both Lord and Lady Sitri. "I wouldn't do that because I've noticed the impact I brought to the low-class society. People look up to me as a prodigy and feel like they can relate to me because of my low-class statues. I wouldn't change my rank, at least, not right now, because I can continue to inspire those who are just like me."

Naruto took a swig of his wine before continuing, "I've been offered a promotion to become a high-class devil, but it just wouldn't sit right with me."

"An honorable answer." said Lord Sitri. "I'm sure that you've heard of the Evil Pieces, correct?"

The Evil Piece System, recently created by Ajuka, allowed devils to have a 'peerage', which allows high-class devils to reincarnate other races into the devil society to replenish the number of Devils lost during the Great War. It was really a genius idea that everyone praised Ajuka for, including Naruto.

Nodding his head to Lord Sitri's question, he continued, "Well, would you be a part of Serafall's peerage if given the chance?"

*ting* *ting* *ting* The sound of metal hitting glass sounded through the speakers of the hall and gaining everyone's attention.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Serafall Sitri, heiress to Sitri Clan, and I wanted to give a speech about the effort put in this war. A lot of families were lost in this war. People we've known for all our lives sacrificed their own in order for us to gather like this today. But we are the last one standing to taste victory!"

The crowd applauded in agreement with Serafall's passionate speech. Naruto listened to his girlfriend but want to keep the conversation with Lord Sitri going.

"To answer your question," said Naruto, "I don't know if I would or wouldn't, but I'm leaning next to me not doing so. Like my last answer, I want to keep my low-class statues to keep on inspiring others in my position. I know that if I'm added to Serafall's peerage then I would be promoted by default because a lot of people believe I should be one. So, I'll decline the offer if made."

"Hmmm…" mumbled Lord Sitri as he scratched his beard. Naruto's answers were quite elaborate in detail and well said. And his cause made sense, inspiring others like him is a very honorable quest. However, it wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"Naruto." He said again.

"Hmm?"

"You should stop seeing my daughter."

"-and let us live through these peaceful times for a long, long time!" finished Serafall, raising her glass in the air.

The crowd applauded in approval at her speech, standing in agreement to her strong words. However, while everyone was standing with Serafall Stiri's words of hope, Naruto was standing against Lord and Lady Sitri who had a crowd of devils standing behind the two, all glaring at Naruto.

' _So this is their plan.'_ he thought as he stood from his seat. He knew that someone was against him, but he didn't think that it would come from his girlfriend's parents of all people.

"Naruto, please understand." said Lady Stiri, feeling the tension in the atmosphere. "We really like you, but you could hold back Serafall from gaining a position as a Great Satan."

"Serafall told me that you all preached equality between devils." while they didn't show it, both Sitri's were surprised at his statement. "I know you believe that devil class has some judgment in power, but didn't you just congratulate me in my efforts in the war? So my question to you, Lady Sitri and Lord Sitri, is do you consider yourselves as hypocrites or do you suffer from amnesia? "

The disrespect that Naruto presented was slowly angering the Sitri's. Yes, they knew the children liked each other, but they weren't thinking about the future. This relationship had to stop and it was going to now!

"Did you know that Serafall knew about this plan?" asked Lord Sitri after sipping some off his wine.

Naruto couldn't hide the shock that invaded his face. Serafall knew of this?

" _That would explain why she's been acting so clingy lately.'_ he presumed. _'Damn it, he telling the truth.'_

"Does that bother you?" asked Lord Sitri after a few seconds of silence. He knew he hit a sensitive point and he wanted to see how Naruto would react.

' _So that's how he wants to play.'_ thought Naruto. He took a look at the devils behind the Sitri who were still glaring at him and sensed their energy.

' _I sense….Beal….Sitri…. and a few Gremory.'_ Thought Naruto as he planned out his future moves. This was a dangerous position the Sitri's were putting him in, but they forgot one thing…

Naruto was a low-class devil prodigy.

"You two have a good rest of the night." Said Naruto as he bowed to the Sitri's. "I believe that my girlfriend has finished her speech and I need to congratulate her."

The Sitri's were surprised as Naruto walked away from them. They planned this out and didn't think that Naruto would react this way.

"Dear… what just happened?" asked Lady Stiri.

Lord Sitri's sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He had a bad feeling and felt like they just did something wrong.

"I don't know what just happened."

Meanwhile, Naruto was walking through the mass of devils. He was searching for a certain devil in the room and when he sensed his energy, Naruto made a straight beeline to him.

Ajuka Astaroth, creator of the Evil Piece System, was chatting with a lovely female devil. While Ajuka wasn't one for fame, but it did feel nice to be recognized of his efforts during the war in such an extravagant manner.

He was sharing one of his war stories with the devil when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning his head around, he was face to face with one Naruto Beal.

"Naruto." he said as he held out his hand. "It's good to see you. Everything ok with Serafall or are you coming to me with advice?"

Naruto chuckled at his statement and gave him a firm handshake. "No, no. I didn't come for advice. Serafall and I have a strong relationship. However, there is something I need from you."

"Really, now? Well, if you ask then I shall help you with all my power. It was you that help save my ass during the war when we were cornered by the Old Satan Faction that time." Said Ajuka.

"I'm glad you're here to help." said Naruto. "Do you remember that time when I was offered a promotion to become a high-class devil?"

"Why yes. They offered that to you a couple of times during the war but you pasted up the opportunity. Are you reconsidering it?" asked Ajuka.

"I am," Naruto took a sip of when and then smirk, "and I need to receive my Evil Pieces as well."

 **Time skip – Two Months Later**

 **Outside Sitri Mansion**

"I had fun tonight, Serafall. We should go back to that restaurant. The food there was great." Said Naruto.

"We should go back. I had a good time." Serafall said as she hugged Naruto's arm closer to her chest.

The two were just coming back from a casual date they had at a simple restaurant. They didn't want to do anything big, but just something small so they could wear their everyday clothes and also enjoy good food and each other's presence. However, the two were hiding things from each other.

Serafall had her situation with her family and the Beal's. She should have broken up with Naruto after the war, but two months after and they're still together. She tried to multiple times, but she could never finish it. Either should would freeze up and change the conversation or something around them caught Naruto's attention, Serafall had horrible luck with ending her relationship with the blonde Bael.

' _Maybe I could try to finish it tonight'_ she thought as they approached her front door.

Naruto, on the other hand, had his own secrets. He hasn't told Serafall that he knew that she was supposed to break up with him after the war. After learning that, Naruto had a growing anger towards Serafall for agreeing with such a proposition. If it was him in the same position, he would have chosen her over his image. It irritated him that all of her claims of love for him came second over her position in society.

' _However, she was there for me when I was at my lowest.'_ thought Naruto when he remembered his parents' death.

After coming back to the war with those deaths fresh on his mind, he hid how he really felt and focused on the war. But, Serafall being Serafall, felt something wrong with Naruto and continued to ask him what was up when he denied anything wrong. And when he finally told her that his parents died, she was there for him when he was weakest.

For the first time in his life, Naruto willingly cried, but he wasn't alone while doing so.

' _I can't just give her up after that.'_ he thought as they turned to face each other. She was now the most important person to him than anyone in the world. Even though he has some 'extra' things hidden from her, it was for his own protection because he's been suspect of a few things during these last few months.

"I love you, Naruto." Serafall suddenly said. "I really mean it."

Naruto gave her his cheeky trademark grin, "Love you too, Serafall."

The two gave each other a quick kiss, but before Naruto could pull back, Serafall wrapped her arms behind his head and pulled him in again, mashing their lips together.

Naruto was slightly surprised, but he didn't agrue with it as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Kissing Serafall is an experience that feels new to him every time he did it and he hoped that he could continue to do it with her in the future.

The couple pulled back from each other and had to take in a couple deep breaths to get air back in their lungs. That was a move that Serafall didn't make a lot, which gave Naruto the signal that something was up.

"Good night, Naruto. Get home safe." She said with a kiss to his cheek. After that, she entered her house, closing the door behind her.

Naruto stood there for a while before headed back down the stairs and walking home. Of course he wasn't walking all the way home, but he heard something that was interesting.

' _All right, Sitri. Let's see what you have planned.'_ He thought as he left the mansion.

Inside the mansion, right behind the door, Serafall broke down in tears. She knew that her father was planning on doing 'it'. She could just feel it. But she had a duty to her clan that she had to keep and Naruto had to come second.

"I'm…so sorry…Naruto…" Serafall said in between her hicks as she cried her eyes out.

 **Naruto's House**

Naruto was approaching his house and he sensed many powerful devils nearby. Honestly, it made him feel uneasy because while Naruto was powerful, he knew he couldn't handle all of these high-level devils in the area.

"Well lookie here." said Naruto as he looked at his deceased parents' house. There were about 30 devils on his front lawn waiting for him. They were all giving a bad vibe and Naruto knew they were about to handle business.

One of the devils with his or her face covered in a mask, stepped up to Naruto. "Follow us." He said. The group brought out their devil wings and flew off into the forest.

"Alright then." muttered Naruto as he too, took off with the group.

A short flight later Naruto was surrounded in a clearing in the forest. He was in the middle of a pentagon with seals surrounding him.

"So what are we doing here?" Naruto said with a smirk. He was trying to sell his façade that he wasn't worried, but he was honestly figuring out a plan to beat these jerks. Plus, one of these guys reeked of smoke and it was messing with Naruto's nose.

"The Sitri Clan doesn't agree with you seeing Serafall-sama," said their supposed leader, the same devils that stepped up to him earlier. "And the Bael Clan doesn't like it either."

"Because the Bael want to offer one of their high-class devils to the Sitri to marry Serafall, if I'm correct." interrupted Naruto. The silence of the group leader told Naruto everything he needed to hear.

"The Sitri are fools if they think that's going to work." Naruto laughed a little, pissing off a couple of the devils present that were present. "Serafall will become one of the Four Great Maous, which will cut her ties and obligations with the Sitri Clan, inevitably. So if you think that you can solve your problems from getting rid of me, you're stupider than I thought."

"Regardless of what you think, we have a job to get rid of you." the masked leader said. About 10 of the 30 devils present circled around certain points of the pentagon and started to chant out a spell.

' _What are they planning to do? This seal isn't a type of seal to deal damage, so what are they trying to do?'_ he thought as he tried to find a way to escape.

The chanting from the devils got louder and the seal glowed purple. Whatever they were trying to do, they were close to succeeding and Naruto really needed to get out now.

"If you haven't noticed by now, your mobility as been hindered." said the masked leader. Naruto eyes went wide when he tried to move his legs. He looked down to see purple hands coming from the seal, holding down.

"Damn it!" he shouted as he tried to pull himself free. Now there really wasn't a way. _'Time for plan B'_ , he thought.

"It's a shame that Serafall-sama couldn't see this." the leader said with a bit of arrogance. "Her worst mistake being thrown away forever."

Naruto glared at the man as he silently started to charge his energy. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.

"We were told that you know Serafall-sama isn't supposed to be with you. Her reluctance caused her father to pull some strings to make sure things ended."

"Meaning?" asked Naruto as he continued charging his magic.

"Meaning," the leader reached into his jacket and pulled out a small treasure box, "we're going to seal you."

"Seal…so that's what this is." muttered Naruto. He should have known and should have prepared better. He was arrogant, believing he could get away with a few tricks and maneuvers, but his success rate was lowering in by the second.

"When Sera finds out about this, she'll find me and release me." Naruto said confidently. He knew Serafall was supposed to call it quits with him a while back, and he remembered times when she tried to but couldn't quite say it, but he knew she wouldn't agree with something like this.

"Oh, you must not know." said the leader with a slight chuckle. "Serafall-sama knew about this."

Naruto eyes widened as he felt his heart drop. _'She knew? That's impossible! She wouldn't agree to something like this! Thi-This…. This isn't like her!'_

"You should have seen the signals." said the leader as he leaned his back on a tree. "I've watched you for a couple of weeks and even I could see Serafall-sama's reluctance and hesitation in telling you. However, you've known Serafall-sama for years. You should have suspected that this would happen."

"I…I-I suspected something," muttered a defeated Naruto, "but I wasn't suspect something this major."

Naruto was trying his hardest to hold back his tears. Everything that he went through with Serafall and this is how she would end things. By sealing him up and throwing him away like trash? This is how she does him after all this time.

Small droplets of tears crept from his eyes as he shook in sadness. "Why..why would she agree to this?"

"Because she loves her duty to the Sitri Clan more than she loves you." stated the masked leader plainly. "I mean, it's been drilled into her head since birth that her clan comes first. You have to think, she had to have been in a physiological battle with herself in deciding which one was the most important to her: you or her duty? Well, she's not here to stop us, so you know which one she picked."

Tears freely fell from his face as he let his emotions be known. It was another instance, just like his mother, when somebody chose something over him. He never did anything wrong. He was just trying to protect his home and fell in love along the way. Why did it have to be like this?

The masked leader saw Naruto's tears and sighed. He walked up to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I don't want to really do this, unlike some of the devils here, but this is just how it goes. I had to fight my way up to become a high-class devil because I have a family. I want my daughter to live a life that I didn't get the chance to live because I was born a low-class devil, just like you."

Naruto closed his eyes and tilted his head down to the ground. He didn't want to hear that bullshit. He was about to be locked for Lucifer knows how long, just for falling in love.

"Why not just kill me?" he asked.

"The Beal wanted to teach you a lesson in messing with having a relationship with someone out of your class, especially someone like Serafall-sama."

The masked man waited for Naruto to say something, but after waiting a while, he side and started to walk out of the pentagon.

"Nice to see you again, Asuma-sensei."

The masked man stopped in his tracks and looked back at Naruto, who was trying to glare a hole into him. Sighing for what seemed like the tenth time, the masked leader walked away from Naruto and into the forest. "Finish this up. Seal him."

The chants were rising in volume and the purple pentagon was flashing. The glowing hands traveled up his body, but he didn't do anything to stop it. There was only one thing he could do, but it wouldn't free him.

The chanting stopped and the hand were now around his throat. They weren't choaking him, but instead, holding him to where he couldn't even move his neck. The devils raised their arms towards the sky and then towards the small treasure box that was left open in front of Naruto.

"SEAL!" the devils shouted as the hands started to pull Naruto in.

' _I'll be back!'_ Naruto thought as he opened up his mouth to reveal a red ball of destruction. Red bolts of destruction shot out the ball and into three of the devils heads, obliterating them to a molecular level.

"We lost three of us!" shouted a devil as they tried to force Naruto into the box with all their might.

"We have to continue, even if the seal is weaker!" shouted another. With the combined efforts of the remaining devils, Naruto was slowly pulled into the treasure box and it was closed on top of him.

 _"This won't stop me."_ those words reverberated throughout the area. The pentagon slowly faded away and one of the devils picked up the treasure box to put in hiding.

 **FINALLY! Jesus, it took me three days to type all of this up. Anyway, this was the Prologue of my new story. I hope you all enjoyed it and if you have any questions about it, review or pm me. I'm not going to be on Fanfiction the day I post this cause I need a damn break. My damn fingers hurt from this.**

 **15k words just for a Prologue, that's longer than 10 chapters for some authors. Chapters won't be this long regularly, this is just the greatest introduction for a story in all time in Fanfiction (I'm not arrogant, it probably isn't the greatest introduction for a story all time on Fanfiction, but damn it, it has to be a in the top 10).**

 **Please REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND FOLLOW this story! I want this story to be more successful than Corrupted Mind.**

 **And if you're a Corrupted Mind fan, tell me how you felt about this idea I have and what you want from it.**

 **PLEASE KEEP ME MOTIVATED TO TYPE BECAUSE I WANT THIS STORY TO CONTINUE FOR A WHILE! AT LEAST UNTIL THE FALL OF 2018!**

 **Yes, you can ask for pairings in the reviews as well, but don't say anything stupid. Look at the situation that Naruto is in and ask for a pairing that makes sense. Don't say some bullshit like Naruto x Fem. Jesus or sum shit like that…**

 **Is it bad to say a curse word in the same sentence with Jesus in it? Please tell me because I think I just broke my religion.**

 **Anyway, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should….**

 **NarutoPlug back bitch.**


	2. The WhirlWind

**Ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, counting all hundreds, no one's (Lou Wop reference)**

 **Man, when I asked you all to review, follow, and favorite, YOU ALL DID THAT LIKE IT WAS YOUR JOB!**

 **I mean, god dawg, yall. I thought I was gonna get something like 50 reviews or something, but 114 reviews, 233 favs, and 297 follows?! With the story only being posted for 20 hours! That's insane!**

 **I'm so grateful for everyone who took the time out of their day to read my printed imagination. It really means a lot to me and I can't thank you all enough for what you're doing.**

 **I didn't even that much hate mail. Shoutout to the Guest because yall suprising liked the story. Usually, Guest are usually some hoes that talk shit about people's story, but there was like, only one bad guest review. I am really happy that you have accepted my work into your lives.**

 **Also, I NEED A BETA! BADLY!**

 **I really don't go back and edit my work because I get bored easily. Typing is really boring, reviewing and editing is even more boring. So if you are a GOOD, RELIABLE BETA, HIT ME IN THE PM'S (private message, cuz)**

 **Anyway, enough of that,**

 **Back to the Story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheWhirlWind**

 **(Present Day)**

 **Kuoh**

"I-I really like you!"

"Huh! Really?!"

Introducing Issei Hyoudou, one of the biggest perverts this world has ever seen. Issei Hyoudou is a perverted boy that attends Kuoh Academy, a school that was once an all girl school but expanded and started to accept boys two years ago. With the girls outclassing the boys in numbers, it was a perfect place for a pervert like Issei to grow his perverted desires.

After getting his balls crushed a little while after school by the Kendo Club, Issei sulked his way back home. However, he met a beautiful black-haired beauty on his way back home who claimed to have feelings for him.

"Yes. I really mean it." said the girl as she tried to hide her embarrassed face from Issei. "I've seen you walk in the area a few times and I thought you were so… so cool." She muttered with a blush.

' _I can't believe it! She said that she likes me! And she's a complete babe!"_ Issei thought to himself as he took a quick glance at the unknown girl's chest area that was covered by her school uniform.

"Do you… uhm…do you want to go out sometime soon?" the girl asked.

"Uh… Yeah! I mean... I'll go!" said Issei. He couldn't believe it. This girl was really asking him out on a date. The gods of perversion must've heard his prayers for a submissive girl that was sexy as she was shy.

"Really?" the girl's face light up in excitement. "Great! Let's meet up on Sunday. I'll meet you by the fountain in town!" said the girl as she started to run away.

"Great!" said Issei as he waved at the girl. _'Wait a second; I don't even know her name!'_ "Hey! What's your name?!" he shouted.

"Yuuma Amano!" she yelled back. "See you on Sunday." She took and corner and vanished from Issei's sight.

Joy filled Issei's spirit as he did a little happy dance, hoping that nobody saw what he did. "I can't wait 'till Sunday. I need to go get ready! I need decent clothes, flowers," *sniff* *sniff*, "and a shower, too. Guess all that running from Kendo Club earlier made me stinky. But I have a date!" he shouted to the heavens while running home.

 **ORC Clubhouse**

The once abandoned club house was made into the ORC, the Occult Research Club, by Rias Gremory.

Rias Gremory, a red-haired, pure-blood high class devil, was sitting in front of chess board deciding on her next move. Rias shared this city along with another devil in the area so that they could attend school in the human world. Rias wanted to get away from her parents and siscon brother and make an establishment here to live on her own.

"I assume that Issei made contact with the fallen." said Rias as she moved a chess piece on the board.

"Yes. Koneko came in earlier and told me that she spotted the fallen spying on Issei while on his way home." Spoke another voice.

The voice that spoke was Akeno Himejima, a low-class, reincarnated devil/fallen angel that is Rias' [Queen] in her peerage. Akeno is known for her long black hair kept in a ponytail and her buxom figure, just like her best friend, Rias. As Rias' queen, she helps her manage the peerage and acts as a personal assistant to the red head.

"So they are making their move." muttered Rias as she moved another piece on the board and took one of Akeno's Rooks. "I'll have to make sure to leave one of my summoning tags on him before she does anything rash."

"Of course." Akeno said as she moved another chess piece. "Finally, something is happening in this boring town. I was really expecting more here in the human world than the Underworld, but nothing exciting has happened in a while." She complained.

"You'll get a new peerage member to play with soon. We'll just have to make sure nothing gets in the way of that. I still think that Sona is having second thoughts on picking up on Issei-san." said Rias as she moved another piece.

"Another peerage member to play with?" Akeno laughed creepily that made Rias uncomfortable, "I hope he last long enough."

"Just don't do anything to break him; physically or mentally. Checkmate." said Rias.

"Awww, I thought I had you for once." said Akeno in fake disappointment.

"Well, I believe it is time for me to return home." said Rias as stood from her seat.

"I agree. Time for me to head back to the shrine. I'll see yo-"both Akeno and Rias' head shot up as they felt a magical energy fly over the clubhouse.

"What was that?" asked Rias to no one in particular as she opened the window and flew out, quietly flowed by Akeno.

The two were in the air searching for the unknown presence but couldn't find anything at all.

"Whoever's magic that was, they were strong. It seems we have a visitor among us." Rias said as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Whoever it was, they seemed strong. Maybe another recruit for you, I presume." Said Akeno as she gave up looking for the owner of the magic they sensed.

"Keep your eyes opened these next couple of days." Rias told her [Queen]. "I don't want anyone getting in the way of me getting a new family member."

"Understood; I'll see you in the morning, Rias." said Akeno as she teleported away.

Rias surveyed the area for little while longer before, she too, retired to her home to rest.

 **Time skip – Sunday**

Issei was waiting by the fountain patiently for his date to arrive. He had thought long and hard on what he was planning for the date in his head throughout the weekend and was ready to put his plan into action.

' _Okay, first shopping, then movies, then going out to eat, and I'll end it with a nice walk through the park.'_ Issei excitedly thought. _'And if I get lucky, then the night might end with my face in her oppai!'_

Issei then felt someone tapping him on his shoulder. He looked to see a woman dressed in what looked like a Halloween costume/ dress that looked like it was in the shape of a bat. She reached out to hand him some type of pamphlet.

"Uh… thanks." He said as he took the pamphlet. She nodded and walked off silently, weirding Issei out.

"Issei, is that you?" said a voice behind him. Issei turned to see Yuuma looking stunning in a revealing clear top and short black skirt.

' _Holy- BABE ALERT'_ "Hey, Yuuma. You look amazing!" said a grinning Issei.

"Thanks." She smiled back at him. "So, do you know what we're doing today?" she said as she latched onto one of his arms, unconsciously pushing it into her breast.

"Oh-yes! I have the whole day planned out!" he exclaimed, trying to keep his cool. "We're going to have a really good time today."

"Well let's get to it!" he said happily and pulled him into the shopping district.

 **Time skip – that evening**

 **Park Entrance**

All according to Issei's plan, the duo were having a nice walk through the park as their last activity for the day.

The date went well for Issei. They went shopping for clothes together (he had to keep from staring at Yuuma to long in the different outfits she tried on), ate at a nice restaurant where they actually had great conversation, enjoyed two movies because they couldn't decide between an action movie or a chick-flick so they decided to see both, and now the two were taking a comfortable stroll through the park.

"So, Issei," said Yuuma, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"What I want to be?" asked Issei as he scratched his chin. "Never too much thought about that."

"Well, do you have an interest in anything that you'd want to do?" she asked.

"Well… I think I want to do something in a hospital." he answered.

"A hospital? Why's that?" Yuuma curiously ask.

"Uhm… I've never told this to anyone before, so use this as proof that I trust you." He said seriously, which surprised Yuuma. He was smiling all throughout they're date and he never had put such force behind his words.

"My mother and father… they've tried to have children before me… two or three times, I think…well, my mother had miscarriages for each one of them." He said a little hesitantly.

"Oh my gosh." Yuuma covered her mouth in shock. Two or three miscarriages? She couldn't have imagined going through something like that.

"Yeah, when I heard that it made me have a higher respect for life, even though I do a lot of questionable things…" he said as he thought back to all of his perverted tendencies (addiction).

"What type of questionable things are yo-

"Anyway!" he exclaimed, trying to turn bring back the topic in hand. "When my mother was pregnant with me, my father went to some shrine and prayed for me to survive, and I did. So they named 'Issei' for honest, which is meant for my father's honest prayers for me to live."

"Wow." Yuuma's respect for Issei parents increased dramatically after hearing that. "Your parents are very brave and noble for having faith that you'll live."

"Yeah. My parents are the best." He said with a smile as he thought about the people who take care of him. "So, anyway, when I learned about that, I thought about how cool it would be to, ya know… deliver kids, or something like that. I don't know. I've always liked those doctor shows and stuff, but I'm not a fan of the blood."

"Yeah!" Yumma said with a giggle. She now saw Issei in a new light. Not only was he cool, but he also had an honorable dream.

"What about you?" asked Issei, catching her attention, "What do you want to be in the future?"

"A businesswomen." She answered quickly. "I don't do a lot of things at school. I basically go to school and go home right after, so I don't have a huge social life. I enjoy being around my parents a lot more than other people and they both work in big time corporations here in Kuoh. While they aren't at the very top, they are high-ranking business people and people have a lot of respect for them where they work.

"Ah. So your parents are a very big influence on you." Issei summed up.

"Yup! They're important business people and I want that type respect one day." She said dreamily as she looked up at the evening sky.

"Ya' know," said Issei, "If we get accomplish our plans and get married, we'll be rich!"

"Ma-ma-married?!" the shocked Yuuma couldn't keep her surprised hidden as she mumbled over her words.

Issei felt like hitting himself over in the head for saying something so stupid. "No! Wait- I didn't.. I didn't mean…"

"No, it's alright." She said while blushing up a storm. "At least your honest…"

The walk to the park fountain was slightly awkward, but the two managed to pick up conversation with a different topic.

Nearing the fountain, Yuuma ran in front of Issei. The two were now face to face and the blushing Yuuma seemed like she was trying to say something.

"Yuuma? Everything okay?" he asked.

"I really had a good time today, Issei." She said.

"Oh, yeah! Me too." He said with a smile.

The two stared at each other for a while, but Yuuma took the initiative and closed into Issei's lips. It was a quick kiss, but Issei enjoyed it thoroughly. The feeling of his lips tingling from Yuuma's action was something he would never forget.

Yuuma pulled back and tried to hide her blushing face away from Issei (who was also blushing up a storm) by using her hair.

"So…I'll see you sometime this week?" she muttered quietly.

"Uh… yea… we should go out sometime soon." He said.

Yuuma flashed him another one of her smiles that made his heart soar. "I'll see you soon then!" she said with a wave as she ran down the road, headed back home.

"Bye…" he said with a wave as he watched her leave. _'God, she's amazing.'_ He thought. _'I hope this last for a while… maybe that marriage thing… maybe it might happen one day.'_

So imagine his surprise when Issei saw some type of pink spear impale his girlfriend right through the chest, her blood splattering on the pavement.

"Yu..Yuuma!" he shouted as he ran to his girlfriend that slumped on the ground.

He slid on the ground and check to see if she was okay, which; apparently, she wasn't if the blood coming from the giant hole in her body had to say otherwise.

"Sorry kid, but I couldn't have any witnesses." said a voice in the sky.

Issei looked up to see a black haired woman with black wings floating in the air. Only wearing a black strap over her large breast, a thong-like piece held together by her hips with three straps, a shoulder guard with spikes protruding from it, black, thigh high boots, and was holding an imposing pink spear that looked like an exact copy of the one she threw at Yuuma.

And one thing that Issei couldn't miss…. She looked like an older, more mature, version of Yuuma.

"Well what do you know," said the lady with a deep, but melodic, voice, " I guess it is true. Everyone has an exact, look-a-like twin somewhere in the world." She muttered as she looked at the body of Yuuma.

Tears flooded Issei's eyes as he looked up at the women in anger. "Who are you!" he shouted, "And why did you do this?! What has she ever done to you?!"

"Nothing," she said as she checked her nails, not caring that a girl was quickly dying from blood loss, "like I said; I can't have any witnesses. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Witnesses for what?!" he yelled again.

"Well," the dark angel laughed, "for when I kill you, of course~"

Issei's heart pumped faster and faster in fear after hearing what she said. She wanted to kill him? What did he do to her? He doesn't even know this lady!

"It's not your fault that you're about to die." she said as she threw her pink spear at Issei, "Blame God for cursing you with a sacred gear."

Pain filled Issei's body as he looked down to see a pink spear in his chest, similarly like there was one in Yuuma's chest.

He fell back, lying right next to Yuuma who was long dead. He cried tears as he slowly felt his life slip away.

"Oh well." said the fallen angel (Raynare). "That was fun for like… five seconds." And with that, she flew away.

Issei stared at the red liquid of life that was spewing from him like a flood. _'Da..damn it…I can't m..move..I'm really.. go-going to die…'_ he thought in sadness. _'I'm sor-sorry… Yuuma. Sorry… that I couldn't… protect you.'_

He could hardly feel the pain anymore as his eyes were slowly closing. His last sight would be the red ground that was painted with his and Yuuma's blood. _'This blood… the color… just like her hair…I wish I could see it… one...last time.'_

With those being his final thoughts, Issei Hyoudou was dead.

Suddenly, a Gremory summoning circle appeared near Issei's body. The pamphlet in his pocket was growing in his pocket as if it was reacting to the magic circle. Coming from the summoning circle was the devil that Issei was thinking about, Rias Gremory.

The summoning circle dissipated and Rias' feet landed on the ground. She inspected the crime scene in front of her, but she knew what happened here not too long ago.

"I was expecting one body, but two? This is an old twist of events." Rias muttered to herself. "Nevertheless, I'll get what I came for."

She reached out to Issei, but then she felt a magical presence approaching fast. Using her high intellect, Rias summoned her familiar to go and get her peerage. She felt a fight was going to occur here.

A flying person landed harshly on the ground, cracking the earth under them. "It seems I've arrived a little late." The voice, which sounded like it was male, said to himself.

The unfamiliar boy stood to his full height, revealing himself to Rias. The boy who was the same height as Rias at 5'8, the boy was wearing a full body green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers and blue tennis shoes. He had a bowl-cut hairstyle and the thickest eyebrows that Rias has ever seen in her 18 years of life.

"Who are you?" she asked but sounded like she demanded him to answer.

"Just a devil doing a little recruitment work for my master," said the boy as he suddenly started to do jumping jacks, weirding out Rias in the process. "and if I fail, I'll do 5 million jumping jacks in 30 minutes as punishment!"

"Why are you doing jumping jacks now?" she asked with a hand on her hip.

"I'm warming up." the boy said as he moved on to toe touches. "We are about to do battle, right?"

Rias tensed up a little and prepared her magic. "We don't have to do battle. I was here first, so shouldn't I be the one to revive the boy?" she asked with a dangerous tone.

"Be that you were here first, and I would usually allow such a thing, I can't allow that. My master has expressed interest in Issei Hyoudou and has given me orders to recruit him. As long as I have strength, I shall care out my master's needs!"

"A shame." Said Rias as a red aura covered her body. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you won't let me receive my prize."

The mysterious green assailant smirked as he stepped into a fighting position.

"You will not defeat me."

 **Rias Gremory, Pure-blooded Devil, [King]**

 **Vs.**

 **Name: ?, Race: ?, Rank: ?**

"Before we do battle," Rias said, "can I at least know the name of my opponent?"

"Oh, forgive me, but I cannot give out my real name freely," Said the boy in green, "but you can call me the 'Beautiful Green Wild Beast'!" he exclaimed in excitement.

"Oh…" Rias didn't know how to reply to that. _'I hope this ends soon. This might be the weirdest battle I'll ever have.'_

 ***UPDATE***

 **Rias Gremory, Pure-blooded Devil, [King]**

 **Vs.**

 **Nickname: The Beautiful Green Wild Beast, Race: ?, Rank: ?**

"Lady's first." the 'Green Beast' said.

Taking the initiate, Rias summoned her PoD and blasted it towards her opponent. The 'Beast' waited for the destructive aura to reach him, and when it did, he simply slapped it away with his hand.

' _What!'_ she shouted in her mind. _'H-he blocked it!'._

"So this is the power of Bael you inherited from your mama." The 'Beast' said. "Well, you made your move. Now it's my turn!"

The 'Beast' disappeared in a burst a speed, a speed that Rias couldn't track at all. A green blur appeared in front of her but she couldn't react in time as she felt a punch to her gut.

"Ahh!" she screamed as her body flew into a well-placed tree. Her body slumped down to the ground and she entered a coughing fit.

"Uh? Weren't you supposed to block that?" the 'Beast' asked curiously. "You are Rias Gremory…right?"

' _Damn it… that speed was incredible.'_ She thought as she slowly stood from the ground while holding her stomach. A small stream of blood leaked from her mouth. _'He hits like he's a [Rook], but he's as fast as Kiba, a [Knight]!'_

The green beast tilted his head in curiosity, "Are you sure you want to fight? You don't seem so strong to me."

' _Melee isn't my strong suit._ ' She thought as she looked up to the skies. _'The barrier that keeps humans away that the Fallen Angel set up should still be active.'_ Rias grew her devil wings from her back and flew into the skies.

Now high in the sky, she noticed that the beast didn't follow her up. Rather, he was looking up to her in curiosity again.

"Do you plan on running away?" he asked.

"Fuck you!" she shouted as she shot out multiple balls of destruction down on the beast.

Acting quickly, the 'beast' dodged left and right, taking the scenery to his advantage and letting some of the trees take the hits for him. After the shots ceased, the beast flew into the air with devil wings along with Rias… only to find out that he was the only one in the sky.

"Wha?" he said to himself.

"Die…" muttered Rias as she shot her Power of Destruction from underneath the 'beast'. She had snuck back down into the tree line and waited for him to expose himself. She had to suppress her magic in order for him not to find out and it seemed like it worked.

The 'beast' heard something from underneath him and was shocked to see a large red blast of destruction right beneath him. Sensing the danger, the beast made a defense shield around him, blocking the strike.

"Damn." muttered Rias, noticing that she was using a lot of profanity. She had to calm down if she wanted to win. This devil was going to be a challenge.

Recall his shield, Rias noticed that the devil seemed to be breathing a little heavier. _'What's going on? All he did was make a shield. Surely, it probably took a lot of magic to hold up from my attack, but to be breathing like that already? Maybe he has low magic reserves?'_

A few summoning circles appeared near Issei and Yuuma's body to reveal Akeno along with two other people. Introducing Koneko and Kiba, the last two members to Rias' peerage.

"Rias!" shouted Akeno as she looked for her King and best friend.

"Over here." said the Gremory as she flew down to her peerage. Akeno gasped at the blood that was dripping from Rias' mouth and ran up to her, followed by Koneko and Kiba.

"Rias, what happened?" asked Akeno in worry.

"Somebody is getting in the way of me reviving Issei." said Rias as she pointed up to the boy in the air. " I don't know who his master is, but I know he is a devil because he has devil wings. He calls himself…Beast. Just call him beast." She shorted his unexplainable nickname down to 'Beast' because she would never call him by his nickname. "He has great strength and amazing speed. Do not underestimate him."

The 'Beast' landed back on the ground and looked at the group of devils. "So you have friends; your peerage probably."

"How dare you do this to Buchou!" shouted Kiba as he summoned a sword using his Sacred Gear and charged towards the 'Beast' with amazing speeds.

Kiba swiped at the beast with his sword, but was surprised when he blocked it with is wrist. The beast a quick jab at Kiba but he dodge quickly by slightly moving to the right. Kiba grabbed his outstretched hand and reposition his sword to swipe under his arm, but the beast kicked Kiba's unprotected stomach, forcing him to release his hold on him as he flew back.

"Kiba!" shouted Rias.

"Let's go, Koneko!" said Akeno as electricity charged around her body.

"NO!" shouted Rias to her peerage. "Remember why we are here. Akeno, I need to you take Issei with you and use your magic to heal his body. If he is injured for too long then his soul will leave his body and all this fighting will be for naught. Koneko, me, you, and Kiba will stay and hold him off. Be careful, rushing in without a plan and you'll be injured like Kiba." ordered Rias.

Nodding to her plan, Akeno went and picked up Issei's bleeding body. "What about this girl?"

"She is an innocent human caught up in supernatural mess. I sensed no power coming from her at all. Let her die in peace."

Nodding once more, Akeno summoned a teleportation seal to leave with their new member.

"I can't allow that to happen." said the beast as he appeared in front of a surprised Akeno. He was about to attacked her, but was blocked by Koneko catching his punch.

"Bad." She plainly said as the 'Beast' was then hit by Rias' PoD.

"Yes." Rias said, glad she finally made contact with the devil.

Akeno faded from sight, leaving Rias, Koneko, and Kiba against the jumpsuit devil that was holding his side in pain.

 **Team Rias [Rias-King, Koneko-Rook, Kiba-Knight]**

 **Vs.**

 **Nickname: The Beautiful Wild Green Beast, Race: Devil, Rank: ?**

"That hurt." Said the beast as the as the remains of a small magic shield he used to block some of Rias' PoD disappeared. A flame lit in his eyes as he shouted, "As punishment for me lowering my guard during time of battle, after this match I shall do 10 million squats!" he yelled.

"What is wrong with him?" Kiba said as he tightened his grip on his sword.

"I don't know, but he is strong. I noticed that he must not have a large magical reserve because he was breathing at a different rate when he blocked my attack earlier. Let's force him to use more magic to tire him out." said Rias as she stood next to her peerage members.

"My sword bounced off his arm like it was nothing. I don't know how he did it." muttered Kiba.

"The seals my master gave me allowed that to happen." said the beast as he pointed to his bandages that covered most of his upper arm and some parts of his hand. Sure enough, there was a seal on the bandages which probably hardened them for him to block swords.

"Who are you?" Rias asked again. "Are you a pure-blooded devil, or are you a reincarnated devil?"

"Reincarnated devil." He answered. "My master saved me two years ago and I'm a better fighter!" he said while pumping up his fist.

"Why does your master want Issei?" asked Kiba.

"I dunno. He told me to go and recruit him and I followed orders. However, I couldn't find him because his magic is weak, kinda like mine. I knew I had him when I felt a Fallen Angel in the area, but I was too late to do anything. Now, all I need to do is beat you all and then go find Issei again. My master will be disappointed if I don't bring him with me."

"Who is your master?" asked Rias.

"I can't tell you. The only thing that matters now is this battle." He said as he got into his fighting stance.

Rias and her two peerage members also got into their battle stances, ready for anything he threw them.

It was quite for a while, but then the 'beast' spoke, "Let this be an honorable battle." and then disappeared in pure speed.

Kiba meet him halfway as sword and fist clashed. Lee threw a double jab at Kiba, who dodge them easily and swiped at him with his sword. The 'beast' back stepped the swipe kicked at Kiba, but his leg was caught by Koneko.

"Eh?" he said. Koneko swung him around before throwing him into a tree, in which he broke through and smashed into another one.

"Hopefully this hits him." Said Rias as she sent a blast of PoD in the direction he landed.

"Did that get him?" asked Koneko as the two stood by Rias.

Rias sensed a magical presence to the side of them. "Koneko!"

Koneko was already on it as she caught the 'beast' rushing to them. The two caught each other's fist and were now having a power struggle. The ground cracked under the pressure.

"Your strong." The 'beast' said.

"Ditto."

"Hold him still Koneko!" shouted Kiba as he appeared beside them. He sent an overhead strike down on the beast, but he pushed himself and Koneko forward to dodge it. Koneko raised her knee to hit him in the stomach, but he blocked it by using the bottom of his foot to stop her assault. The beast bent his body back as Kiba tried to take his head, the sword slash barely missing Koneko's chin.

' _This guy is an athletic monster!'_ thought Kiba as he watched as the beast was holding Koneko and himself off while on one leg.

"Kiba! Koneko!" shouted Rias as she prepared another blast of her PoD. Understanding what she wanted, Koneko let go of the 'beast', causing him to lose balance as he was depending on her pressure to hold him up. Kiba used this opportunity to hit the 'beast' on the side of his head with the butt of his sword, disorienting him. The two jumped away from the 'beast' as he was hit with yet another magical blast from Rias, in which he had to spend more magic to lessen the damage by using a shield.

"Gaah!" he said as he crashed on his back. He was really starting to tire out now that he was running low on magic. _'That's it! No more shields.'_

"Good job, you two." said an out of breath Rias. "Hopefully that will hold him down."

"I don't know, Buchou. This guy is tough. He can handle a lot of pressure. I am starting to believe that he is a [Rook]." stated Kiba.

"I also agree." Said Koneko as the group watched the 'beast' walk from the tree line. "Taking hit after hit like this must mean he is a [Rook]."

"You are correct." said the beast while holding his shoulder. "My name is Lee. You all are good enough to know that. You've figured out a lot about me already because of some of my slip ups. I'm still considered a rookie.

"Well then, Lee." said Rias as she crossed her arms underneath her breast, "I have a question. Are you an enemy to us?"

"An enemy?" said a surprised Lee. "No, no, no! I'm not an enemy! I'm simply a recruiter! If we were to meet under different circumstances, I'd probably invite you to the gym for a session of weightlifting and fat-burning!" he exclaimed.

Team Rias had a dumbfound expression on their face as they looked at the thick-eye browed man.

"Oh…how nice." muttered Rias.

"However, I can here to accomplish a job for the man that saved me and I won't disappoint him!" Lee yelled at he got back into his fighting stance, making Team Rias do the same. "This time…I'll show you my youth!"

"Youth?" Koneko wondered what he met by that.

"You first." Lee said to no one in particular as he disappeared from sight. Kiba, Rias, or Koneko didn't even register Lee appearing in front of Koneko and kicking her in her mid-section, blasting her away from the group and somewhere in the forest.

"Koneko!" shouted Rias. "You mon-" Rias was about to send another blast to Lee, but he caught Rias' hands and slowly applied pressure.

"AAAHHH!" she screamed out as she felt her bones creek from Lee's strength.

"Buchou!" yelled Kiba as he summoned dual-swords and slashed at Lee. Lee dodged one of Kiba's swords, caught the other and broke it, and used the broken edge to stab Kiba in his thigh.

"Damn it!" Kiba lost his cool as he jumped away from the two. He landed on his feet but fell to one knee as the pain coursing through his leg was too great for him to handle.

*huff, huff, huff* "You guys are giving me a work out. I shouldn't have done all those exercises before coming here." muttered Lee as he released Rias hands.

"You mean… You came here tired?!" shouted Rias as she tried to ignore the pain in her hands.

"Yeah. But I had to do my daily one hundred thousand pushes ups." stated Lee.

There was some rustling come from the bushes near them and Koneko, with some of her clothes shredded, charged at Lee with anger in her eyes. The two clashed once again as the two [Rooks] moved the fight away from the injured Rias and Kiba.

"Kiba, are you alright?" she asked her loyal knight as she walked over to him.

"No… No I'm not. I won't be able to walk properly for a while. Not until I'm healed first." Kiba as he slowly stood up on both feet, wincing from the pain from the sword edge that was still lodged in his thigh.

"Do you want to take it out now?" she asked. He nodded. He wouldn't be able to fight properly with the broken sword lodged in him. Nodding, she slowly took the sword out of him. She winced when she heard him hiss in pain. She couldn't understand the pain he was going through and was glad she wasn't. But, she was proud that her [Knight] was still standing, showing that he was strong and could handle pain well.

Kiba took off his shirt to use as a bandaged as he wrapped it around his leg. He put his arm around Rias' shoulder as the two slowly walked to where Lee and Koneko were having their battle.

The two [Rooks] were battling it out, but Lee was slowly winning. With a quick jab, Koneko feinted and switched with a kick which caught Lee's chin. Ignoring the pain, he caught Koneko's leg and bent his body all the way back, slamming her into the ground behind him.

Gaining his balance again, he turned to see Koneko already up and in throwing a fist to his face, which hit its target as Lee spit up blood and was rocked back. Koneko took advantage and low-kicked his feet. Catching both, Lee fell on his back in pain.

"Ugh." groaned Lee as he heard some weird sound. He looked up to see a huge tree headed his way. "You've got to be kidding me!"

He jumped up and punched the approaching tree, which couldn't handle the pressure as it was utterly destroyed and turned into splinters. Breaking through the tree was a success, but on the other side of the broken tree was Koneko with a park bench.

"Nani?"

*BAM!*

Koneko destroyed the park bench as she hammered Lee back into the ground.

' _That HAD to have done something to him'_ she thought as she was taking deep breaths and had her hands on her knees. This was the hardest fight she's ever fought, and it was against an immortal gym-freak.

"Ugh… that hurt." said Lee. Koneko couldn't hid her shock or close her mouth as she watched Lee get back up from the attack. This boy just wouldn't sit down!

"When will you give up?" she said.

"When I run out of energy, or course!" he said like it was the simplest thing in the world. "While I do count you as an honorable enemy, it isn't honorable to use outside weapon in a fight. "

"You are too much for me to handle by myself. I need to use my surroundings to my advantage." Koneko said quietly.

"Hmm… Understandable. But I feel this battle coming to a close. I've been here for too long. I need to finish this up."

The two charged at each other again, putting all of their strength into their next hit. Lee smiled as his martial arts brain analyzed the situation.

' _She's shorter than me, under five feet I believe; and with that, her arms are very short. She'll have to get closer if she wants to land a direct hit to any meaningful part of my body. All I need to do is increase my speed at the last second and I'll get my hit off before she can even blink!'_

Mentally nodding to his plan, he clinched his fist as he proceeded. Time seemed to slow down as the two were in face-to-face. Koneko was stretching out her arm, ready to send Lee flying.

Lee inwardly smirked as he saw that Koneko's feet weren't on the ground. She jumped in order to put more force into her punch, but that was the mistake he would exploit.

Slamming his feet into the ground, Lee pushed his body forward with extra velocity; extra velocity Koneko wasn't expected. A glob of blood forced itself out of Koneko's mouth as she was sent flying through multiple trees. Lee regained his foot as he saw Kenoko's body crash into the ground. She wasn't moving after that.

"Finally." Lee muttered to himself as he took a short breath of air. That little girl really tested his limits of stamina, but he was the one to come out on top.

"That's the power of my YOUTH!" he yelled as he threw his hands up to the sky.

"You're open."

A sword protruded from Lee's stomach and he could only look at it in shock. He slowly turned his head to see Kiba behind him holding the sword. Rias was slowly approaching the duo.

"You're still able to move?" Lee said in disbelief.

"The love I have for my family and future family members kept me going. You're finished." Kiba said as he retracted the sword. Lee slowly fell to the ground, utterly defeated.

"Good job, Kiba." said Rias as she approached the duo. Kiba was taking deep breaths as he tried to remaining standing.

"Thanks, Buchou." said Kiba. The pair looked down upon the gasping Lee as he held his hands over his injury.

"You are a strong opponent. I will always remember this battle, Lee." said Rias.

"Thank..you for that." Lee said with a smile. "But, I was too weak. I could have finished at least both of you off."

"Wha-"

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Lee suddenly had the energy to do a multi-spin kick with his foot scrapping the ground. The wind from the move lifted Kiba and Rias off of their feet.

' _He knows wind magic!"_ thought Rias in surprise.

Lee appeared over the falling Kiba and used his elbow to plow into Kiba's stomach. A crater formed from the strength of the move as Kiba took the full force of the blow.

Rias hit the ground and quickly conjured up her remaining magic. Lee walked over to Rias to take her out, but he was met with an outstretched hand.

"Checkmate."

Lee couldn't defend the destructive orb that hit his midsection. The orb pushed Lee into the air with it, until finally exploding in the air.

Rias sighed as she watched Lee's body land somewhere nearby her. She heard the 'thud' that his body made when it hit the ground, but she was too tired to check where he landed.

"He has to be down now." She muttered as she slowly got up from the ground. She walked over to Kiba's personal hole in the ground to see him knocked out. She wasn't disappointed, however. Knights weren't known for their defense, but he lasted until the end. She was very proud of her Knight.

She looked to her right when she heard leaves crunching. Koneko was walking out of the forest and back onto the park pathway with a limp in her step. Her shirt was destroyed and she was using her arm to cover her chest.

"Oh, Koneko." Rias said as she hugged her [Rook]. She took it upon herself to face Lee all by herself and gave her and Kiba a break. She really did have strong, loyal family members.

"Did you kill him? Please tell me that you killed him." Koneko muttered into Rias' chest.

"I honestly don't know. Let's check." She said as the two walked over to the boy.

Lee was in his on Rias-made crater knocked out. His skin seemed burnt and his mouth was wide open. His eyes were open but the two couldn't see his pupils.

"He's still breathing." Koneko said as she sent the body a glare.

"Yes, but were not going to kill him. He said the only reason why he was here was to recruit Issei. We faced him and we won. He shouldn't be bothering us anytime soon."

The two went back to Kiba and slowly picked him up. Kiba moaned in pain as he woke up from his Lee-induced sleep.

"Uhhh… Did we win?" Kiba whispered.

"Yup! Your youth is amazing!"

The three couldn't hold back there yells in freight as they turned around to see a smiling Lee who was missing a front tooth.

"You're still mobile?!" Rias shouted in freight/amazement. Could anything put this behemoth down?!

"Yea! You three really put a number on my body! I feel like if I throw another punch I'm gonna faint!" said Lee with a laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"Why can't you just faint now." said a dead serious Koneko.

Lee noticed the lack of clothing that Koneko had and tore the top half of his jumpsuit and handed it to her. "Here. I lady shouldn't be exposed like that." He said with a small smile.

Koneko looked at the offer for a while before taking it, saying a quiet 'thank you' before putting it on.

"Well, will you be bothering us anymore?" asked Rias with a slight glare.

"Bothering you about what?"

"About recruiting Issei."

"Oh that!" said Lee. "I couldn't have done that in the first place."

Rias, Koneko, Kiba's face fell as they heard what he said.

"What do you mean by that?" asked an irritated Kiba.

"Well, when I came here, Issei was already dead. I can't recruit a dead body. Dead people don't talk. My master doesn't like reviving people against their will so I wouldn't have brought Issei to him in the first place."

"So why did you fight us?" asked Rias.

"Because it seemed like a fun thing to do, and I wasn't wrong!" said Lee with a cheeky smile.

"….."

"Are you sure that we can't kill him?"

"But anyway!" said Lee as he did a few stretches. "You all won this fight. I must show my appreciation for allowing me to test my limits. Even though I haven't been a devil for long, if I continue my training regime like how I am now, I'm sure I can become stronger!"

"This fight has revealed some things about myself as well." said Rias with a light smile. "It seems like I need to get back to training myself so I can become stronger. I've been sitting behind a desk for too long now."

"Well, I'm glad I'm the one who has made you come to that realization." Lee said.

"Will you be back in town?" asked Kiba. "I'd like to train with you someday."

"Oh yes! We can all train together!" exclaimed Lee. "I'll ask my master if I can move over here to living with my new friends!" Lee then picked the group up and gave them a hug. He seemed to ignore their cries of pain from his inhuman strength.

"I'll see you all soon, my new friends." Said Lee as a magical circle appeared below him.

"Wait! Lee!" said Rias, catching his attention. "If you can't tell who your master is, can you at least tell us what clan he is from? Or what he looks like?"

"Oh..." said Lee as he put a hand to his chin, thinking for a while. "To be honest… I don't even know what my master looks like… or his clan."

"WHAT!" even though Rias was tired, she apparently had enough energy to break Kiba and Koneko's ear drums.

"That's the truth. Never saw him a day in my life. I'll be back soon!" said Lee with a few waves and he was consumed by the seal.

The trio stared at the disappearing martial artist before there was a teleportation seal underneath them as well.

"Let's go do what we came here to do." Rias said as she disappeared with her two peerage members.

 **Location - ?**

Lee was sitting in what seemed to be an abandoned dojo and was meditating. All was quiet until he spoke out.

"Master, I am here." He whispered.

Lee opened up his eyes to see a floating, orange ball of aura levitating in front of him. Lee did show any surprise as some of the aura coming from the floating ball rubbed on him and faded, like the cold, visible air from an open freezer.

" _You…failed?_ " said a disoriented voice coming from the orange orb.

"Yes, master. I have failed you. Issei was already dead when I found him. I fought against Rias Gremory along with her [Knight] and [Rook] and was defeated. Please forgive me." said Lee as he bowed to the orb.

The orb didn't say anything for a while before answering, " _O….k… No…problem…Hehehehehe….._ "

"Master, I am asking if I can move to Kuoh for now. I have become friends with the Gremory's peerage and I feel like I can become much stronger with them."

The orb was quiet for a while again before answering, " _That's fine…..make sure…you eat…pickles….hehehehehehe…._ "

"Yes master, I shall eat the pickles. Thank you for this opportunity!" said a happy Lee.

" _I…..shall send…another member with you._ " said the disoriented voice.

"Really?! You mean I actually get to meet another peerage member!?" asked a shocked Lee.

" _Yes…bu….but watch…out for….this one…..he's weird..hehehe…_ "

"What do you mean, master?" asked Lee as he looked up to the glowing, orange orb.

" _Watch out…for…..he likes…sna…..snakes….heheheheheh!HAHAHAHA!_ "

 **Time skip – Monday Morning**

 **Hyoudou Residence**

Issei yawned as he woke up from the best sleep he's had in his whole life. It felt so warm in his bed and he honestly felt as if he couldn't have had a better.

He sneezed a little when something tickled his nose. He fully opened his eyes to see one beautiful, sexy, red-headed, naked Rias Gremory sleeping right beside him…in his bed… IN HIS BED!

"WHAT THE-"

Rias' hand clamped over Issei's mouth as he looked down in fear as Rias was awake with anger plastered over her face.

"Shut the hell up and go back to sleep."

"Ok."

 **FINALLY! Good grief my fingers feel like hot butter right now!**

 **So yeah, I just killed it with the first official chapter. Hope you all enjoyed the introduction of Rock Lee, one of the greatest Naruto characters in existence.**

 **I BET YA ASS WASN'T EXPECTING THAT SHIT!**

 **The idea just slowly marinated in my mind and I was all like…ooohhhh… yea that's nice…..**

 **I'm doing shit that you'll never see on this site, that FACTS! I have one of the most creative minds in the world! If only my grammar and spelling could get a little better!**

 **By the way, I am looking for a Beta, so if you are a good Beta that has worked on stories before, hit up the Pms.**

 **Your payment: More of my amazing stories.**

 **I changed the Issei/Yuuma/Raynare story a little because I'm a savage and I hope everyone enjoyed a change in pace. The idea came to me when I was about to type in the scene when she transforms into Raynare, but then I was all like…..ooooohhhhhhhh, that's a nice ass idea….yeeeeaaaaaa…..**

 **So I hope you enjoyed that lil sauce that I threw in there.**

 **The battle scene was very fun to type up and I hope you all enjoyed that too! I do take constructive criticism very well and negative criticism very well as well (by cussing you out and comparing your trash stories to my amazing and awesome stories ( I promise you I'm not arrogant, just confident and I know my value)).**

 **As for the pairing, it seems like it's between Gabriel, Yasaka, and Kuroka, but I'm still taking suggestions so get creative.**

 **But like…. Don't yall want to see another Naruto x Fem. Kyuubi again? Like, that's the best pairing in pairing history!**

 **But it's up to the PEOPLE! And not me so if you have a suggestion that has logical reasoning behind it, don't be afraid to review your thoughts.**

 **AS OF RIGHT NOW, BY ONLY COUNTING THE STATS FROM THE PROLOGUE OF THIS STORY, 'BreakThrough' HAS MORE REVIEWS, FAVS, AND FOLLOWS THAN CURSED CHAKRA AS I AM FINISHING THIS UP!**

 **I just got to say thank you, everybody. Cursed Chakra has been up for TWO YEARS! This story has been up for 4 DAYS! (even though I did cheat a little by informing you all that I was making a new story, but who cares! You're getting a new chapter!)**

 **This is crazy with the amount of love I'm getting right now. This story is already on 2 communities and that's amazing. This story will surpass Corrupted Mind, I promise you.**

 **Not as many words as the Prologue, but same amount of awesomeness.**

 **Well, I think I've ran out of things to say.**

 **A young African-American southern boy (a.k.a. a real nigga from the south) is giving yall the goods and I love every moment from it. I thank you again for being fans of me, NarutoPlug. I made this profile four years ago, and looked how much its grown.**

 **Anyway, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	3. TheRunDown

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy NarutoPlug, my lab top bout to catch fire cause I'm typing hella fast.**

 **Man, I love y'all. I'ma just flat out say it. Yall out here supporting ya boy, no doubt. I mean this story is growing super fast and I appreciate everyone for reading this amazing piece of work that is a small part of my wild, crazy imagination.**

 **I don't know if any of you pay attention to it, but I reply to your reviews. Go check out your profile and see if I said anything. I usually scroll down my reviews and just answer any questions you may have or just give you the update on when the next chapter droppin.**

 **Also, I think I've certified the pairing, but I'm going to listen to any opinions for this next chapter until I putting it to dust. I have a back-story all ready for the pairing that I have in mind, but I'll still listen to anything you all have to say for one more chapter. So get to reviewing, ya heard me?**

 **Also, I wanna know where yall from. Drop ya city, state, country, planet, all that good stuff. I need new real life friends out there in the world so I can get some more connections. Ain't no such thing as too many connections.**

 **Anyway, enough of that,**

 **Here's the next chapter.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheRunDown**

 **Kuoh – Hyoudou Residence**

 **Noon**

' _I can't feel my arm…'_ thought Issei as he looked at the sleeping face of Rias. She was cuddling his arm to her chest and looked perfectly comfortable. Issei would have been comfortable (and his perverted mind should have been running rampant), but the events that happened yesterday was filling his mind as he was in debate with himself.

' _Did that really happen last night? Did Yuuma really die? And who and what was that lady with black angel wings? Or was it all a dream?'_

"Why hasn't Mother tried to wake me up yet?" Issei said quietly as he looked towards his door.

"Because I set a barrier up before I came here." said the voice of Rias, scaring Issei in the process.

"Holy- Oh, you're awake!" Issei said frantically with an akward smile. Rias shifted up into a sitting position and Issei was trying his hardest not to look at her breast.

' _Oppai… I want the oppai! I want it! I want it! I want it I wan-_

"Are you okay?" asked Rias with a cute head tilt.

"Uhh.. Yeah! I'm just confused on why you are in my bed." _'Nice come back Issei!'_ he congratulated himself for his quick thinking.

"Well, you were hurt yesterday and I had to come back and heal you." Rias said as she stretched her arms, "So, I brought you back here to heal you."

"Heal me?" he said as he thought back to his dream/unknown-reality. "If that's so….then what I think that happened…actually happened."

"Correct. You were attacked and killed by a Fallen Angel yesterday." said Rias. "I found your body and resurrected you into my peerage."

"Wh-What? What do you mean?" Issei asked.

"I am a devil." said Rias as she summoned her devil wings.

"Woah!" shouted Issei as he fell out his bed in surprise. She had devil wings! Like…Devil wings!

Issei took in a few breaths before continuing, "You mean… devils that steal human souls?"

"Yes, but devils don't resort to such measures anymore." Rias said as she crossed her legs as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Ok..wait…" Issei said. "So you brought me back to life?" getting a nod from Rias, he continued, "How did you do that?"

"High-class devils, like myself, have the power to revive the newly fallen by using our Evil Pieces." said Rias as she summoned her remaining [Knight]. "Based from the game of Chess, devils can resurrect those who have recently died by using our Evil Pieces to reviving them into our peerage."

"So..I'm a [Knight]?" he asked.

"No. You are my loyal [Pawn]." She said.

"A pawn!" Issei dejected. "So I am weak…"

"Not true." said Rias as she crossed her arms over her chest. "While [Pawn]'s are usually weak, you, Issei, took up all eight of my pieces." She said.

"Really? So I am actually strong?" he said with hope.

"You have the potential to be strong, a level I hope to help you achieve soon." She explained.

"So that means that I'm a devil?" he asked.

"Right again. I'll help you adapt to your new life and understand devil culture. I am a High-class devil after all." she boasted with a hair flip.

"So…so why are you naked?" he asked with a blush as he stopped himself from staring at her.

"You had a giant hole in your chest." She said as she stood from the bed and walked to her clothes. "I have a spell that allows me to heal others, but it works only with skin-to-skin contact."

' _Maybe I should get hurt more often…'_ he thought. "So I'm fully healed?"

"Yes. You should notice a couple of new characteristics your body has gained now that you are a devil." She said as she started to put on her clothes. "Do you feel stronger?"

"Actually, I do." He said as he gripped his hands. "I feel like I can run a marathon right now."

"Good. Now let's go. I have much more to explain to you once we get to school." said Rias.

"Right." said Issei with a head nod. Then, he remembered the other person that was there with him at the park.

"Wait! What about Yuuma? What happened to Yuuma?!" he shouted in worry.

"Do you mean the other person that was at the park dead with you?" asked Rias.

"Yeah! She's my girlfriend! Did you revive her, too?" he asked with a smile.

"No. No I didn't." said Rias. "I didn't see a reason too."

Issei's heart dropped as he heard what Rias said. _'Didn't have a reason too! She didn't have a reason to bring back Yuuma! What does she mean?! She was innocent! She didn't deserve to be killed!'_

"You seemed troubled." Rias said.

"I am troubled! Very troubled!" shouted Issei, shocking the royal red-head. "Why didn't you bring back Yuuma! She was dead! She was innocent! None of this should have affected her!"

"Well…I… I didn't see a reason to bring her back because she didn't have any power coming from her." Rias explained. "I didn't want to bring her in a world of the supernatural if she couldn't live in it."

"Then why did you bring me back?!" he yelled, shocking the red-head again. "Maybe I didn't want to be brought into this mess! Why did you choose me! I'm just some pervert that nobody likes!"

Rias was thoroughly shocked. She didn't want to reveal her plot now, but if she lied to him then she would lose his trust in her once he was knowledgeable in the works of devils. _'If I tell him the truth now then later, I'll have time to gain his trust. Even though I've already messed up, I have to take the time to earn his trust.'_ thought Rias as she made her final decision.

"You have a sacred gear." Rias said. Seeing his confused face, Rias explained, "Sacred Gears are gifts of the Biblical God that has been given to humans to enact miracles on Earth. Sacred Gears vary from strength and rarity, but I believe that you have something special!" Rias said excitedly.

"Oh, and Yuuma didn't!" yelled Issei angrily. "Yuuma wasn't special, so you didn't even try to bring her back, right?!

Rias sighed as she finished putting on her clothes. "Right. I didn't sense any type of Sacred Gear or magical power from her at all. She was just a regular human."

"So she was just trash for you, huh?" said Issei as he glared at the beautiful devil in front of him. Usually, he would have been staring at Rias in lust, but now, he was glaring at her for what she didn't do.

"She wasn't trash! I just didn't want to bring her into a world where she would only get hurt!" hollered Rias. "She didn't seem to have any talents and she was an innocent that nobody paid attention to! I left her alone because there wasn't a reason for me to bring her back!"

"NO! You didn't bring her back because YOU didn't have a reason to bring her back!" he accused, which actually made Rias step back from the boy in fright. "You're just a selfish person who only wants what's powerful so you can benefit from them! You could have asked me to join you when I was alive, but you wanted to wait until I was dead so that I didn't have a choice! You don't understand what she meant to me!"

Rias turned away from Issei, not want him to see her conflicted face. He didn't know what he was talking about! She had to do this! She couldn't take the chance of him saying 'no'!

' _He doesn't get it. I'm not se-selfish! I just have to do what I have to do! I'm… I'm getting married to_ _him_ _!'_

"I'm not a selfish person…" she muttered to herself, but Issei heard her clearly.

"Then why didn't you bring Yuuma back with me? Or even better, why did you wait for me to be dead so you could bring me back." He said with a calm anger.

It was silent in the room for while. Issei was waiting for an answer, while Rias was rummaging her mind for the right answer. Even with her smart mind, she knew the answer wouldn't be something he would like.

"I have my reasons." said Rias, disappointing Issei with her answer. "Just know that I needed you to help me accomplish my goals and I can help you with whatever you want to accomplish. You just need to trust me on this and I promise you that I'll make your life as a devil worthwhile."

"I don't trust you." Issei simply said. "You have done absolutely nothing for me to have my trust. You waited until I was dead, brought me back against my will, and just expected for me to follow your every order like a dog. That is not who I am.

"I didn't want it to be this way." said Rias. "I didn't think that the Fallen Angels would have killed you and your date. If you were dead and she was still alive, I would have just wiped her memory of what happened so that she wouldn't know about the supernatural."

"Well, that didn't' happened." Issei said angrily as he put on a shirt and some jeans. "Why were they after me in the first place? I never did anything to them before."

"I wasn't the only one who noticed that you might have had a Sacred Gear. They probably didn't want you to realize and grow your power so they decided to kill you now rather than try to fight you later on." explained Rias.

Issei sighed as he ran a hand through is hair. _'All of this shit happens to me and I didn't even ask for it.'_

"Are you alright?" asked a concerned Rias. If she was going to help her newly acquired [Pawn] and gain his trust, now was the time to do so.

"Where is Yuuma's body?" he asked.

Rias' heart skipped a beat as she thought about Yuuma's body. _'We left it… back in the park. We were so tired and engraved into the fight with Lee that we didn't even notice.'_

"Where is Yuuma's body?" Issei asked again, but by the way he said it, it was more of a demand to answer his question.  
"I…we….we left it at the park."

Issei's eye shined a dangerous red as his right burst with magical energy. Rias' eyes widen as she watched Issei's Sacred Gear appear onto his right arm.

' _Twice Critical!'_ she exclaimed in her head.

"You left her body at the park!" he hollered in anger.

"Ye-Yes, but we didn't mean to-

"You didn't mean to! HOW DO YOU NOT MEAN TO LEAVE A BODY OUT IN THE OPEN!"

"I-I…There was a fight…" Rias said through her fear at the anger devil. She really messed up.

"Who! Who else was there that could have saved Yuuma!?" he demanded an answer.

"A devil from another peerage wanted to recruit you. We fought over you. We won, but the battle left me and the rest of my peerage members exhausted. We totally forgot about Yuuma and I'm sorry."

Issei stood up and walked out his room, not caring for the cries of Rias to wait as he went down the stairs. Passing the living room, Issei's mother noticed that her son was still home.

"Issei? What are you doing home? I thought you went to school?" said Mrs. Hyoudou.

"Not now mom." said Issei as he walked out the door, confusing the women even further. She would have been even more confused when Rias came down the stairs, but forgot everything completely when Rias did a quick spell on her.

Rias caught up to Issei, who was walking down the street with a mean face, making passersby's weary of the boy.

"Issei, wait!" Rias said as she made it next to the boy.

"What, you're going to tell me some other way that you ruined my life?" He said as he kept walking.

"No! I can teleport use to the park!" she said, which made him stop. Teleport? Devils could do that?

"How?" he asked curiously.

"Just follow me. We can't do it here in public." She said as the two made their way deep into an alley way.

Rias grabbed Issei's hand while leading them away from public, but he forcefully snatched it back. Rias glared at the boy. Yeah, she did a lot of fucked up stuff, but he didn't have to be this mean to her.

"Forget it." muttered Rias as she felt that they were far enough away from human view. "Just stay close." She said as a magical circle appeared below the two. "Before we go, I'm going to need you to recall your Sacred Gear." Rias said as she pointed to Issei's arm.

"Oh. I didn't even notice this." Said Issei in surprise as he analyzed his Sacred Gear.

"Sacred Gears can appear in times of stress. I guess you learning about Yuuma is what activated it." She explained. "However, we need to keep that out of public eye. I'm glad that the people who saw that didn't say anything, probably thinking that it was some toy or something. You're going to need to calm down before we go."

Issei nodded and took a couple of slow breaths. He was mad, but in order for him to fully understand everything that was going on.

' _I just wanna go home… and watch porn; milf porn specifically.'_ He thought. Suddenly his Sacred Gear vanished.

Rias smiled in content as she watched him recall his Sacred Gear. She had a really good feeling about Issei.

"Now, don't freak out when we suddenly appear at the park, ok?" she asked.

While it wasn't crazy, which Rias was secretly happy about, Issei couldn't hide his surprises when the two suddenly appeared back at the park. He looked around to see that there were many craters in the ground and trees that looked uprooted and broken.

' _So there was definitely a fight here; she wasn't lying about that.'_ Issei thought as he looked around.

He ran over to where he thought Yuuma's body, only to find out that it was gone.

"Where is she?" he asked himself as he looked around, trying to find his dead girlfriend's body. He saw the dried up blood that they both leaked out, so she had to be somewhere nearby.

Rias was looking at the spot where Yuuma's body once was. _'I feel a residue of magic here. Somebody can here… Maybe Lee? It feels like his magic.'_

"Where is she?!" Issei shouted as he got into Rias face. She frowned and backed away from the angry boy. It was going to take a long time for Issei to trust her.

"I think that the person that we were fighting came back here." She said. "I think he came back for the body."

"And where is this person?" asked Issei . He wasn't going to let Yuuma's body be tossed around in disrespect.

"After our battle, Lee said he would move here to Kuoh to train with us." said Rias. "If his master allows it, he should be here in the coming days."

"Good." Issei then turned away from Rias and walked down the park pathway.

"Wait! Issei wait!" she said as she ran up to him. "Where are you going?"

"I don't need to be around you right now." said Issei without looking back. "I need time to think."

Rias stopped running to him after she heard that. _'He's right. I need to give him time to think. I'll talk to him tomorrow.'_

"I'll send someone to get you during school so we can continue our conversation. I'll see you then." Rias said. Issei didn't say anything back, causing Rias to sigh. She really messed up. _'I'll make sure to do right by him. We'll talk tomorrow with everyone.'_ And with that, Rias disappeared from the park.

 **Timeskip – Evening**

The day Issei learned that he was a devil was mentally frustrating for the boy.

Even though that he was serving, what he considered, one of the most beautiful girls that he had ever seen. He's lusted over Rias Gremory ever since he first saw her, but now he held a loath for her. Turning him into a devil because of something she wanted from him, but leaving his Yuuma to die and not even knowing where her body went? That was something that even his perverted side was mad about!

' _I bet she doesn't even understand what she did! She just thinks that she's hot shit…well, she is hot, but that's not the point! She shouldn't be able to revive me just like that! She should have asked me when I was still alive and human! Now, Yuuma's gone and I can't do anything to save her…'_ he thought sadly as he slowly approached a house.

Remembering a conversation that he had with Yuuma about where she lived, Issei made his way up to a house that he believed that was once Yuuma's home.

Taking in a deep breath, Issei knocked on the door. He had to explain to her parents why their child hasn't come back.

Opening the door was a black haired woman that looked a lot like Yuuma. She looked at Issei and gave him a nice, polite smile. "Hello, young man. How may I help you?"

"Uh..Hi…I-uh… I'm bringing b-bad news." Issei was shaking in anxiety as he prepared his speech.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" asked the women with a head tilt. A man came up behind the woman, making Issei guess that this was Yuuma's father.

"Everything alright here?" he asked as looked at the shaking Issei.

"Umm… Well, you see… I knew your daughter…Yuuma…" he muttered.

"Yuuma?" asked the wife. "Who is that?"

"Uhh… What do you mean 'who is that? Yuuma is your daughter. I'm here bo-boyfriend." Issei murmured.

"Well, sir, we don't have a daughter." said the husband, shocking Issei.

"Wha…What do you mean you don't know Yuuma? She's your daughter! She's your daughter that died because of me! How can you not remember?!" he yelled.

"Son, listen. I think you have the wrong people." said the man with a frown. "You should go home."

Issei slowly backed away from the confused couple in fright before running away in a full sprint.

' _What's going on?!'_ he yelled from his mind. _'Why don't they remember Yuuma!? That' their child and they don't even remember!'_

While running, Issei brought out his phone and opened up his photo app to see the pictures that he had took with Yuuma during their date. He came to a halt when he kept scrolling but couldn't find their picture.

"What's going on!" he yelled as he kept scroll. He checked his photo five times before giving up. The photos he had with Yuuma weren't there.

"I… I don't understand…" he muttered as Issei started to cry. His first girlfriend, the girl that he couldn't protect from some dark angel that had big boobs, was gone. Yuuma was gone and it was his entire fault.

Issei broke down on the sidewalk, but it was late enough where as to nobody would be out and see him.

 **30 Mintes Later**

After recovering from his major break down, Issei was making his way back home. It was really late out and he didn't want to make his parents worry anymore than they probably were. He still had Yuuma's dead fresh on his mind, but he had slowly and painfully came to accept that she was truly gone.

' _But,'_ thought Issei as he continued his walk, _'if I can find this Lee guy, then I can at least bury her body properly.'_

Lost in his thoughts, Issei didn't notice the flying dark angel floating above him. The blue-haired fallen angel was none other than Kalawarner, wearing a maroon trench-like top and matching mini-skirt, the fallen was watching her prey slowly trek his way back to his home.

"Seems like they resurrected him…" Kakawarner muttered to herself. She produced a yellow-spear and aimed it at the newly reincarnated devil. "Oh well, if Raynare couldn't finish the job, then I will!" she shouted as she chucked the spear at Issei.

If Issei wasn't lucky, he would have died again, 24 hours past his first death, but a passerby devil swooped in and saved Issei as the yellow, devil killing spear stab the ground Issei was once on.

"What the!" shouted Issei as he tried to struggle out of the grip of however had him in their arms.

"Are you safe?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

"Safe from what?!" shouted Issei. Whoever had Issei in their arms dropped the poor devil, causing him to groan as he hit the ground. "What was that for?"

"Didn't you want me to let you go?" asked the voice that sounded like a boy to Issei. The brown-haired boy shook his hair out of his face and looked up to see some weird-looking boy in a green jumpsuit.

"Yeah, but… Not like that." Issei said as he slowly stood back up. "Who are you and why did you do that?"

"Well, my name is Lee," Issei's eyebrows rose when he heard his name, "and I just saved you from her." Lee said as he pointed up at Kalawarner.

Issei looked up to see the blue-haired fallen and his eyes widened in shock. _'She has those wings…just like that other woman!'_

"Well, well, well," said Kalawarner as she crossed her arms over her breast, which caught Issei's perverted attention, "seems as if you have a guardian devil watching over you."

"You!" shouted Issei as he pointed up to the fallen angel. "Where is that other women with those same wings that killed Yuuma!" he shouted.

"Raynare?" Kalawarner said with fake confusion. "She's in the area. But I'm going to kill you both here to avoid problems later on."

"No you're not…" Issei growled as he summoned his Sacred Gear, surprising both Lee and Kalawarner.

"Ah! So that's your Sacred Gear." Lee said with a head nod.

Kalawarner smacked her lips as she analyzed her situation. _'Fighting two devils, no matter how new the brown-haired one is, will be a disadvantage for me, especially since that one with the jumpsuit could be quick enough to dodge my attack.'_

"It seems as if another important matter has been brought to my attention." Kalawarner came up with a quick excuse for her to leave. "However, I get the feeling that we'll be seeing each other very soon." She said with a laugh as she flew off in the night.

"Don't let her get away!" Issei shouted at Lee. "Follow her!"

"No." Lee said. "Like she said… we'll see her soon."

Issei picked Lee up by the collar (with strength that he didn't know he had) and slammed his back into a nearby tree. "What did you do with Yuuma's body?! Tell me now!"

"Do you mean that girl that died with you?" asked Lee. After getting a short nod from Issei, Lee continued, "Well… I buried her."

"What?" asked Issei as he raised an eyebrow? "Y-You actually buried her body?"

"Well… yes. I wasn't going to leave her body out in the open like that. It's disrespectful to the dead." Lee said like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"But Rias said that you left the park after they defeated you." Issei said as he released Lee and backed away. He didn't seem much like a threat, but if he could beat Rias and her peerage up, then Issei knew he wouldn't stand a chance against him.

"Yeah, that is true. But then I remembered that I left the girl and I it isn't honorable to leave a body out in the open, especially since she was an innocent." Lee said with a head nod. "So, I buried her body not too far from the fight. I used her I.D to figure out her name and made a small memorial for her with a nearby rock."

"Re-really?" Issei said with astonishment. "You did all that… for her? For somebody you didn't even know?"

"You don't need a reason to do the right thing. That's one thing that my master taught me." Lee said. "Come walk with me. I'll lead you to her grave site."

Issei nodded and the two were off to Yuuma's grave. It was quite for a while, but Issei was the one that broke the silence.

"Lee. That is your name, right?" Issei asked.

"Yes, yes it is. Do you need my assistance?" the martial artist said.

"You've been reincarnated as a devil too… right?" he asked.

"Yup. I've been a devil for two years now." Lee said with a smile.

"Do you regret becoming a devil?" asked Issei.

"No." Lee said without any playfulness in his voice. "I'm glad that I am a devil. And I'm glad that my master was the one to reincarnate me."

"Why? And who is your master?" asked Issei.

Lee chuckled a little before answering. "While I can't identify my master for you, mainly because I hardly know myself, but in order to understand me, you'll have to listen to my story."

"Well, we're walking in the middle of the night to a grave site. I'm sure I can hear your devil story." said Issei.

"Good. I'm glad you're considerate enough to listen to my story." Lee said with a smile. "Maybe by listening to my story, you'll be able to adapt to your situation better."

"Maybe… I don't know if I like my 'master', however." Issei grumbled as he kicked a rock on the road.

Lee smiled at Issei. "My devil story takes place a two years and a half ago… In Tokyo. My sensei, at the time, was my only inspiration… the only man that truly understood me…"

 **Timeskip – Two ½ Years Ago**

 **Tokyo**

A sixteen year old Lee was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with anticipation filled in his eyes. Lee was wearing white, short sleeved kimono-shirt with a martial arts belt and black pants. He had his signature bowl-cut hairstyle and his bandages were tightly wrapped around his fist. He was in a deep concentration as he watched the traffic in front of him, taking in every detail and storing them in this brain. He wanted to train his mind into gaining a photographic memory of his surroundings, so he can use that in his fights.

"Now Lee," said a man that looked similar to the boy. "I know that you're focused, but I don't want you to over think anything right now. Calm down some and have an open mind. If your mind is too clouded, then it will affect you during the tournament today."

Taking heed to his sensei's words, Lee took in a deep breath as he slouched back into the seat of the car. "You're right, Guy-sensei. I need to calm down somewhat. It's just that I'm so excited! And I don't want to fail you, either!"

Lee was a first-year student and was a protégée in martial arts. He trained everyday because fighting was what he was good at. He wasn't very smart in school and was one of the lowest ranking students in his class. With the lack of parents in his life, and since the teachers gave up on trying to convince him that his studies were important, Lee spend every day in the gym, strengthening his martial arts and hoping to become even stronger than his mentor, Guy.

The two were currently headed to a martial arts tournament, a tournament Lee spent the last month getting ready for. He practiced with Guy every day for at least 5 hours a day and studied up on any possible opponents by watching film Guy provided for Lee. The two were sure that Lee would win, but the prepared for any situation just in case Lee encountered any situation.

"I know that you'll do just great, Lee." Guy said with his trademark grin as he gave Lee thumbs up.

Smiling back, Lee gave thumbs up back to his teacher, the man that was always there for him even when nobody believed in him. Lee would always have Guy's back, and Guy would always have Lee's back. It was a student-teacher relationship that was unmatched.

Pulling up to the gym where the tournament was being held, the two got out of the car and Lee grabbed his duff bag with all of his equipment. Nodding towards his sensei, the two approached the gym doors, ready to win.

 **Timeskip**

"And he's down!" shouted the announcer. "Rock Lee is down!"

It was the final match of the battle, and Lee made his way all the way to the top. His last opponent went by the name of Neji Hyuga, also a protégée in the Gentle Fist fighting style, opposite to his Ferocious Fist style. The Gentle Fist style focused on hit the target's pressure points and disabling them. It took amazing speed and accuracy to learn the style, but Neji trained in the style since birth and became a master at it.

Lee groaned in pain as he tried to push himself back up to fight. His arms were ok, but it was his right leg that wasn't responding. After trying to kick Neji in his mid-section, Neji took the opportunity to do a couple of quick jabs to his thigh and foot. After putting his weight back down on that same foot, Lee lost his footing and fell to the ground.

He gritted his teeth as he stood on his left foot, but his right leg was numb and unresponsive. Neji, who was also hurt by Lee's ferocious punches that landed, slightly smirked as he saw Lee's leg.

"It seems like I've finally caught you." Neji said within breaths as he entered his fighting stance. "This was a good match, but I shall prevail."

"No you won't." Lee said with confidence as he managed to enter his own fighting stance, despite his numb right leg. "I'm putting everything I've got into this last move." He gave the pale boy a pain-ridden smirk. "You will not defeat me."

"Then lets putting everything into this last strike!" shouted Neji as he ran up to his final opponent. Time slowed down as Neji approached Lee, who was pulling his arm back for his final blow.

"This is everything I've got! Have it!"

 **Timeskip**

Lee's second place medallion swung from his neck, shining proudly as the streetlights made its sleek design shine. However, Lee wasn't happy at all.

"I…I should have won that. I'm sorry, Guy-sensei. I've failed you…" Lee muttered as tears started to fall from his eyes.

"Lee… Lee… listen to me." Guy said as he put a hand on his student's shoulder. "I am proud of you, no matter what. You've taken my fighting style to new levels and I know that you'll do even better than I did. You haven't failed me."

"Guy… Guy-sensei…" Lee looked up at his sensei in awe.

"The only time you would have ever failed me if you stopped being true to yourself. Only then, will you ever disappoint me. Don't ever stop believing in yourself, Lee. I know that you'll-

CRASH!

 **Location - ?**

"Ughh…" muttered Lee as he clamped his eyelids shut to avoid taking too much of the bright light that was shining down on him.

Lee felt around and felt some type of wire attached to his arm. He could also feel that he was in some type of bed.

' _Where am I?'_ he thought to himself as he slowly adjusted to the light and opened his eyes.

Surprise ran through Lee as he sat up in his hospital bed. He checked around the room to find an I.V. attached to his arm and both of his legs in cast. The tv was currently showing the news and by checking the board on the wall, it was the day after his tournament. The one that he lost…

"Guy-sensei!" shouted Lee as his mentor's face entered his mind. Where was he? Was he ok?

Lee's heart monitor started to beep faster because of Lee's fear, and two doctors entered his room in response.

"Are you ok?" asked the female doctor as she checked Lee's cast in concern.

"Ye-yeah, but what about Guy-sensei?! Where's Guy-sensei?!" Lee shouted in worry.

The two doctors looked at each other, wondering who was going to deliver the young martial artist the bad news. The female doctor won the internal struggle as the male doctored sighed and rubbed his beard.

"Son, settle down and I'll tell you what happened." He said.

After taking a few breaths, Lee gave his full attention to the doctor. "The other guy that you came here with…uhmm… You two…suffered a car wreck."

"A wreck?" Lee asked. His memory was really blurry. The only thing he remembered was that he was riding back home with Guy after the tournament and the rest was blank.

"Yes, you two had a wreck. There was a… a drunk driver." The doctor said. "He was swerving in the wrong direction of traffic. He hit you two head on. It's a miracle you're alive… however… the one driving the car wasn't so lucky."

Lee knew he wasn't book smart, but he knew what the doctor meant. Tears filled his eyes and Lee shouted out in sadness. The man that fully believed in him… The man that he looked up too… Guy-sensei was gone…

The two doctors knelt their heads down as they listened to the boy's despair. It was hard, everyday, seeing people die for stupid reasons like drunk driving. Now, the boy had lost him teacher and there wasn't anything they can do to bring him back into the boy's life.

After crying for a few minutes, Lee finally settled down. He was still hicking from his tears, but he had calmed down enough in order to hear the doctors again.

"So… he's really gone?" Lee asked as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Yes, son, he's gone. Crushed to death." The male doctor said as he sat on Lee's bed. "Killed instantly. The pressure was too much for his body to handle. But, at least he didn't go through feel any pain." He muttered.

"There's… there's something else that you need to know…" the female doctor spoke up. "You legs… they were heavily damaged from the crash. While your upper body survived with non-fatal injuries, you legs took the brute of the accident."

"So, *hick* so I broke them?" Lee asked.

"Worse. You're legs were crushed as well and a lot of metal from the car entered your legs, causing them to get infected. You also lost a lot of blood and-

"What are you trying to say?" asked Lee as he looked at the panicked doctor.

"I've got it from here." The male doctor said. "Lee… I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Your legs suffered a lot of damage, too much damage for someone as young as you. The only way to save you… is if we amputate your legs."

 **Timeskip – Midnight**

Lee couldn't sleep at all. He was wide awake. His mind was active as dark thoughts flooded it.

' _What can I do?'_ thought Lee as he gripped his blanket. _'My legs… my legs… I can't live without them. I don't have any other talents other than martial arts! I won't be able to fight without them! I'll be nothing! I can't continue Guy-sensei's legacy, I can't accomplish my own goals, and I won't be able to do anything!'_

Lee felt the tears flowing from his eyes as he continued to think about his life. His whole life revolved around fighting. He didn't have any parents to take care of him, so he was on his own. There wouldn't be anyone to help him because the world was a cruel place.

"My life…" Lee muttered. "My life is over."

"Hello." said a voice very near to Lee.

Lee looked up to see a glowing orange ball sitting in his lap. In shock, Lee used his arms to push himself away from the orb, but his back hit the end of his bed that was raised up to support him.

"Wh-wha-what is going on!" he yelled as he looked down at the orb in fear.

"No need….to be afraid…hehehe…I'm here to… help..." the orb said.

"You're here… to help me?" Lee asked.

"Yes… I'll let you calm…down…" the orb said.

Lee watched the orb's glow in amazement as he slowly used his arms to move closer to it. He didn't know why, but he felt a calm power radiating from the orb, and it was a power he was attracted to. He watched as the weird aura come from the orb and disappear in a white mist. The orb also radiated heat in Lee's cold hospital room.

"What do you mean that you can help me?" asked Lee.

"I felt you're… distress… I can sense your legs…hehehe… they're gone… They can't heal you… I can heal you and make you even better." The orb said.

"How? How can you do so?" Lee asked in anticipation. If he could restore his body to continue his master's legacy then he would do it, no matter the cost.

"I am…a devil."

Lee eyes widened and a small amount of fear started to spread in his body. "A devil… You mean… like a soul-snatching devil?" he asked

"Heheh..heheh…..AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!" the orb laughed, scaring Lee even more. "Opps..hehe…Didn't want to scare you… No… devils don't steal souls….hehehe…anymore…"

While he was still scared, a sense a relief filled Lee's body as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. "Ahh… that's good."

"I can… reincarnate you as...half-devil." The voice said.

"A half-devil?" Lee said. "How?"

A small, red, [Rook] piece suddenly appeared inside of the orange orb. "I have the power to resurrect those into my peerage with my Evil Pieces." the voice said, putting an end to the breaks during its sentences. "With my Evil Piece, you'll be reincarnated into my peerage as a [Rook]. In a peerage, [Rook]'s have amazing physical strength and defense but lack speed. However, if you join me, I'll train you to lose that handicap and help you become a great martial artist."

"Any deal with a devil comes with a cost." Lee said suspiciously. "What's in it for you?"

"If you join me," the orb said, "you'll be reincarnated as a half-devil. You'll lose part of your humanity, but you'll still look like a human. You'll serve me, your [King] until one of us dies first. I'll help you accomplish your goals and you'll help me accomplish mine. I'll introduce you to your other peerage members, but only until your strong enough. They will be your family and they will take care of you. Do you agree with me? Will you become a part of my family?"

Lee looked at the [Rook] piece floating inside the orb with wonder. This was his chance to continue what he wanted to do; to become a great martial artist. He knew he couldn't do it as a human anymore, so why not serve this person?

"Why are you talking to me like this? Where is your real body?" Lee asked.

"My real body is sealed up somewhere." The voice said. "While the seal is weakened, it still holds me. I need my peerage to do a few things for me in so I can be released. If you join me, I'll continue to talk to you like this, but once I'm free, we can finally see each other. So… do you agree?"

Lee looked at the orb once more before nodding his head. "Yes… Yes, I agree. I'll become your servant if you help me.

"Good." Said the voice as the [Rook] piece started to float towards Lee. "Come now. Join me…"

 **Flashback End**

"And ever since then, I've been a loyal member of my master's peerage." said Lee with a smile as he looked up at the stars.

"That's… that's amazing." Issei uttered as he looked at Lee. "And he gave you a choice… a choice to either live as a human or become a devil."

"Yup!" Lee said. "Master once told me that if he can't get to know the person or ask them if they want to become a devil, he wouldn't reincarnate them. He believes that isn't honorable at all."

"Gee, I wish someone would go by that same rule." Issei muttered to himself as he thought back to his red-headed master.

"We're here." Lee said as he stopped walk, surprising Issei. Sure enough, in front of them was freshly dug up dirt and a rock that read 'Yuuma Amano' on it.

"I'll leave you here to grieve privately." Lee said as he patted Issei's back. "I should be moving into town soon, so keep a look out for me. My master will deploy me and another one his peerage members here and I heard his really strong. Maybe you can train with us one day."

"Yeah… maybe…" Issei muttered.

Lee patted his back before teleporting away, leaving Issei alone at the grave.

Issei walk closer to the grave and kneeled before it. He touched the grave and his eyes started to slightly water.

"Yuuma… I have so much to tell you… starting with… starting with I'm sorry…sorry for not be able to protect you…"

 **One week later…**

After the whole Issei reincarnation fiasco, things settled back down after a while. Issei met up with Rias at her clubhouse, also getting to meet the rest of her peerage. She continued where she left off and explained devil culture and how it is handled. Of course, Issei being a pervert, was excited to here that he could have his own harem, but there was a voice in the back of his head saying that he wouldn't be able to protect; flashes of Yuuma's smiling face haunted his dreams and he would usually wake up in a cold sweat.

He still didn't trust Rias one bit, but he knew he was going to have to adjust to his new lifestyle. After testing out his Sacred Gear, it turns out that it was actually the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, one of the strongest Sacred Gears in existence. Rias was ecstatic that her [Pawn] had a Longinus Sacred Gear and was glad that she trusted her instincts in believing that Issei was special. She ordered that her peerage members would teach Issei about devils, magic, factions, etc. She was going to earn Issei's trust and make him feel welcomed.

The Occult Research Club members were all sitting in the Old School House after a long day of school. It was an unusually quiet day and they didn't have to report to their clients today. So, as a bonding experience, Rias wanted everyone to meet up after school and snack on Akeno's baking skills, which were superb.

Munching on a chocolate chip, Issei was devouring Akeno's cookies. _'These things are amazing!'_ he said as he reached for another one. _'If I keep on eating these, I'll be addict to them. What did she put in them, crack?'_

"Seems like you're enjoying yourself." Kiba said with a smile as he grabbed a napkin to clean his mouth of crumbles.

"Yeah! *munch munch* these cookies are really good. Thanks for these, Akeno!" Issei said with eyes filled with wonder.

"Fufufu… Why, thank you, Issei. I'll be sure to make you some more later on." Akeno said with a giggle as she sipped her tea.

"So," Rias said as she set her tea cup down. "How was everyone's day?" she asked.

"Good." Koneko whispered and went back to eating a cookie.

"It went well. It's nice to have a break every once in a while." Kiba said.

"I'm just glad I can spend time with you all." Akeno said as she stood behind Rias. "It really has been a while."

"Well… this is nice…" Issei muttered as he took a swig of the tea Akeno made for the team. "I could get use to this."

"I hope you do become comfortable to our lifestyle, Issei." Rias said to her [Pawn]. "I know that you still feel a little rocky about this whole situation this past week, but I want you to understand that we really want you to truly become a part of this family."

"I-I get it." Issei said with a small smile. "While it was hard to accept that I'm different, especially under the circumstances on how I was resurrected, but I'm come to like you all. You are genuine good people." Issei did like how his relationship with his fellow peerage members was headed, but he still had his doubts and didn't fully trust them. However, they didn't need to know that.

"Good. I'm glad you see us in that light." Rias said with a smile.

Everyone's attention was brought to the teleportation seal that appeared in the room. Lee, wearing his usual green jumpsuit, and his eyes were filled with excitement.

"Hello, hello, hello! The Beautiful Green Beast is back with exciting news!" Lee said as he started to do jumping jacks.

"Oh… Lee. It's nice to see you." Rias said with an awkward smile as she watched the boy do jumping jacks. He really was a training freak, but Rias could only wince as she thought back on the beat down he gave her, Koneko, and Kiba.

"We should kill him now while he's not looking." Koneko whispered to Kiba, to which he sweat dropped at. The small girl still held resentment t for what he did to them at the park. Kiba couldn't lie; for Lee to only be a reincarnated devil for two years, he was very strong.

"Hey, Lee." Issei said with a wave. After Lee opened himself up to Issei a week ago, Issei had an instant respect for Lee for that as well as being able to fight off Rias, a high-class devil, and two of her peerage members. "What's the news?"

"He's here!" Lee said with stars in his eyes. "Another one of master's peerage members is here! And he's amazing!"

"Oh, really?" Rias said with a raised eyebrow. "Well, will we be able to meet this person?"

"Yes, yes! He's coming now! I'll go get him. Don't move anywhere!" and with that, Lee disappeared again.

"Have you met Lee before, Issei?" asked Rias as she noticed that Issei seemed to be somewhat familiar with the beast.

"Yeah… he showed me the place where he buried Yuuma's body…" Issei muttered as he looked down at his tea. Her death really hurt him. He felt like he wasn't strong at all and couldn't protect her from the dangers of the world. Her happy face would still haunt his dreams and he would always blame Rias for her death.

Rias and Akeno both frowned at the boy. They knew that Yuuma's death and how Rias reincarnated him really made Issei feel like he couldn't trust them. The only thing they could do now was help him, and overtime, he'll be a part of the family just like everyone else.

Lee's magical circle appeared again in the middle of the room. Every watched in anticipation who Lee would bring with him, however, everyone was confused when Lee appeared by himself.

"Uh, Lee… Where is your guest you said you'd bring?" Kiba asked.

"Huh? I thought he was here with me… Where'd he go? I hope he didn't get lost." Lee said as he scratched his head.

Everyone was confused for a while, but suddenly, a massive killer intent flooded the room, freezing everyone except Lee. Rias shuddered in shock as a snake appeared from behind her seat and slightly beneath her neck. Akeno wanted to help her [King], but she was also frozen in fear as images her dying in ways she didn't know possible flooded her mind.

Koneko was breathing heavily as she dropped the cookie that she was holding in her hand. Her eyes widen as she thought back to her crazed sister killing her former master in cold-blood. Her red, demonic eyes turned on Koneko and she gasped and tried to shake herself out of the illusion.

Kiba's mind flooded with memories being experimented on as a child to become compatible with the Excalibur while apart of the Holy Sword Project. Watching images of himself and his old friends die in numerous ways; Kiba broke out in a cold sweat as he had a panic attack.

And Issei, who, not too long ago, went thought the experience of his life, was in an illusion of Rias killing Yuuma over and over. He wanted to help her, but he was held down by snakes. He cried as he tried to get free, but he could only watch as Rias laughed as she sent her Power of Destruction at a crying Yuuma.

Rias, who gained a little of her senses back, looked behind her to see a very pale man with long black hair. He had eyes and fangs like a serpent, and his tongue was extremely long. The snake that just above her breast hissed at her, flashing its fangs that were dripping with purple venom.

"Rias Gremory…" the man said with a smooth voice as he looked at her with a creepy, malicious smile. "It's nice to meet you. Lee has told me a lot about you…"

The red head Gremory couldn't response as the snake on her slowly wrapped itself around her neck, as if it wanted her to fight back.

"You know… it's not nice to sit there and just look at me. Introduce yourself to me." He said as he snapped his fingers. The **KI** that once filled the room instantly disappeared. Akeno dropped to her knees and hugged herself in fright. Kiba and Koneko were in similar position only they were on the couch instead of the floor.

Issei, however, was still frozen. Yuuma's smiling face was still on his mind and he couldn't get her out of his mind.

' _I couldn't protect her…'_ tears started to fill Issei's eyes. _'I couldn't do anything to save her.'_

Rias finally had the strength to speak to the snake man behind her. "Who… who are you?"

The pale man smirked before answering, "I am Orochimaru, a [Pawn] to my master that will serve him until the end of time."

The snake around Rias' neck hissed once more before retreating into Orochimaru's sleeve. He was wearing a plain grey garb with a black shirt underneath and black pants that had bandages around his calves.

He ran a finger down Rias' cheek, which made her eyes widen even more in fear now that he actually touched her. He smirked again before removing himself from behind her chair and towards Lee.

Lee looked at the panicking devils and frowned at Orochimaru's antics. "Orochimaru… should you really have done that?" asked the boy with a head tilt. He was also slightly scared of the snake-man, but he knew that Orochimaru wouldn't do anything to permanently hurt them.

"Eh…" Orochimaru said with a head shrug and raised hands. "I just wanted to introduce myself to them. I am their new chemistry teacher, after all."

"Well… I guess…" Lee muttered, unsure if what he did was okay.

"I'll be seeing you all in class!" Orochimaru said with a wave and an evil chuckle as he and Lee left the building. "Make sure you study, because my class won't be easy to pass, hhmm?"

 **I know, I know, I should have updated this earlier.**

 **I Pm a couple of you that I would update this story this weekend but I flew out to Chicago and I had to handle some business. It took up a lot of time.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I went deeper into Lee's character and introduced Orochimaru. Also, the relationship between Issei and Rias will be different in this Fanfiction than it is in the anime.**

 **I wanted Lee's injuries to reflect how they were in the anime, but… more serious. If you really thought about it, putting Lee in a real life scenario like how we live, I feel that this is how Lee would be and how the accident could destroy his life was probable cause for him to become a devil.**

 **I'M STILL LOOKING FOR A BETA! JUST LETTING YOU KNOW BECAUSE I DON'T FEEL LIKE PROOFREADING THIS MESS!**

 **Another thing: I think I know what to do with the pairing now.**

 **The final two girls are Gabriel and Kuroka. However, because my lifestyle reflects in my work, there will only be one to be officially with Naruto. So I'm planning something that will happen in the upcoming chapters, because I've already chosen who will be paired up with Naruto, however, I'm going to take the upcoming chapters to explain why Naruto will be with the lucky lady.**

 **My story is very woke and realistic (well, as realistic a story where a boy can draw powers from a girls' boobs can get) and I will put these two girls in different situation to show which one would be better off with Naruto. If you have ideas, private message me or review your thoughts. I'll be reading everything in the morning and I'll reply to some of you.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	4. TheKing'sAdvisor

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, watching Bob's Burgers with a root beer in one hand and some nun chunks in the other.**

 **A lot of yall are really passionate about the Gabriel/Kuroka pairing and its really stressful because I know which one I'm going to chose and a lot of people may be disappointed in which pairing I chose. However, I hope that you all continue to support this story cause it's doing numbers, big numbers.**

 **BreakThrough officially has more views than Cursed Chakra has!**

 **I made Cursed Chakra has been up for more than three years, while BreakThrough has only been on this website for about three weeks. The support is amazing and I hope you continue to read, follow, fav, and review.**

 **The updates will be coming in at least once a week because I'm on vacation and typing up a story wasn't what I call a 'vacation activity', however, I do like typing for you all but I have to make time for my family I haven't seen in years, but please believe that I won't be abandoning this story, no sirrr. This is too good to be abandoned and I'll keep on typing up for you all to enjoy.**

 **Enough of that, lets get onto the story.**

 **Beta: LaDdraig**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheKing'sAdvisor**

 **Kuoh Academy**

 **Monday: two days after meeting Orochimaru**

"Hello class. My name is Orochimaru Tsuki, however, you shall to refer to me as either 'Mr. Tsuki' or 'Dr. Tsuki'. I will be your new chemistry teacher since your old chemistry teacher suddenly died some type of poison. Nobody knows who did it…fufufu…"

Orochimaru was standing in front of his new class in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He had a briefcase sitting on his desk. The snake man was very skilled in the field of chemistry and was honored to take on the role as the new teacher.

"If you have any questions, please, don't hesitate to ask." Orochimaru said with a smile and a head tilt. "Let it be about me or anything else. I want you all to be comfortable around me."

Orochimaru's slitted eyes moved to two students in particular: Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. The two shuddered at the snake man looking at them with mischievous eyes. He knew that they feared him and was taking advantage of that with every movement.

One of the girls slowly raised her hand and Orochimaru gave her the okay to speak. "Uhm… I don't mean to be rude…but…uhh.. wh-why is your skin s-so pale?"

A question that the whole class wanted to know, everyone paid close attention to what their new teacher was going to say.

Orochimaru smiled a little before answering. "I know that it may seem weird to see someone with such pale skin, and your question wasn't rude at all since I am asked that a lot." Orochimaru said to girl. "Does anyone know of the atomic bomb that hit Nagasaki some time ago?"

"Yes." said one of the male students with glasses. "The United States used two atomic bombs on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima towards the end of World War II, which was one of the main deciding factors in Japen's surrender."

"Correct. Smart child." Orochimaru said. "Well, this attack happened while my grandparents were still alive. I know you all are sure of the after effects from that attack, I presume?" he asked. "There are children today that still carry birth defects from the chemicals that entered their parents' bodies. My defect that I was born with is my pale skin. It's not contagious if you are wondering." Orochimaru said with a light chuckle.

Rias raised her eye at Orochimaru's action. This wasn't the demon that they met two days ago. He seemed to be more light-hearted and was an actually nice person. And his back-story was also very interesting to the red head. His family was affected by the chemicals from the bomb attack of World War II? Maybe that meant that his family wasn't from devil heritage, meaning that he was a human reincarnated as a devil at some point.

Another student raised their hand and Orochimaru gave them the signal to speak. "Why do you teach? Was it a dream of yours?"

"At first, it wasn't." Orochimaru said. "But after learning everything that I know about the scientific world, I felt like it was my duty to pass on my knowledge to the youth of the world so that they can advance in places we, 'humans', haven't reached yet."

The devils in the room caught how he said humans and it made them even more suspicious of the man. Two of the other devils in the room, Sona Sitri (whose alias is Shitori Sona) and Tsubaki Shinri, another [King] and [Queen] duo in the school, made note to make sure that the man wasn't up to anything bad.

"I have a question, Dr. Tsuki." Sona said with a raised hand. Her eyes held seriousness to them as she looked him eye-to-eye. "Where were you born?"

"Hmm… I was born in Kyoto. My parents moved there after they married and that's where I spent… most… of my childhood."

Sona squinted her eyes in suspicion as she inspected the grinning man. Oh, they were going to have to have a loonngg talk.

"Now then!" Orochimaru said with a clap as he faced his students. "I studied up on where you previously were and we'll start there today. Please open your textbooks to page 131…"

During the whole class, the four female devils kept their eyes on the dangerous man as he taught his class without a care in the world. They knew that he was aware of their stares, but he only seemed to smirk at them and carried on teaching his class, which irritated them even further. He was playing with them! Rias and Akeno had informed Sona and Tsubaki what he had did to them a few days ago and made sure to keep their guard up whenever they were around him.

After an hour of teaching, the bell rang, signaling that the students were to change classes. However, before the class left, Orochimaru had an announcement.

"Will Rias Gremory, Shitori Sona, Akeno Himejima, and Tsubaki Shinri please stay after the bell? There's something I'd like to say to you all."

The young devils nodded but held their fear as they watched their classmates slowly file out the room, leaving them with a now smirking Orochimaru. Rias and Akeno readied their magic, prompting the other two to do the same.

Orochimaru sighed and spoke, "Calm down. I don't plan on doing anything to you." He said as he put a hand on his forehead and shook his head in disapproval.

"Why should we believe you?" Akeno asked with a glare. "After what you did to us two days ago, do you really think that we should actually trust you?"

"I didn't say you should trust me." Orochimaru said with a glare towards Akeno, which made her shudder in fear. "All I want is for you all to know that I'm not the enemy. While what I did a few days ago was too much, something I wish to apologize for, all I want you to know is that I'm not going to hurt you. However, if it is prompted that you all try to attack me…"

The floorboards started to creek as Orochimaru released his **KI**. It wasn't as strong as before, but it was enough to put fear in the young devils' hearts.

He stopped his **KI** outage and smiled at the devils. "I want to hold a meeting with all of you to discuss things further. Maybe after school? Around 4 p.m. would be great. I would like to have it in the student council room since I haven't seen it yet.

The female devils looked at each other, as if having a mental conversation that Orochimaru couldn't hear. Rias sighed and turned back to the snake man.

"That'll be acceptable. After school at 4. We'll meet at the Student Council Room."

"Great. Now, you are all dismissed." Orochimaru said with a smile and a wave. Nodding at their teacher, the group slowly made their way out of his classroom and into the hallway.

"We need to prepare." Sona said to Rias.

"Agreed." The red-head said simply as they made their way down the hallway. They didn't trust the man at all and they needed to be ready for any shady acts he may pull.

 **After school**

 **Occult Research Club**

Rias sat at her desk, Akeno behind her, a scowl on her face, as she looked at her peerage… with one member missing.

"Where is Issei?" Rias asked, her voice holding no playfulness to it. She wanted her full peerage to be present at the meeting and having Issei gone lowered their battle power if something were to go down during the meeting.

"I don't know, Buchou." Kiba said. "I saw him earlier, but I don't know where he is now."

"Damn it…" she muttered to herself as she put her hand on her forehead in stress. Now she had to make the decision on either letting Issei skip the meeting or sacrifice another peerage member in order to find the boy.

 _'If I were to send someone to find him, it would have to be either Koneko or Kiba.'_ She thought. _'However, it would seem odd and disrespectful to appear at the meeting without a full peerage. There's also the fact that Issei may do something rash during the meeting, which may put us on Orochimaru's bad side. And by what he did to us a few days ago, making me feel utterly powerless, that's something that we don't need right now.'_

"Have you come to a decision, Rias?" Akeno asked her best friend.

Rias sighed as she looked back at Akeno. "We'll have to leave Issei to his own devices. This meeting is more important right now and I need everything right. I'll have to punish him later for his absence, but for now, we'll prepare mentally to meeting that man again." she said.

Everyone agreed, understanding the importance of the meeting that was going to happen in under an hour's time. However, there was one question on everyone's mind…

Where was the Red Dragon pervert?

 **Kuoh**

"So you're supposed to go to the church, right?" asked our perverted friend as he looked down at a blonde nun walking next to him.

Asia Argento, a nun to the Roman Catholic Church, smiled at Issei as she nodded at him. After he witnessed her healing a young boy's injury and telling him that he was lost, he offered to show her to the church she desperately needed to help.

"Yes!" she answered with a smile. "I was told that there was a church here in town, but I've been looking for hours and got lost."

"Eh, it's understandable." Issei said as he crossed his arms behind his head. "You're new in town. I'm surprised the church would allow a girl to come out here alone by herself. That's a little dangerous if you ask me."

"Oh, no worries." Asia reassured. "I'm glad that I was deployed out here. I've wanted to visit Japan for such a long time now…"

"Well, maybe one day I can show you around?" asked Issei.

Asia gave Issei an innocent smile that made his heart flutter slightly. "Sure! I'd like that."

Issei gave Asia his own smile in response. The girl held an aura of happiness around her that was impossible to avoid. He was going to make sure that she got to the church safely.

 _'I couldn't protect her… I couldn't do anything to save her…'_

Issei halted in his steps as his eyes suddenly widen in fear. Those were the same words that he thought to himself when Orochimaru filled his whole being in fear with just a glance. Asia's smiling face kinda reminded him of Yuuma's… her smiling… beautiful face.

"Mr. Issei?" Asia said as she looked at the boy in concern. He suddenly stopped walking and stared off in space. She hoped that he was okay.

Issei heard Asia's voice, which brought him back to reality.

"Oh… I'm sorry!" he said frantically. "I just spaced off for no reason and-

"It's okay, Mr. Issei." Asia said with another smile, which put Issei's mind at ease, but only a little bit.

"Now let's get you to that church." Issei said as he put some pep in his step.

"Yes!" Asia said as she followed the reincarnated devil down the road.

 **Student Council Room – 4 p.m.**

Orochimaru stood in front of the doors of the Student Council Room with Lee right behind him. Orochimaru was back to wearing his regular garbs and thick purple rope tied around his waist, while Lee was in his usual tracksuit.

"Now, Lee," Orochimaru said while looking back at the younger boy, "I know that we haven't known each other for long, but I've come to like your presence. It's better than being alone these last couple of years and I'm glad to have met another peerage member."

"Likewise, Orochimaru!" Lee said excitedly. While the man had his scary moments, Lee had come to respect the man after these last few days with him.

"Now, this meeting is very important, so I'll do most of the talking. You'll sit beside me and make sure to conduct yourself accordingly, alright?" Orochimaru asked with a genuine smile.

"Yes sir!" Lee gave the snake man a thumbs up, something Orochimaru gained accustom to over the last couple of days. He nodded back at Lee before pushing the doors open.

The Student Council Room looked similar to the Occult Research Club, however, Sona had the couches in the room set in a triangular position. Sona, sipping some of the tea her [Queen] prepared earlier, was sitting on a couch by herself with her peerage behind her. Rias sat similar to Sona, her peerage waiting patiently for the meeting to start.

Orochimaru and Lee approached the couch that was facing both Rias and Sona and sat down. Orochimaru crossed one leg over the other as he sat down, while Lee just sank into the couch without any pleasantries.

"Tsubaki, may you please fetch Orochimaru and Lee some tea for them to enjoy during this meeting?" asked Sona. Tsubaki nodded her hand as she rolled a small cart next to the two male devils and handed them two teacups.

"Thank you very much." Lee said with a smile, while Orochimaru didn't say anything to thank Tsubaki.

"You're welcome." Tsubaki said with a small smile, but she was a little mad that Orochimaru didn't say anything.

"Now that you two have your tea," said Rias as she set her cup down. "It's time for this meeting to start. I have a lot of questions for you two and I need answers."

"Sounds like your demanding answers out of me." Orochimaru said with a laugh as he set his tea cup down. "Please tell me how you're going to do that, fufufu…"

"Please," Sona said with a serious face, "this meeting should be peaceful. We don't need anyone lashing out on each other."

"Ah, well, I'm sure that some of you don't know who I am, so introductions are in order." Orochimaru said as he stood up and gave the younger devils a bow. "My name is Orochimaru. I am a [Pawn] of my master and I'll serve him until the ends of time."

"Uh…" Lee stood up as well and copied Orochimaru's action. "My name is Lee! Also known as the Beautiful Green Beast! I'm a [Rook] piece to my master's peerage! Please! Let's become friends!"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at Lee's introduction but kept his thoughts to himself. "Now, will you all introduce yourselves as well?"

"Of course." Rias said as she stood up and flatten out her skirt. "I am Rias Gremory, [King] of my peerage. Akeno Himejima is my [Queen], Kiba Yuuto is my [Knight], and Koneko Toujou is my [Rook]. It is a pleasure." She said with a bow.

"Hmm… where is Issei at? Will he be able to attend, Rias?" asked Lee.

"Well… Issei won't be attending. I guess he forgot to come today. My apologies."

"No problem. I'll talk to him soon and inform him on what he missed out on!" Lee said with a thumbs up.

"Seems like I'm last." Sona said with a sigh as she stood up as well. "My name is Sona Sitri, however, my alias in the human world is Shitori Sona. My [Queen] is Tsubaki Shinra, who you've already met. My two [Bishops] are Momo Hanakai and Reya Kusaka. Tomoe Meguri is my [Knight] and Tsubasa Yura is my [Rook] and my two [Pawns] are Grenshirou Saji and Ruruko Nimura. We hope that this meeting will be beneficial for everyone." She said with a light bow, her peerage following her lead.

"Your alias here in human world is Shitori Sona?" Orochimaru said with a creepy chuckle. "I'd say you should have kept your real name because that isn't hiding anything from a supernatural being."

"I'm not trying to hide, Orochimaru." Sona said as she sipped her tea. "I decided that when I came here to the human world, I didn't want my actual devil name on any records. It was my selflessness that made the decision to keep the anything related to devils off of anything human records."

"Hmm… good answer." Orochimaru said.

"I know, plus, if anyone from any faction were looking for me…" she sent a glare right at the snake man. "I'd gladly take up any issue they have."

"Oh hoho." laughed Orochimaru. "You really are a smart one, aren't you?" Orochimaru laced his fingers together and leaned forward. "It seems you already have a problem with me, so please, state your worries."

"For one, I don't like how you introduced yourself to Rias a few days ago." Sona said with a small glare. "It isn't right for you to barge into someone's territory and presenting yourself as a menace. Very disrespectful, if you ask me." She finished as she looked at Orochimaru accusingly.

"Oh, that?" Orochimaru said with a fake smile. "I did that because I thought that the daughter of a Maou would be stronger and could handle some of my KI. However, it seemed like she and her peerage couldn't handle it. I did say I was sorry for my actions earlier, but I was really disappointed in their reaction."

A scowl slowly grew on Rias' face as Orochimaru continued to disgrace her peerage. She considered herself and her peerage strong, even after the beating that Lee gave them. She knew that they had room for improvement, but she wasn't going to let this man act better than them.

"I don't care how you feel about me, but I'm not going to let you casually talk down on my peerage. We have our own problems that we got through together and we are still growing in strength every day. While you thought we should have endured your **KI** , you should be glad that you weren't charged in threatening someone of my status and thrown in jail." Rias countered.

"If you keep that same mindset, you'll be weak for the rest of your life." Orochimaru said with a sideways glance at Rias, whose eyes widen at Orochimaru's statement. "If you keep on thinking that someone else will solve your problems, you'll never be able solve them by yourself. I don't care who you are or what your status is, you've been pampered into thinking that your power comes from your rank, but we all know that's not true."

Rias' glare was growing in intensity as Orochimaru continued speaking. "Lee told me of the battle he had with you, along with your [Rook] and [Knight]. While I do not know how long those two have been devils, I do know that Lee has been a devil for about two years now, if I am correct." After receiving a nod from Lee, Orochimaru continued. "Reincarnated humans start off as low-class devils. So, you, Rias Gremory, a high-class devil, was thwarted by a two-year low-class devil with the support of two of your peerage members. While Lee does consider that you all won the battle, it isn't a good look to be pushed to such ends by a rookie devil now, hmmm?" explained Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru…" muttered Lee, catching the creep's attention. Lee didn't like the direction of the conversation and was slowly getting uncomfortable with the growing tension in the atmosphere.

Orochimaru sighed as he understood what Lee was getting at. While he enjoyed egging at the Gremory princess, he wasn't going to do it if it made Lee uncomfortable.

"Nevertheless, you understand where I'm coming from and if you really are the heiress of the Gremory Clan, you should act like it for once in your life." said Orochimaru.

Rias growled at Orochimaru as her magic was actively moving inside of her in response to her anger. Everyone in the room felt it, but her magic grew even more aggressive when she saw Orochimaru's calm smile. He wasn't even scared of her! The disrespect he has shown her was getting to her and she was going to show him who was boss.

"I'll show what being the heiress to Gremory really means!" Rias yelled at Orochimaru as she stood up. Everyone, other than Orochimaru and Lee, readied for the fight that was about to break out.

"Rias! Calm down!" Sona said with every bit of seriousness she had. "All you're doing is proving his point! This is a peaceful meeting and you shouldn't let his words get to you!"

Rias took a few deep breaths as she took in Sona words. _'I am acting out… I need to calm down…'_ she thought to herself as she recalled her magic. Akeno had a hand on Rias' shoulder to make sure she was okay. Rias gave Akeno a quick nod, letting her know that she was good, and sat back down on her couch. All while this happened, Orochimaru was smiling to himself.

 _'Seems like I hit a weak point.'_ Thought Orochimaru. _'And while I do have an extra dirt on her, I need some type of information on the Sitri girl that I could use for my advantage later on.'_

"Now that that's resolved," Orochimaru said as he was now the center of attention, "I know you all have some questions about me and Lee. While I can't answer them all, I'll try my best to answer anything my master has deemed okay to inform you two."

"I have a question." Sona said to Orochimaru. "Rias told me about the battle she and two of her peerage members against Lee." Lee's head perked up at hearing his name. "What I want to know is how did your master know about Issei's Sacred Gear?"

"Good question. You are very analytic on a situation that didn't happen to you. I wish your friend was the same way." Orochimaru said with a quick shot at Rias, however, Rias kept her rage on the inside….for now…

"My master scouts out anyone that catches his eye. He told me that he visited Kuoh about two months ago and felt the presence of a strong Sacred Gear here. He sent Lee to go investigate and see if he could recruit this person as his first major mission of the peerage."

"Correct." Lee chipped in. "Master usually had me either doing small contracts or training most of the day. I was really excited to finally be able to go out and recruit someone to add to master's peerage."

"If your master was in the area two months ago, why didn't we feel his energy or why didn't he reveal himself to us?" asked Sona.

"Master is a very secretive person." Orochimaru said as he laced his fingers together. "When I first met master, he caught me by surprise. Even now, he'll pop up and I won't even know he's there until he says anything. He has a talent in hiding his presence."

"Also, he probably didn't want to reveal himself to you because that'll create extra competition over Issei." Lee added.

"Hmmm… Understandable." Sona summed up. While she wanted more information on their master, they were giving them simple answers that she couldn't build a strong hypothesis on who he was.

"I have a question, specifically for you, Orochimaru." Rias said, holding back a growl. "How many [Pawn] pieces are you worth?"

"My number of evil pieces within me, hmmm…" Orochimaru muttered as he thought the question over. It may reveal an estimate of his master's level of power, but it still wouldn't reveal too much about their master.

"It took 3 [Pawn] pieces to revive me." answered Orochimaru.

Everyone's, other than Lee, jaw dropped at what Orochimaru said. 3 [Pawn] pieces! And he was that strong?!

"Th-that's impossible…" muttered Tsubaki as she felt Orochimaru base magic levels he was letting off. She could tell that he was strong, very strong, but for someone of his strength and potential, it would take a regular high-class devil at least 6 [Pawn] pieces!

 _'Just who is their master?'_ Sona's [Queen] thought to herself as she looked at Orochimaru.

"Just three!" Rias said in shock. She and her peerage felt, first hand, the power that Orochimaru held within him. It would have taken her at least five or six pieces to revive Orochimaru judging off of his strength. "How is that possible? Explain?!"

"There you go demanding answering questions again. I can give you a personal demonstration on how strong I am. That is, if you can handle me." He said with a slick smirk that gave Rias shivers.

"Nevermind… Ju-just explain yourself!" Rias said as she turned away from the snake man, not wanting him to see the fear etched on her face.

"Well, you all do know how Evil Pieces work?" Orochimaru asked. "The stronger the devil is actually reincarnating someone, the smaller the amount of evil pieces needed to bring them back. There are also factors like if the reincarnated person already has a large magic reserve or not, heritage, potential, etc. My master was able to reincarnate me with only 3 [Pawn] pieces because he was strong enough to do so.

"Also, something that I found out about while being a member of my master's peerage. I wasn't born a full human. Apparently, I have some Youkai heritage in me, serpent Youkai, to be more specific. My birth defect that I told you all in class was somewhat a lie. It isn't a birth defect, but it's my bloodline manifesting itself after its dormancy in my family. The bomb's chemical properties helped in manifesting my Youkai blood, giving me my pale skin." He explained.

"Amazing…" muttered Sona as she look at Orochimaru in wonder. This man was strong, she knew that from the fight that he had with Rias, but it almost frightened her thinking about how strong Orochimaru's master was.

"Just who is your master?" asked Sona.

"Sorry, that's a question I cannot answer." said Orochimaru. "Master likes his privacy, but he'll reveal himself when the right conditions are met."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rias.

"My master wants to show off the power of his peerage before he makes his entrance." explained Orochimaru. "He has hand-picked his peerage and knows that we have the power to do things no one has seen before. I'll be the one leading the peerage until my master makes his arrival. I am my King's advisor."

"So your King wants his peerage to show its strength. How will you all do that and who else is in your peerage?" asked Rias.

"Well, the first way we are going to introduce ourselves to the Underworld is by challenging and defeating popular devils in a rating game. We'll keep on sending out challenges until we are recognized for our strength." the snake man explained. "My master's peerage is very strong and we are available for any service that anyone may have. So if you two have any problems that you know you cannot solve yourselves, we are here to help."

Rias eyebrow rose at that? Maybe they can help her with her own problem…

"Before meeting you, Lee said that he hadn't met anyone else from his peerage. Do you know of any others from your peerage?" asked Sona.

"I know most of them, but I haven't met our [Queen] yet." answered Orochimaru.

"We have a [Queen]?!" said an excited Lee. "I bet she's amazing! Super strong, super beautiful, can make fire with her bare hands, can cook protein filled meals, and more!" he shouted.

"Uh… yes… I hope she can do that too." said a deadpanned Orochimaru. "Anyway, I come to you two to let you know that my master's peerage members should be coming here soon to set up base. We'll use this town as our base of operations and we promise to behave ourselves."

"So you think you can just move into our territory without our permission?" said an angry Rias.

"Didn't the Fallen Angels already do that?" asked Orochimaru with a smirk, causing Rias to growl out in anger and embarrassment. "Well, in order to please such high class devils, I'll ask you two politely to allow my master's peerage to hold asylum here in Kuoh. However, even if you say no, we'll still make Kuoh our base of operations. So, do you agree?" asked Orochimaru with a grin filled with evil.

Sona glanced at Rias and saw the anger that filled her face. Sona thought that maybe together, they could have a chance at defeating Orochimaru and Lee, but a peerage filled with monsters as strong as or even stronger than Orochimaru? They were going to have to play this one safe.

"What are you thinking, Rias?" Sona asked out loud.

"I think that we should report this man to our siblings." said Rias with a smile. No matter how strong Orochimaru or his master's peerage was, they couldn't be stronger than Sirzechs.

"Fufufufu… spoken like a true coward." Orochimaru said. "All you're doing is supporting the fact that you aren't a real heiress and can't make decisions on your own. How pathetic."

Rias saw red as she stood up from her seat again. This man was pissing her off to no end!

"You think I'm an incompetent, huh?!" she yelled at the snake man. "I'll show you! You can stay here and you'll be watched by me personally! You won't do anything crazy while here at OUR territory! Remember your place while living here, understood!?" she yelled.

Orochimaru gave Rias a kind smile, knowing he had won the physiological battle. "Why, thank you so much for agreeing to us staying here. I really appreciate it."

Rias snapped out of her rage filled mindset as she realized that she was played. "Shit…"

"Well then, I'll say that this meeting is a success. We shall live here in Kuoh under your rule for now. I promise that we'll keep things to a minimum and help protecting the town. I hope we can have another meeting like this soon." said Orochimaru as he got up from the couch with Lee following his lead.

"Uh..wait. I didn't-"

"Good day." Said Orochimaru as he and Lee headed out the door. "Time to schedule a meeting with Sairaorg Bael." And with that, the two closed the door behind them.

"Wait." said Sona as she stood up from her seat in shock. "Did he say that he's going to meet up with Sairaorg?!"

Rias' eyes also widened at what Orochimaru said. If he was going to meet with her cousin, then it must be because that he wanted to challenge him in the name of his master. Also, Orochimaru was a smart man, so he wouldn't take any challenge he knew he wouldn't win.

 _'If he's confident enough to challenge Sairaorg, then he must be strong enough to defeat Riser…'_

 **Outskirts of Kuoh**

Orochimaru and Lee appeared in front of a large, two story house outside of town. While it wasn't a mansion, something that Rias and Sona were used to living in, the house was big enough to hold several people.

The two entered in silence, thinking back on the meeting they just had with the two heiresses. To Orochimaru, it went just as he planned. While he didn't learn anything major about Sona, his main target, Rias Gremory, fell right into his trap. He knew about her forced marriage situation and specifically expressed how strong his master's peerage was and that they were able to be rented out for services. That way, whenever they need something from the red-head, Orochimaru was sure to exploit her weaknesses for their own cause.

Lee sat down on a couch in the living room while running his hands through his hair in stress. What they did didn't feel right at all. He didn't want to be enemies with the other devils, but with Orochimaru acting the way he was, it wouldn't be long before his new friends will become his new enemies.

"Something troubling you, Lee?" Orochimaru as he crossed his arms.

"I don't know about this, Orochimaru." He said with worry. "Aren't we supposed to make friends with them? Wouldn't that make things easier?"

Orochimaru sighed and took a seat on one of the couches in the room. "Yes, that would make things easier; however, with what we are trying to do, this is one of the few ways we can succeed in our goals."

"What are we trying to do, Orochimaru?!" Lee yelled. "I've been a member for two years, but you're the first person in this peerage I've met and that was just a few days ago!"

Another sigh escaped the snake man's lips. It was unfair that they had waited this long to explain to Lee what was going on. Maybe it was time to-

" _Ex..Explain…to him…_ " said a voice in Orochimaru's head. That voice was the same voice that saved him long ago and he promised to follow his master's every order. Nodding to himself, Orochimaru looked up at Lee's angry face. It was now time to explain everything.

"Lee. You need to know everything." said Orochimaru. Lee eyebrow rose a little. He had always been curious about why his master never shown himself to him, always appearing as a small orange orb that reeked of power.

"Our master is currently in a seal somewhere in this world." He explained, causing Lee's eyes to widen in shock.

"Sealed? How? And why is he like this?" asked Lee.

"Long ago, before either you or I was born, our master was on the frontlines of a civil war of devils. There was the Old Satan Faction, who wanted to keep traditions alive, and the Anti-Satan Faction, a group of devils opposing the old, wanting to move on from old traditions and bring about new ones, like the Evil Piece System. The war lasted several years, yet our master fought and lived to see the end. He was one of the more memorable devils in the battle because of the power he displayed during the fight."

"Really?" said Lee in wonder. If their master was able to live through such a war, he had to be stronger than what Lee had once thought.

"However, there were some complications during the war, dealing with ranking in the devil society. Even the Anti-Satan Faction, who was fighting against the evil Old Faction, had its own evils to deal with." said Orochimaru.

"Are those same evils the reason why he was sealed?" asked Lee.

"Yes. You may not know this, but our master was born a low-class devil in the Bael Clan." He said. "Born Naruto Bael, our master made his way up the ranks during the war, but he was still a low-class devil. One thing the nobles didn't like that our master did was show up their children during the war. However, the thing that had the devil world angry was that Naruto-sama was dating a young devil from the Sitri Clan, Serafall Sitri, the heiress to the Sitri clan…"

Lee squinted his eyes as he listened to Orochimaru's tale. He knew where this was going. "Naruto-sama loved her a lot, but she had her own duties to her clan that she put before Naruto-sama. They were demanded to separate after the war, but they stayed together. Sick of waiting, the leader of the Sitri Clan called to remove Naruto-sama out of the picture by force. He ordered some of his clansmen, and got help from other clans, to put Naruto-sama away in a seal. He showed him mercy because he meant a lot to his daughter, but he didn't want her to be involved with him any longer."

"So they sealed him up somewhere we don't know." Lee assumed, getting a nod of confirmation from Orochimaru. "Okay, that explains a lot, but there are still questions I have. One being: how does Naruto-sama have an Evil Pieces in the first place? Your story tells me that he is still a low-class devil while in his seal. So how does he have a peerage?"

"That… is a good question…" muttered Orochimaru as he rubbed his chin. How does their master have an Evil Piece set when he is still a low-class devil? "I don't know how he cheated the system, or even if he cheated it at all. I did say that he was marvelous in the civil war. Maybe he was offered it then…but we would have known about that… I would have known about that because of all the research I've done on him…"

"Well, we'll figure it out some other day." said Lee. "Let's get back into the main reason why we're here. So Naruto-sama is sealed by high-class devils. The question now is how do we get him out?"

"That question, fortunately, has been answered by Naruto-sama himself. Before he was sealed, he killed some of those who conducted the sealing process, weakening the strength of his jail. That's how he's been able to create his peerage while still in his seal. Our master's mind must be strong to handle the struggle of being stuck in seal for centuries, planning his escape everyday and making his peerage strong. Naruto-sama is as cunning as he is patient."

"And doing this while nobody knows you're alive…" muttered Lee. "I don't know how he could do it. I'd go crazy stuck in something, by myself, for centuries… He must be lonely."

"And that's why we're going to save him soon." said Orochimaru. "There is a way to release him of his predicament."

"How?" Lee simply asked.

"Blood." muttered Orochimaru. "By gaining enough blood from the clans of the devils who created the seal for Naruto-sama, we will be able to save him from his suffering."

"Blood…" muttered Lee. He had seen is fair share of blood, thinking back of the car wreck he had with his late sensei. "So we need blood. Who do we get it from… and how?"

"According to Naruto-sama, there were three clans of devils present during the sealing: Gremory, Sitri, and Bael."

"WHAT!" shouted Lee as he jumped from his seat in anger, "The Bael Clan helped this happen?! How could they do this to their own clansmen?"

"They didn't like how strong Naruto-sama was becoming." muttered Orochimaru as he ran his hand through his long hair. "The leader of the Bael Clan didn't produce any heirs back then and didn't want someone like Naruto messing anything up.

"And the Gremory and Sitri? While I understand the Sitri, but why would the Gremory benefit from this?"

"That's another question I can't answer…" Orochimaru said in spite. He wishes he had the answer to everything, but he was also uncomfortably in the dark with that question.

"Well… we know the clan we need to get the blood from, now who do we get it from?" Lee asked.

"There are three candidates for the task. Three that I have researched thoroughly and I know there weakness." said Orochimaru as he took out three pictures from his pocket and set them on the coffee table in the middle of the room. "These three are: Rias Gremory, Sona Sitri, and Sairaorg Bael. The blood has to be from high-class devils from the same clans as those who made the seal in order for this to work."

"Al..alright… how are we doing this?" asked Lee. He didn't like that Rias was among the selected few, but it had to be done in order to free the man that had done so much for him.

"First up is Sairaorg Bael." said Orochimaru as he pointed to his picture. "He is the heir to the Bael Clan, however, he doesn't get along with his father, Lord Bael. Born without the Power of Destruction, he and his mother were shunned away from the clan, both now living on the countryside of the Bael territory. His mother, Misla Bael, has taken care of Sairaorg, helping him train in order to become as strong as he is now. He is one of the strongest young devils, if not, the strongest, but still doesn't have a noble status like how a high-class devil should. We'll use his love for his mother against him."

"How?" asked Lee. "We can't just ask for his blood like that. We need some other type of edge against him."

"And that edge is the Rating Game system." answered Orochimaru. "The Rating Game is one of the best ways for a devil to be recognized for their strength in the Underworld. He loves competing in them and has a good record. We'll challenge him to a Rating Game. We'll offer any reward that he wants if he wins, and he'll ask for something that relates to his mother. I'm sure he will ask something like that because of researching and observing the two. He'll want to help his mother in any way possible. If we win, which we shall, then we will receive our award: a pint of his blood."

"And the backup plan if this doesn't work?" asked Lee.

"The original plan will succeed, even if we need to tweak it a little. " Orochimaru said. "Misla knows that she was one of the reasons why Naruto disappeared. She is one of the few at the top that doesn't know what happened to Naruto, but I've heard she regrets it, especially now that Serafall is a Satan. Their original plan of getting rid of Naruto was for nothing because once a devil becomes a Satan; they renounce their clan in to prove that they are loyal to all devils and not just one clan. Ever since then, Misla felt like she broke up something that could have been special. If our first plan to attack Sairaorg fails, we can lean on her for support."

"Alright, sounds good." Lee said. He rubbed his chin as he looked at the last two. "But what about these two?"

"Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri, the heiresses we just met not too long ago." Orochimaru said as he picked up their photos. "The two of them will fall together in my plan, and most of it leans on Rias Gremory."

"How do you plan on doing that?" asked Lee.

"Something that I found out about through my research is that Rias is in an arranged marriage with Riser Phenex, a man she does not want to marry. She has expressed herself to her parents to stop the marriage, but they both believe that they should get married in order to preserve pure-blooded devils. Rias disagrees with the notion and wants to break off the marriage, but she isn't strong enough to do so. That's where we come in.

"We'll offer our service to her to disable the marriage with a Rating Game. Riser Phenex, an arrogant man that is used to getting what he wants, will take up our challenge. According to his behavior, he'll take up any opportunity to destroy and humiliate anyone to make himself look better." explained Orochimaru.

"So we beat him in a Rating Game and as a price for our service, both Rias and Sona will give up their blood." finished Lee.

"Correct. Sona and Rias are best friends, and it pains Sona to watch from the sidelines to what Rias is going through. If there is a way for her to help, she'll do it."

"I see Rias giving up her blood in order for this to happen, but what if Sona doesn't consent with our price. I'm not trying to make fun of Rias, but Sona is clearly the smarter one of the two. She'll believe something is amiss." explained Lee.

"Right again, Lee. If that happens, then we'll go to the one that started it all: Serafall Leviathan." Orochimaru said with anger. Ever since he found out what she did to his master, he always held a strong hatred in his heart for her. "We'll tell her everything that we know and use her guilt against her. She'll offer up her own blood to save her past lover. However Naruto-sama takes that, it doesn't matter to me, will be his choice, but hopefully he isn't overwhelmed with her decision if this happens."

Lee rubbed his legs as he thought over everything that Orochimaru explained to him. It was a plan that he couldn't have thought up himself, and Lee was impressed that Orochimaru's intelligence was this vast. If everything folded together, this plan may work…

"This… this can work… This can really work!" shouted Lee in excitement. If they followed the plan, then they really could free their master!

"Yes, it can. All we need now is our peerage members with us." said Orochimaru.

"How are we going to do that?" asked Lee.

Orochimaru gave Lee one of his trademark smirks as he set both of his palms on the floor. A blue magical seal appeared on the floor. Lee watched as Orochimaru put extra concentration into the seal and then Orochimaru spoke into the it,

"Now's the time, everyone… we are in Kuoh, Japan… It's time for Naruto Bael's peerage to meet for the first time in history."

 **Somewhere in the Underworld**

The red sea that filled a lot of the Underworld was calm during a sunny day. While most devils don't step outside their territory and what they are used to, many Extra Devils locate elsewhere, in lands that are far away from the major territories of devil society. The red sea acted as a border of society, giving the extra demons peace and quietness.

Out of the red sea, shark fins breached out of the water. The fins were larger than sharks in the human world, each fin being at least ten feet tall. The demonic sharks were moving in slow circles, almost hypnotically.

A man slowly appeared out of the water on top of one of the large sharks. Wearing an all black cloak and a sword covered in bandages, and devilish grin appeared on his face.

"I guess now's the time, eh? I was starting to get hungry anyway…"

 **Sydney, Australia**

"Stupid humans…" muttered a boy as he was relaxing in a beach chair. The boy was watching a group of kids burying a fat man that fell asleep on his beach towel, with an ice cone in his hand, under the sand. They were trying to hold back their laughter as the fat man didn't have any idea what was going on.

The boy moved his attention to another group of people; a family setting up their beach items together. The mother and daughter were helping set up the picnic they had prepared before hand, while the little boy and father was setting down the beach towels and an umbrella for shade.

"Hmph." The boy said with a small smirk as he closed his eyes and went back to relaxing. He was on vacation finally. Dealing with his twin brother and his fiancé really took a lot of energy.

"Maybe I can stay here longer than planned." He muttered to himself. Sensing that no one was watching him, he raised his hand up and produced a flame in his hand. He stared at it for a while before he looked up at the clouds.

 _"Now's the time, everyone… we are in Kuoh, Japan… It's time for Naruto Bael's peerage to meet for the first time in history."_

The boy sighed as he stood up, revealing his long black hair. He was shirtless and was wearing red shorts and black sandals. He folded his beach chair and set his umbrella on his shoulder and slowly made his way out of the beach. Behind him, a large, red, monster appeared, transparent to human eyes.

"I can never get a break…" he muttered as he continued his streak out of the beach.

 **Los Angeles, California**

 **Guitar Center**

 _"Now's the time, everyone… we are in Kuoh, Japan… It's time for Naruto Bael's peerage to meet for the first time in history."_

A young boy jumped out of his sleep as he heard the voice. Registering who it the voice came from, the boy sighed as he rubbed the back of his head in stress.

"Not now… I was doing good on paying bills…" he muttered as he removed his orange headphones from over his ears. He was currently in Guitar Center's break room and he fell asleep while listening to music. He wiped the drool that came from the side of his mouth as he stood up from his seat.

He was about to leave the break room, but a older man entered the room. The boy halted as he saw his boss, Ryan, enter the room.

"Yoh!" said Ryan with a smile. "Your breaks over."

"Heyyyyyyyyy, Ryan." Yoh dragged out the 'hey' with anxiety. "What's going on?"

"You alright, Yoh?" asked Ryan.

"Yeah… uh… sorry to tell you this… but I'm going to have to quit."

"QUIT!" shouted the man, making Yoh wince at the level of vowel. "Why do you want to quit? You've done so well here! I was just going to say that you are going to be the Employee of the Month!" shouted Ryan as he showed Yoh a plague with his face and name on it.

"I do want that plague…" Yoh slobbered out the mouth as he looked at the award. It was something that he was working towards for a couple of months now. 'If that's really mine, then I get the premium parking spot behind the shop!'

Yoh shook his head, getting those thoughts out of his head. He had to go, and he had to go now. "Sorry, Ryan, but this is must."

"Is Anna making you do it?" asked Ryan?

"Uh… Yeah! Yes she is! You know how much she hates my job. She wants me to have a 'grown man job'." Yoh said.

"But this is a grown man job!" Ryan fought back. He wanted to keep his favorite employee.

"Sorry, Ryan, but this is it." Yoh said.

"What if I increased your pay to 16 dollars a-

"16 DOLLARS AN HOUR!" shouted Yoh as dollar signs flashed in his eyes. That was a lot of money that sounded pretty good to Yoh. Maybe he could get away with this one…

"No… wait… I can't…" muttered Yoh. He had to get to Anna, who was probably resting at their house. "Something has popped up and I can't keep this job."

"Assistant Manager!" shouted Ryan. "You can be Assistant Manager if you stay!"

"Oh my…. Sweet baby… I've always wanted to be an Assistant Manager…" muttered Yoh.

"And I'll throw in classic records that I know you want to add to your collection!"

"Exclusive classic records!" shouted Yoh. "You've got a- no wait… I can't accept. I'm sorry, Ryan, but I must go."

"Noooo!" shouted Ryan as he held onto Yoh's legs as he tried to leave the building. Customers were watching the scene, weirded out that a grown man was trying to hold back a young boy.

"This is going to take a while…" muttered Yoh as he continued to streak to his car.

 **Hollywood Hills**

A young blonde girl was sitting in a chair inside a large mansion. The mansion's decoration was Japanese orientated, and the girl in a traditional, red kimono with sakura petals decorating it. She was reading a magazine with her feet in the chair, scrunched up comfortably and in silence.

 _"Now's the time, everyone… we are in Kuoh, Japan… It's time for Naruto Bael's peerage to meet for the first time in history."_

Suddenly, the magazine was torn into, revealing the girl's angry face.

"Why now, all of a sudden…" she muttered as she threw the separate pieces of the magazine behind her. A smart phone beside her started to ring, the caller I.d. reading 'Idiot Babe'.

"Hello." She answered with a little bit of anger in her tone.

"Hey, Anna." said Yoh. "Did you get the message that the snake man sent?"

"Yeah, I just heard it." She muttered quietly. "What are you doing? What's all that noise in the background?"

"Well… I'm trying to leave because I quit, but Ryan won't let me. OW! Let go of me, damn it! I said I'm done!" said Yoh, shouting at his manager.

"Put Ryan on the phone."

"Eh, what was that dear?" asked Yoh.

"I said put Ryan On THe DAMN PHONE!"

"….. Here Ryan…"

"…Helloooooo….." said Ryan.

"Release my future husband now before I show up to where you live and I'll kill you and your family. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Ryan said in fear.

"Good. Now put Yoh back on the phone."

"…..y'ello…"said Yoh.

"Get back to this house now so we can pack."

"Yes ma'am."

 **Somewhere in Japan**

 _"Now's the time, everyone… we are in Kuoh, Japan… It's time for Naruto Bael's peerage to meet for the first time in history."_

A busty woman in a black kimono, a yellow obi, a set of golden beads, and an ornately detailed headband head tilted up at the sky when she heard the voice. The cat ears on her head were moving in every direction, trying to pick up if anyone was near.

"So… its time…" she muttered to herself. "You're really going to start everything."

An orange orb appeared beside her, floating to the height of her shoulders. " _Yes…I'…I'm planning my….return…_ "

"Don't rush yourself Naruto, nyaa." The lady muttered as she rubbed orange orb.

" _Hmm…You..stay.… I go..to sleep… good morning Kur..oka…._ " The orb said as it disappeared.

The newly named Kuroka giggled to herself as she watched the orb dissipate. "You're stupid, nya. You mean good night."

Kuroka continued her walk in the forest by herself. Her [King] was finally making his move. It was about time he did, if you asked for Kuroka's opinion, but she understood the time and planning it took for everything to work out.

"When you are free…" she muttered, knowing that she was alone. "I'll be there for you… as your [Queen], nya… and I hope you get to love me like how I love you… because you were always there for me, nya…"

 **Flashback – 6 years ago**

"There she is!" shouted a devil with a spear in his hands. "After her! She's not getting away this time!"

Running away from a small group of devils was a young, 13 year-old Kuroka. Bleeding from multiple parts of her body, she was running for her life from the devils that were trying to kill her.

After killing her old master for trying to experiment on her younger sister, she was on the run as a SS-Class Stray Devil. She had given her sister up to the young Gremory, knowing that they could protect her more than she could. While Kuroka considered herself strong, even she had her limits.

A magical bolt of lightning struck Kuroka, stunning her. She fell to the ground as a group of ten devils surrounded her.

"Finally got your murdering ass." Said a tired devil women as she looked down at the Nekomata. After killing her former master, a lot of devils hated Kuroka. They all looked far and wide, wanting to return her to the Underworld to collect the bounty award.

"You..you have to understand..nya….I did it for my… my sister…" Kuroka uttered out as the electrical charge from the lightning kept her from talking correctly.

"I don't care what you did it for." said the women as she stood over Kuroka. "All I care about is the award we'll be getting for turning you in!"

The leader of the group smirked as she heard her colleagues laugh in happiness. They finally found the Nekomata and they were going to be rich for turning her in!

"No..please.." Kuroka muttered, but they continued to laugh at Kuroka's predicament.

Without their knowledge, two orange orbs slowly appeared from the ground, as if it just past through it without any resistance. The two orbs glowed red as their aura surrounded Kuroka.

The leader of the bounty hunters jumped back as she felt the power coming from Kuroka. Kuroka's body was slowly lifted from the ground as the red aura surrounded her body. The aura seemed to make an outer shell around Kuroka as a mecha suit. The only thing visible of Kuroka was her head, which was in a red, but transparent, glass-like dome.

Armed with stubby fingers, but large fist and mechanical-like arms that were longer than Kuroka's. It stood at about 6ft, but it was reeking of power. In the middle on the mecha armor was a tattoo that was a deeper color of red than the rest of machine.

The leader of bounty hunter looked on in wonder as she looked at the machine. What was this…thing, which appeared at of nowhere? And that tattoo on the middle…

" _GoD_?" the leader said to herself.

Meanwhile, Kuroka was filled with fear as she tried to move her body inside the magical entity that she was currently in. The power she felt inside of it was great, but it still scared her because she didn't know what was happening.

The orange orbs outside of the 6ft machine slowly attached themselves onto the glass-like dome, making the illusion that they acted as eyes.

"Duba, duba!" said the golem in a mechanical way.

" _Hello_?" said a voice that was foreign to Kuroka. " _Can... can you hear me_?"

"Who are you? What's going on, nya?!" shouted Kuroka. The time it took for the armor to surround her was enough for her to recover from the lightning she took earlier.

" _While I can't tell you my name… I can tell you that you are in my Golem of Destruction, created by yours truly._ " said the voice.

The bounty hunters yelled out as they attacked the golem, but the golem answered back, blocking and avoiding all of their attacks, while also hitting them with its own physical hits.

"Wha? What are you doing?" she shouted as she watched the fight in 1st person. The golem dodged a lightning strike produced from one of the devils in the area. It flew towards said devil with swiftness, instantly killing them with a punch enhanced with the Power of Destruction.

"The Power of Destruction…" muttered Kuroka as she continued to watch the battle. "You're a Bael?"

" _Yup! And I'm glad that I appeared in time or I wouldn't have been able to save you._ " said the voice. " _I'm controlling the golem you're in right now mentally. I'm not physically there._ "

The golem was fighting against a male devil that was also physically strong. The bounty hunter kicked at the golem, but it caught it and broke his leg with a quick snap. Kuroka closed her eyes in fright as she heard the man's howls of pain.

"Just make it stop! I don't want to be here anymore, nya!"

" _Eh..If you say so…_ "

Suddenly, everything was quiet. Kuroka peeked a little to see what was going on, but she didn't see any of her hunters.

" _Sorry about that…_ " muttered the voice with a slightly crazed laugh. " _I should have ended that a while ago._ "

"Duba, Duba!" said the golem as it started to fade in sight. Soon enough, the golem was gone and Kuroka was back on her feet. The two orange orbs floated in front of her and combine to make one orb, which was slightly bigger than before.

"You… you saved me… nya…" said Kuroka.

" _Yea….I did…I did it because…you seem.. …_ " said the orb.

"Why are you talking like that, nya?" asked Kuroka with a raised eyebrow.

" _I have..better..control ove..over my magic…..in my …golem.._ " uttered the voice.

"Oh..well, thank you, nya, for saving me." Said Kuroka with a smile.

" _No..pr….problem…_ " said the orb.

"So what do we do now, nya?" she asked.

" _We..go… eat pickles…_ "

"Huh? What are you talking about, nya?"

" _I want you…to te…tell me.. how pickles…taste…_ " said the orb. " _I..i also… want to… co..convince you…to become…my…[Queen]._ "

"What?" said a surprised Kuroka. This person wanted her to be his [Queen]. "While I am… honored by that, nya, but I can't accept. I just got out of my old master's peerage and I don't want to be in any other peerage for very long time, nya."

" _Hehehe…hehe… Do…Don't worry..I'll…convince you…one day.._ "

 **Flashback End**

Kuroka sighed as she thought back to her first meeting with her master. She was so young back then when she was running away from hunters. Now she could take care of herself, but she didn't do it alone. She had her [King]'s help all the way. For the last six years, Naruto was the best thing that has happened to her.

"When we free you… I'll be the one to heal your heart…" she said as she continued her walk.

 **AAAYYYOOOOOOOO, new chapter and I'm feeling pretty good about it!**

 **New characters introduced in this chapter and I'm going to leave a list down at the bottom so that you all can revert to if you don't know some of the characters in Naruto's Peerage.**

 **I have three Naruto characters in his peerage and three charcters in one of the most underrated anime in history: Shaman King**

 **Damn I loved that mange when I found it. The anime…..ehhhh….. it was alright, but the manga is where its at.**

 **So the plan is fully revealed, but with some little things not said, but you all get the basic layout of what's going on. A lot of your questions should be answered in this chapter, but I'm sure new ones will pop up too, and I'll be sure to answer them to the best of my abilities, as long as they don't reveal too much.**

 **Kuroka has made her entrance! Bet you weren't expecting that shit. This is the plan you all had. A lot of you thought that Kuroka couldn't be paired up with Naruto because she has priorities with the Ophis and stuff, but I'm switching it up. You all should be used to this tho. I really thought yall was smarter than that. Do you know who I am?**

 **NARUTOPLUG, THAT BE WHO!**

 **Changing the game forever, ya heard me?! Now do you see how this could work!? Do you see the master plan I have laid out in front of you!? This is the new wave! Kuroka is bad, but hold on!**

 **We still gotta introduce girl number two! So you know… don't be sad that Kuroka came up first! Ya heeearrrrddd me!**

 **If you have any question, don't be afraid to review your thoughts. I'll be looking at the reviews later on and replying to your question.**

 **Shout out to Crossovernaru for the great idea of the GoD (Golem of Destruction). That was a very nice fit into Naruto's powers!**

 **FOLLOW AND FAVORITE THE STORY! A lot of yall be pm'ing me question and shit, but ain't following or favoriting the story (or me! Follow and favorite me too!) If yall don't, ima stop typing today! Starting now! (I'm lying)**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

 **Naruto's Peerage!**

 **King - Naruto Bael**

 **Queen – Kuroka**

 **Rook - Lee**

 **Knight – Kisame**

 **Knight – Yoh Asakura**

 **Bishop – Hao Asakura**

 **Bishop- Anna Kyoyama**

 **Pawn (3x) – Orochimaru**

 **Trust in the Plug**


	5. TheStormBeforeTheNextStorm

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, just got done watching the BET Awards, ya diggggg!**

 **I'm glad that the response of Naruto's peerage was very positive. No one was suspecting that put Shaman King characters in the peerage, and a lot of Naruto fans appreciated Kisame getting the shine as well.**

 **Now that the plan has been unveiled, I'm sure that you all had a lot of your questions answered. However, it is brought to my attention that there maybe some faults in my plan. None to major, but faults all the same. They won't change the flow of the story, tho. They'll probably make it better by adding more tension and suspense, ya heard me? I know y'all like that.**

 **Kuroka has been introduced…. But I'm not going to lie. As of right now, I don't know when to introduce Gabriel.**

 **I know I'll come up with something while I'm typing or sleeping, but I honestly don't know how and when to introduce her character. I'll come to me tho, but if you all have any ideas, feel free to tell me. I want my fans to be more involved in this story than my others.**

 **But enough of that, let's get to the story**

 **Beta: LaDdraig**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheStormBeforeTheNextStorm**

 **Kuoh**

"Man, I'm bored." said Issei as he walked down the crowded street.

The meeting between Rias, Sona, and Orochimaru happened three days ago. Issei, while he was supposed to go, had met Asia while on his way back to the school and decided to help her instead. He knew that he wasn't as important as the other members to Rias' peerage, so he thought he could get away with this one slip up…

However, that proved to be false because Rias giving him the scolding of a lifetime when she saw him the next morning. She expressed her anger further by punishing him with… 100 lashings on his bottom… Issei shivered and rubbed his butt as he thought back to that cursed magic seal she used to embarrass him in front of the rest of his fellow peerage members. While he understood her anger, he just wished that she delivered her punishment in private…

After that, he continued his training with Kiba, who was helping him develop with his Sacred Gear. He wanted to get stronger; strong enough to protect those that he loved.

Issei stopped walking as he started to think to himself. _'Other than my parents… do I even have anyone I love to protect?'_

His heart throbbed in pain as he thought about Yuuma's smiling face. It continued to torture him in his dreams because it was the face of the person that he loved; the person that he failed to protect.

" **Don't think too much of it partner.** " said the voice of Ddraig, the legendary dragon sealed inside of his Longinus. **"You couldn't have done anything back then. You were a human that didn't know anything about the supernatural. What happened to that girl is not your fault. However, you can use her death as motivation to protect those that you will come to love in the future."**

"Heh, you're right. I understand that there was nothing I can do…. But there was something that 'she' could have done." Issei said with gritted teeth as she thought back on Rias' selfishness.

 **"While true, it's something you can't continue to hold on."** explained the dragon. **"Hatred is a poison you drink willingly. Overtime, you'll come to understand the Gremory's reasons as to why she did what she did. I suspect that she has her own problems that she hides from us."**

"And it's the fact that she continues to hide things is why I don't trust her." exclaimed Issei. "She's my [King] and I'm supposed to be loyal to her, but I don't think that I can ever forgive her, Ddraig."

 **"Understandable, but you'll learn that holding onto that hate won't benefit you in the long run."** said Ddraig. It was silent between the two before Ddraig spoke again. **"Someone is coming. Two of them, actually, and they're strong! Get ready!"**

Taking heed to his shouts of worry, Issei looked around to see if he could locate whatever supernatural creature was behind him. They wouldn't try to attack him here, in a crowded place…right?

Issei finally located the two that was imitating the magic that Ddraig was talking about. It was a boy and a girl who seemed to be around his age. The boy had a lot of suitcases in his hands while the girl, who was very cute to Issei after giving her a quick once-over, was enjoying a cup of lemonade.

"So you're the guy that we felt out." said the blonde girl that had a nonchalant face. "You're nothing to worry about."

"Now, Anna… that wasn't nice." said the boy. He looked towards the curious Issei with a lazy smile. "Yo! My name's Yoh and this is Anna."

"Uh… Hi." Issei said with an awkward wave. "I'm Issei."

"Hey, quick question." Yoh said. "Do you know of a devil named Orochimaru?"

Issei flinched at the name, remembering the fear that Orochimaru put in him during their first and only meeting. If Issei had any say, he'd wish to never meet that man again.

"Uhm… no. No, I don't know where he lives. All I know is that he and Lee are living somewhere in the city." answered Issei.

"Huh. Useless." muttered Anna as she continued walking.

"Hey!" said Issei as he followed Anna. "What's your problem? I haven't done anything to you and already seem to have a problem with me."

"You're a devil here and you don't know anything about the other devils that live in this city. It shows that you are insufficient as a devil and aren't any help at all." explained Anna heartlessly.

"Anna…" muttered Yoh as he stepped in front of his fiancée. "Stop that. You don't know who he is. You shouldn't be mean like that."

Anna was going to retort, but a quick glare from Yoh stopped her. She sighed as she kept walking. "Whatever." she whispered as she continued her walk.

"Damn it, now she's mad." muttered Yoh with a sigh. "Sorry about Anna. She doesn't like new people. So, what's your name?"

"I'm Issei Hyoudou, [Pawn] of Rias Gremory." said Issei. "I became a devil not too long ago, so I'm not as strong as the other devils."

"Hey now, that isn't anything to be sad about." said Yoh as he noticed Issei's depressed face. "Everyone starts from the bottom at one point."

"Well, I wish I can climb out of the bottom quickly because I want to be stronger." Issei proclaimed. "I want to be able to protect those who I love."

"Me too." said Yoh with a small grin. "Hey… walk with me. I want to learn a little about the area and devils around here."

"Uh, sure. Do you need any help with those bags?" asked Issei.

"Sure! Here ya go!" Yoh handed most of the bags to a surprised Issei, who gritted his teeth at the weight of the bags. Just what did they have in here?

"Ahh! That sure is a weight off my shoulders! I've been training a lot recently without a break. I needed that, so thaks!" said the grateful Yoh.

"Yea… you're welcome…" gasped out Issei as he walked beside Yoh. "So… what type of training do you do?"

"Well, I'm a [Knight], so I do a lot of speed training." answered Yoh. "I don't like getting hit during a fight, so I value speed over everything. However, I don't focus all my attention on one skill. Remember, versatility will save your life."

"Right." Issei said with a nod, mentally taking note of Yoh's wisdom. "And you're also a part of this 'mystery man's peerage with Orochimaru? I suppose you can't tell anyone about your master's identity either, huh?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." said Yoh. "My master wants to keep his identity a secret for a little while longer. He's the type of person who likes to make big entrances."

"So you haven't met him either? 'Cause Lee said he doesn't even know what your master looks like." asked Issei.

"Yup, I haven't met him face-to-face, but I feel like I've known him all my life." Yoh answered with a smile and closed eyes. "That man is incredible and I can't wait to meet him one day. I just want to sit back and listen to vinyl records with him…. That sounds really nice if you ask me…"

"What made you accept his offer into his peerage, if you don't mind me asking." asked Issei. "Lee and Orochimaru have their own reason, but I'd like to know yours as well."

"Oh." said Yoh with a raised eyebrow. "You seem to have an interest in my master. Is there a reason why?"

"Well…" muttered Issei as he thought back to his own master. "I… I don't get along with my master as much as a servant should because of… a very sensitive reason." he said with a gulp. "I ju-just wanna compare the differences between my master and yours."

"Hmm… I understand, but I've got to tell you, my story isn't all that great and fantastic like the others. The reason why I joined my master's peerage was mainly because he saved my brother from himself."

"Saved your brother from himself?" said Issei with curiosity. "How did that come about?"

"My brother, Hao Asakura, hated a lot of things growing up." Yoh said with a sigh. "He saw how societies worked, both humans and devils, and despised both. He hated the arrogance that devils had and the selfishness that humans had and wanted to change it. While we grew up in a nice home and had no worries during our childhood, Hao hated how we lived. He would watch all of the low-class devils be discriminated against high-class devils and hated that he couldn't do anything about it. The same with humans, as he study world history and remembered all the mistakes that humans did throughout time. He doesn't understand why the biblical God made humans his 'chosen race' and he hated all of them. There was a time, a very bad time for Hao, where he would go out and kill both humans and devils for their actions, and his hatred spread to fallen angels after having a few altercations with them. But then, my master appeared out of nowhere and talked to him."

"Talked to him? That's it?" asked a surprised Issei. It seemed like Hao was such a strong willed person, so how can a talk answer everything?

"They didn't talk once, but talked for about 8 years." answered Yoh, shocking Issei. "He was so humble and took the time to fully understand Hao. I was actually quite jealous, because Hao would refer to our master as his 'first friend'. However, I had to take a seat back and let them talk because I felt like our master was the only one that could get to Hao. All of those years, our master explained to Hao how societies worked, how they fell, and how they improved. Hao's problem was that he focused on the bad so much, that he didn't even believe that there was any good in anyone. He believed that people would only do 'good' whenever they needed something from someone else. However, my master broke down history, talked to Hao about psychology and why people thought the way they did. He made Hao believe that the word 'good' had actual meaning to it."

Issei listened to Yoh's story with his full attention as the two continued to walk out of town. He couldn't believe that there was someone out there, especially a devil, who could have such patience to change such a wicked heart like Hao's.

Yoh looked up to the clouds with a smile as an image of his brother appeared in his head. "My master saved Hao from his loneliness. He thought that he was the only one that thought that there was no such thing as 'good' and felt so lonely. Even as his brother, I couldn't do a thing to help my brother… because he hated me as well…"

"Why did he hate you? You're his brother?" asked Issei.

"Because I didn't understand him." answered Yoh as he shook his head. "He felt that since we were twin brothers, that I should have shared his beliefs. He felt betrayed when I told him that I didn't like the way he thought of the world and shunned me and our family. To him, the only person that he could trust was himself. It hurt me so much to see my own brother look at me with such hate, and it hurt me even more knowing that I couldn't do anything about it. Hao has a strong will and it's next to impossible to change how he thinks."

"And your master did all of that… he changed such a wicked heart and freed it…" muttered Issei.

"Well, Hao still doesn't like a lot of humans, devils, fallen angels, etc. But, his hatred isn't as extreme as it once was. He started to see that while there is and will forever will be bad people in this world, there are still good people that exist. When he realized that, I knew that my brother was back." said Yoh with a closed-eye smirk. "It was one of the happiest days I ever had."

"So how did he become a member of your master's peerage?" asked Yoh.

"Well… after Hao had his realization, he finally asked my master who he was. See, throughout all 8 years of Hao's renewal, he never knew his real name or his story. He just took in the wisdom that he had and added it to his own. And so, when Hao asked that, my master told him everything about him, leaving nothing hidden. After that, Hao asked him for a place in his peerage, which surprised my master as much as it did me when I learned about it." said Yoh. "My brother isn't a humble person, so for him to asked another person if they could serve them for all eternity… its kinda mindboggling once you think about it." answered Yoh with a grin.

"So your master accepted Hao into his peerage?" asked Issei with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah… made him his first [Bishop]. It was really a surprise for everyone once he announced that he was a part of another devil's peerage, but we were all glad to have Hao back."

"So how did you become a part of his peerage?" asked Yoh.

"I volunteered." answered Yoh, surprising Issei. "If there was anybody in this world I'd serve, it would be the man that saved my brother from his loneliness. I was so grateful to him that I offered myself up to him. He wasn't so sure at first, but I kept bugging him." Yoh said with a chuckle. "However, after a few weeks, he finally caved in and accepted me into his peerage."

"What about her?" asked Issei as he pointed to Anna, who was way ahead of them. "How did she get in?"

"Well, first of all, Anna is my fiancé." said Yoh.

"Your fiancé!" shouted Yoh. "How!? She seems so mean and your…. your… you two seem like opposites!"

"I know, and while I'm not one hundred percent sure how it worked, but I guess that our opposites attracted towards one another. My laziness with her seriousness… She scared the hell out me when we first met, but overtime, Anna's a sweetheart. It just took time."

"And so she followed you and asked to be a part of your master's peerage?" asked Yoh.

"Yup. While she didn't like the idea of serving someone until death, she recognized our master's strength and believed that she could grow under him, which shocked me just like it did with Hao. Anna is a prideful women just like how Hao is, so for her to ask to serve someone really shocked me."

"This… that was an incredible story…" muttered Issei. "Your master seems so cool, calm… and awesome! I mean, he took eight years out his life to convince one person of the bad things he was doing… it's just incredible if you ask me."

"Yeah, even thought eight years isn't anything to devils, it's still a lot of time if you ask me." said Yoh as he looked up to the big house they were approaching. Anna had stopped walking and was waiting for Yoh at a mailbox that was for the big house they were walking towards. "But, I'll still remain grateful to my master for bringing my brother back to me. I'd serve him until my time is over."

 **"Your commitment to your master is overwhelming."** said Ddraig as Issei's Boosted Gear appeared on his hand. **"I'd like to meet your master and judge him for myself one day."**

"Woah… is that a Sacred Gear?" asked Yoh with slightly widened eyes.

"Yeah! This is my Boosted Gear and the one you just heard talking is Ddraig, the dragon sealed inside of it." answered Issei.

"Well then, my name is Yoh Asakura. Very nice to meet you." Yoh said with small head nod.

" **Nice to meet you as well, young devil."** said Ddraig. **"I hope that my partner can pick up your calmness. He is usually horny and thinks perverted thoughts. Very uncomfortable if you ask me."**

"Shut up, Ddraig!" shouted a red Issei, embarrassment written all over his face. Yoh laughed out loud at Issei, which only made his face redder. The two approached Anna, who had her arms crossed over her chest and stared at the two with a stern glare.

"You kept me waiting, Yoh." Anna said with no hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Sorry, sorry…" Yoh said with a hand wave. "I was just talking with my new friend here. He's a good person."

Anna gave Issei a once-over before rolling her eyes. "I don't see anything special about him. He looks weird with that toy on his arm."

"This isn't a toy, I'll have you know." Issei said with a small glare of his own. "This is my Longinus Sacred Gear, Boosted Gear! My partner Ddraig is within it and I'd appreciate it if you don't disrespect him.

"A… a Longinus?" said Anna with a little shock in her voice.

 _ **"Good going, partner!"**_ Ddraig said mentally. **_"She doesn't even know what to say!"_**

"Why would the dragon choose a perverted person like you as his partner?" asked Anna with her usual serious gaze.

"Perverted? I'm not pervert!" shouted Issei. While he knew that he was the ultimate pervert, whenever girls found out about him, he'd always end up in pain. And judging how Anna was glaring at him, he believed that he wouldn't come out this fight alive.

"I know that you're a pervert. I watched the two of your talk and studied your body movements. You can't help but look at the various women you passed on your way here. I even noticed how you looked at me when we crossed paths." said Anna.

"What…" Yoh said darkly as he turned towards the shaking Issei. The glare on Yoh's face showed that he wasn't happy with Issei's actions.

"Uh, please forgive me!" he shouted as he got on his knees and bowed towards the couple. "Mercy! Mercy!"

" **And there goes your cool points…"** said Ddraig with a sweat drop.

Yoh glared at Issei's shaking body before sighing and waving the situation off. "It doesn't matter. Just help me bring our bags in."

"Yes sir!" Issei said with a solute as he grabbed the bags he dropped and followed the two devils to the front door.

After ringing the doorbell, the three waited until it opened by none other than Orochimaru.

"Well hello there, Yoh. Anna." he said with a bow, in which they reciprocated. "It's been a while."

"It sure has." answered Yoh with a lazy smile while scratching the back of his head. "You still crazy about those snakes?"

"Why yes… there's one on by your feet right now…" Orochimaru sent the younger boy an evil smirk as he saw the blood rush from Yoh's face.

Yoh heard the hisses coming from under him, but he didn't dare look at the demonic creature below him. Issei, however, jumped away from Yoh as he looked at the snake in fear.

"Holy shit! Get out of there!" shouted Issei with a panicked face, almost losing his grip he had on his bags.

"Orochimaru, I'd appreciate it if you didn't traumatize my fiancé." said a calm Anna. "Plus, that is my job after all."

Yoh's mouth dropped and Orochimaru chuckled at Anna's words. "Of course." and recalled his snake. It went up his robe, but not before hissing at Yoh again and disappearing into it.

"Pl-please… don't do th-that again…" said Yoh as his body was shaking in fear.

"No promises. Please, come in. Everyone else has arrived." Orochimaru opened the door fully for Yoh and Anna to walk in. But when Issei tried to walk, he was met with a snake in the face, which made him jump back again from the venomous creature.

"Woah! What are you doing?!" shouted Issei he glared at Orochimaru.

"While I appreciate you helping those two with their bags, I don't want you entering this house." Orochimaru said with a glare of his own, which sent shivers down Issei's body. "I don't want anyone who isn't a part of my master's peerage inside of this house, understood?"

"Su-sure, but what about these bags?" asked Issei.

"Just set them down. I'll handle them." said Orochimaru.

Complying with the snake man, Issei set the bags down on the wooden porch. Snakes slowly made their way towards the bags handles and wrapped around them. Issei made sure he was a safe distance away as he watched the snakes pull the bags into the house.

"That's freaky…" Issei said with a shudder.

"I'll be sure to remember that when you need my help. Good day." finished Orochimaru as he closed the door, leaving Issei by himself.

He sighed to himself as he started his track back toward the city. He didn't have to report to one of his hopeful contractors until later on, so he had some time to kill.

"We should practice your compatibility with your Sacred Gear." said Ddraig from the green gem within the Boosted Gear. "We need to make use of all the time we can if you want to become stronger."

"Sure." said Issei as he continued his walk. He had to become stronger… he had to if he wanted to protect people like Yuuma in the future.

"I'll show that snake bastard one day who's boss." he said with his fist clenched and a determined mind.

 **Inside the house**

Orochimaru had led the two into their shared room, which was upstairs. It had its own bathroom, a large dresser, and a queen sized bed for the two of them. The closet was actually spacious for the two, allowing them to fill it with all their clothes in it and still have space for more. Other than those, the room was simple, but the two were happy with their accommodations.

"You two were the last to make it here." said Orochimaru as he leaned on the door entrance with his hands crossed. "Everyone else is waiting for you two downstairs. We'll have a quick meeting among us to understand each other. While I've met all of you at least once, I know that some of you aren't acquainted with one another. It'll be strange living with people you don't know.

"Understood, and thank for the easy move in, Orochimaru." said Anna. "Hopefully everyone is as smart and easy to understand like you unlike Yoh."

"It's just your life's mission to put me down." said Yoh with a sigh. "Thanks a lot, Orochimaru. We'll be down in a few."

Orochimaru nodded before heading back downstairs. The two started to empty their suitcases and hang up their clothes. After that, Anna filled the bathroom with various hair products and towels, while Yoh zipped up the suitcases and stacked them neatly inside the closet.

"Ahhh!" said Yoh as he jumped in the bed. "This feels nice."

"We don't have time to get comfortable, Yoh." said Anna as she walked out of the bathroom. "We need to meet the others."

"I don't wanna do that right now though…" Yoh muttered as he crossed his arms and pouted childishly. Anna sighed and placed a hand on her forehead in stress.

"Stop being so difficult." she muttered with a low growl. She rose an eyebrow as Yoh stretched his arms at her direction.

"Come here…" he muttered with a smile.

"No."

"Stop being so difficult." mocked Yoh.

"I just said no…"

Yoh gave her a cheeky grin. "You know you want too."

"Yoh… 'sigh'…"

"Come on… Got you a seat right here." he said as he patted to the spot on the bed next to him.

Anna rolled her eyes as she laid next to him. She wasn't surprised when he pulled her closer to him. She hid her blush as she felt his breathe on the back of her neck.

"This is a new start for us… we'll be meeting new people… I want you to know that they'll do good by you." Yoh muttered in her ear.

Holding back the shiver that went through her body when he spoke in her, she replied, "You don't know that. You're just hoping that'll happen."

"Don't you trust Naruto-sama?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "He handpicked his peerage, so you know that he wouldn't choose anyone bad. You'll see. You can make friends."

"I don't need friends…" she muttered. "All I need is you in my life…"

While what she said made him smile, he didn't want her to be so dependent on him. Anna needed to spend time with other people, but her own personal demons got in the way of that.

"We'll see..." Yoh said as he closed his eyes. The two stayed like that for while, in each other's embrace, but they knew that they needed to go meet the others. So, reluctantly to the both of them, they got out of the bed and headed downstairs. They did hold hands while going downstairs, however, which made them smile somewhat.

The two arrived in the dining room and saw a group of people sitting around the table. The only ones that they recognized were Orochimaru, of course, but also Yoh's brother, Hao Asakura.

"Yo, Hao!" Yoh said with a grin and wave. Hao smirked at his brother while giving him his own wave. Hao looked to be an exact copy of Yoh, except for a few features,. Hao had long black hair that went past his waist and was wearing a poncho cloak. One of his hands was sitting on the table, revealing his odd, large gloves, which were black, fingerless gloves outlined in black. There were four, almost lego-like, protrusions where his knuckles were. Yoh and Anna sat at the available seats that were next to Hao and set their focus on Orochimaru, who stood up from his seat, catching everyone's attention.

"Good evening, everyone. My name is Orochimaru. I am a reincarnated half devil with a little bit of Youkai in my genetics. I am a [Pawn] of Naruto-sama. I hope that everyone had no troubles arriving here."

"No troubles, but it took long enough for this to happen." said Kisame, a tall, rough, blue-skinned man. He smiled at everyone, showing his shark like teeth. "So, what now?"

Suddenly, an orange orb appeared in the middle of the table, surprising everyone.

"I hate it when you do that." Hao said as he looked at the all too familiar orb.

 _"_ _I'm….. I'm gla..glad to see….everyone…_ _"_ Naruto muttered slowly. _"_ _You all look…go…good._ _"_

"Hello, master." Lee said with a bow. Everyone else, except for Kisame, followed Lee's lead.

"Ehh? You all do that?" said Kisame.

"It's the proper way to show respect." said Orochimaru with a little bit of sting to his words. "This is the man that saved us all from our past lives, after all."

"Save? He didn't save me." Kisame said arrogantly. "He asked if I wanted to be a part of his peerage and I asked why and he said 'so you can get stronger' and I said ok. Simple as that." he explained.

 _"_ _Heheh..Hehehehehe! Clas….classic Kisame_ _…"_ Naruto muttered from his orb. _"_ _I wan..want yo..you all to introduce….yourselves….. get comfortable…yo….your queen wo-won't… be here…_ _"_

"Why? I really do want to meet her." Lee said.

 _"_ _Personal…reasons…_ _"_ Naruto said. _"_ _Eat…pi…pickles…_ _"_ and with that, the orb disappeared.

"Does he say that to you all as well?" asked Kisame. "I never understood that."

"Neither do I." said Orochimaru with a sigh. "However, I do agree with him. If we're going to be living in the same house and apart of Naruto-sama's peerage, it would be beneficial to open up to each other."

"Well since Orochimaru went first, I'll go second." stated Lee as he stood up and saluted everyone. "My name is Rock Lee! I am a [Rook] and I've been a devil for the past two years! My dream is to become the best martial artist I can be and prove that I can be strong only using my fighting techniques!"

"Nice to meet you, but you didn't have to shout…" muttered Yoh as he laid his head on table and yawned. "I'm tired…"

"Get up." Anna said as she slapped Yoh's head. He flinched at the pain and stood back in his seat. "Introduce yourself."

"Alright, alright…" he muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. "My name is Yoh Asakura. I am the twin brother of Hao here, and Anna is my fiancée. I'm a [Knight] as well as a middle-class, full blooded devil. I don't have too many things I want to accomplish. I just want to listen to music."

"And marry me." stated Anna.

"And marry Anna." he finished.

Kisame laughed at Yoh with no remorse. "Whipped!"

"Damn right." answered Anna, causing Kisame to raise an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh-hoh, hoh. I can tell we're going to get along quite well." he said with another chuckle. Anna's serious face was still present, but everyone could sense her growing annoyance towards the shark man.

"Anyway, my name is Anna Kyoyama, soon to be Anna Asakura. I am a low-class devil since I was reincarnated as a human. I am a [Bishop], which complements my shamanic powers. I will open a successful inn and hot springs business that will flood Japan. I will make tons of money and increase the presence of the Asakura family! I will become a god of the business world and tear all of my rival business down because of the success of my soon to be business: The Funbari Hot Springs! I will-

Anna stopped her rant as she noticed how the rest of her peerage members were looking at her, even Yoh, who was fairly surprised by the passion she had for her dream. Kisame was chuckling, which added to the annoyance she had for him, while Lee had sparkles in his eyes as he listened to her words.

She coughed in her hand as she sat back down. "Excuse me. I didn't mean to go that far…"

Hao sighed and shook his head at Anna's actions. "Humans…." he muttered to himself. He took in deep breath before introducing himself. "My name is Hao Asakura, older twin brother to Yoh. I hail from the Asakura family, which is a small group of middle-class devils. I am a [Bishop] to Naruto-sama and fire magic is my weapon of choice. I hope we can all get along." he said with small bow.

"Hehe… well lookie here. Seems I'm last." Kisame said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Kisame Hoshigaki is the name. I'm a [Knight] who enjoys long battles. Not to be cocky… we'll, to hell with it, I'm probably the strongest person in this room so…" Kisame's magic started to pour out of his body, which set everyone on edge. "You should be wary… of me…" he whispered darkly.

"Our goal here is to become acquainted with each other, not to cause tension." Orochimaru said with squinted eyes. While everyone else had a regular introduction, except for Anna, Kisame's introduction of himself seemed more of a threat than anything.

"Tch… while that may be true, understand that you all are strangers and I don't trust anyone I know." said Kisame and he stood up and reached for his bandaged weapon that was leaning on the wall. "While we are members of the same peerage, I still consider each and every one of you potential enemies. It's the closest to you that will stab you in the back."

"Well, you're going to have to learn to trust us, Mr. Kisame." Lee said bravely. "We all serve the same master, so we don't need any negativity in the group."

"Keep your mouth closed, rookie." Kisame barked back, catching Lee by surprise. "Be glad that I haven't devoured you of your magic until you died of exhaustion. I have no love for newbies, so as I said before, you should be wary of me."

It was a small stare down between Lee and Kisame, while the rest of Naruto's peerage readied themselves if the situation went left. This apparently wasn't the turn of events everyone expected and now there was distrust within the group.

The stare down continued for a little while longer, however, it ended when Kisame smirked at Lee with his shark-like teeth before turning to leave the room. Before he could actually leave the dining room, one of Naruto's orange orbs appeared in front of him.

 _"_ _Sit…down…_ _"_ muttered Naruto.

Kisame looked down at the orb with arrogance before replying. "And why should I do that?"

 _"_ _I said sit down._ _"_ Naruto said without his usual pause. Tension filled the atmosphere, creating a sense of unease, especially for Lee who wasn't used to such conditions.

Kisame glared down at Naruto before grunting and returning to his seat at the table. The orange orb levitated to the middle of the table, the same spot where he appeared before.

" _I didn't bring you all here in order to create tension,_ _"_ Naruto said, surprising the devils further. None remembered of a time when he didn't hesitate over his words. _"_ _I brought you here in order to bond as my peerage. However, I see that you all failed._ _"_

"It's his fault." Lee said with a finger pointed at Kisame. "He acted so arrogant like he was better than everyone here!"

"Maybe I am…" Kisame said with an eye roll.

The orange orb scooted closer to Kisame, which made him feel uneasy. While the orb didn't have any eyes, he felt like Naruto was peering at him with angry eyes. _"_ _I will not stand for insubordination. You knew of your job and I warned you of how to approach everyone, did I not?_ _"_

"Yeah, but-

 _"_ _Do you think I care for your excuses?_ _" Naruto said without any of his usually playfulness. "_ _While I'm stuck here, I can't keep you all in check as I want to, but I will not take any of this any longer. Do you understand?!_ _"_

The silence in the room added onto the tension. Everyone, other than Kisame, looked on, wide eyed at the tone Naruto used. Never before had they heard him mad at anything before, even when they messed up with an assignment or job he had given them. It was truly shocking on how he was handling their seemingly arrogant teammate.

Lee shuddered again as he absorbed the scene in front of him. _'Master is really scary when he wants to…'_

Kisame glared at the orb for while, wondering on how to respond. He felt so uneasy as he glared at it, as if the orb had eyes that could burn his soul with just a glance. His fish-like gill imprints on the side of his face shuddered as his danger senses were screaming for him to surrender. While he didn't want to look weak, his glare started to loosen up as he started to fold under his master's pressure.

"I… I understand…." he said with gritted teeth a clinched fist. He hated feeling like this. Like a child being reprimanded by its parents. He was Kisame Hoshigaki, damn it! Didn't his magic output shock fear into everyone around him?

 _"_ _Good_ _."_ Naruto said plainly. And just like that, the tension disappeared as if it wasn't there. _"_ _You all… have fun..n…now… talk about… abilities…get used to eac…h other…I'll be taking… my….leave…_ _"_ and the orange orb disappeared again.

It was quite again for a while, but was killed by Anna's light chuckles.

"Seems your image has been tainted now, huh?" she said with a cocky smirk towards Kisame.

"Shut up…" he muttered with a sigh. He couldn't even try to lie to them to keep some of his dignity because they watched everything from beginning to end. They probably would never let him forget this moment now. "Listen, and this is me being honest, I don't trust new people. The only person I truly have respect and acceptance for is Naruto. I am an Extra Devil and I've lived most of my life in isolation because of reasons I'll explain if I grow to like you all. So don't act like were all good just because we are a part of the same damn peerage, because if we had it my way, you all would be dead."

"Because you're the strongest person here, right?" said Hao with a cocky smirk of his own. A small flame appeared over his palm. "I'd love to test that theory soon."

A dangerous grin grew on Kisame's face as lighting danced between the two. Orochimaru sighed as he slapped a hand over his forehead. "I don't know if this is progress or if this is setting us back."

"I think that this is progress, if you ask me, Orochimaru." Lee said as he saw the newly-born rivalry between Hao and Kisame. "We are a weird group of people. Maybe we should try bonding with each other differently than how other peerages do so."

"I agree." Anna said while slapping the back of a sleeping Yoh's head, waking him out of his daydream. "In order for this peerage to prosper, we need to trust each other. While it may take some time, we'll adjust to one another sometime in the future."

"Correct." Orochimaru said with a nod. "However, let's not forget the real reason why we're here. We'll we have our own individual goals, our first, and most important goal, is freeing Naruto-sama out of his jail." everyone in the room look towards Orochimaru after he spoke. "While you all may not know of the full plan, let me explain it to you in depth so that we're all on board."

 **Timeskip - Evening Time**

 **Kuoh**

Issei got off his bike as he looked up at the apartment complex where he would meet someone for a contract summoning. He didn't have any official contracts with anyone, so he hoped that this would be his first one.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't stall any longer." he said to himself as he walked up the stairs and down a long hallway. He was in front of the last apartment on that floor and he was getting an itchy feeling about it. Believing that it was just his nerves, Issei took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Uh-hello? Is anyone-" he paused as the door slowly opened from him knocking on it. The feeling of dread filled him as he made his way into the apartment.

Manifesting his Booster Gear, Issei crept into the apartment silently. "Ddraig… do you feel that?"

 _ **"I do."**_ replied the dragon. _**"Make sure to keep your guard up. I have a feeling that things won't end up like how we thought."**_

 _'There goes another contract opportunity then.'_ thought Issei as he made his way to the last room in the hallway. He peered inside the room to see, to his shock, the bloody corpse of the man that contacted him.

"What the hell!" he shouted as he entered the room. He checked the body, but the man was long gone.

"It was because that he contacted a shitty devil, and I guess your him." said a voice behind him. Issei looked behind him to see a man with a crazed smile and a gun in his hand, putting him on edge.

"Why kill him for that?! There's nothing wrong with what he did!" shouted Issei.

"Nothing wrong with calling a devil for help? That's all the reason I needed to kill him! Anyone involved with disgusting devils like you need to be killed!" shouted the man. "The names Freed Sellzen, the exorcist that'll kill you now!" he shouted as he pulled what seem to be a sword made from light to attack Issei.

 _'Devils don't like light-based attacks.'_ Rias' voice echoed through his head. He remembered her saying that when she was teaching him all about devils.

"I've gotta watch out for that." Issei muttered to himself as he dodged a sword swipe from the man. After dodging a few more, Issei saw an opening and took it.

"Just like I practiced with Kiba!" he shouted as he moved closer to Freed, surprising the psychotic exorcist. Rearing his gauntlet-enhanced fist back, Issei knocked Freed on his ass with a punch to his face.

"Fuck!" he shouted as he grimaced at his new injury. Issei, watching Freed's reaction to his punch, looked at his hand in awe.

"I did it… I punched a bad guy!" he yelled in happiness.

"And you'll fucking die by one too, you shitty devil!" Freed yelled as he pulled out his pistol and shot at Issei's leg.

"Gaahh!" shouted Issei as he had a hole in his leg now. He cursed at himself because he loosened his guard during a fight, something Kiba explicitly told him not to do. "Fuck this!" Issei shouted as he jumped at Freed with no plan of attack. Freed moved out of Issei's way and slashed him on his back, causing Issei to howl in pain.

"Fucking dumbass." Freed said as he rubbed his cheek. That devil's punch had a lot of force behind it. "Too bad you won't see the light of day anymore!" he yelled as he pointed his pistol at Issei. However, before he could shoot Issei, a girlish scream filled the room.

Issei looked back to see a terrified Asia, who was looking at the body that Freed mutilated.

"Wha-Asia? Did you finish setting up the barrier like how I told you too?" Freed asked.

"Don't do this…" Asia muttered out to Freed.

"Asia, this is what we do. We kill those that summon devils, for they aren't considered humans anymore, and we kill the disgusting devils they fucking summoned. I'll explain it to you once since your new to this." explained Freed with another one of his psychotic grins.

"Devils… but…" she stared at Issei and her smart mind figured it out instantly. Issei was a devil. "Yo-you mean…"

"Asia.." muttered Issei as he noticed her tear-filled eyes.

"Wait, do you two know each other?" said Freed in confusion.

"Is it true?" Asia asked, ignoring Freed.

"Yes.. yes, Asia. I'm a devil. I didn't want to tell you because I know how the church and devils are enemies, that's why I haven't come to visit you. I'm sorry." he confessed.

"While that is nice, let's not forget what we came here for!" said Freed as he raised his sword over Issei.

"No!" shouted Asia as she stood in front of her devil friend, shocking Issei and confusing Freed. "Please, forgive him of his sins, father. Let him go!"

"Forget this bullshit!" shouted Freed as he pushed Asia out of the way. "Time to finish this up!"

"NO!" shouted Issei as adrenaline fueled his body. "Boost!" his Booster Gear doubled his power and just in the nick of time. "Time to test this out! Dragon Shot!"

With an uppercut to Freed's chin, a blast powered by the Boosted Gear, shoot Freed into the ceiling. While Issei's Dragon Shot was weaker than usual, he still won the fight when Freed's head hit the ceiling, knocking him out instantly.

"I-Issei!" shouted Asia as she watched him fall back down on the floor. A magical circle appeared next to Issei and Rias, along with her peerage, appeared in the room.

"Oh my," Akeno said with a mischievous smile. "It seems like our new member handled things here, fufufu…"

"Issei, are you okay?" asked Rias as she knelt down to inspect her hurt [Pawn].

"I'll be okay, for now." he said with a painful smile. The bullet wound and sword strike started to hurt more now that his adrenaline was dropping.

"We need to heal him. Akeno, get ready to jump." said Rias. Akeno nodded and started to prepare a transportation seal.

"Fallen Angels are approaching." said Koneko.

"Hold on, what about Asia!" shouted Issei as he pointed to the crying nun.

"I'm sorry, but I can't teleport those who aren't a part of my peerage. We need to leave now so we can heal you before your injuries get worse."

"But, Asia!" complained Issei.

"It's alright, Issei." said Asia, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "Please go and heal. I'll be alright."

Silently thanking the nun with a nod, the devils teleported away, with Issei screaming out Asia's name.

 **Naruto's House (well… kinda his house)**

"What movie should we watch?" asked Yoh as he clicked through Netflix. "Watching movies is a good way to spend time together, right?"

"Agreed!" said Lee with a thumbs up. "We should watch 'Enter the Dragon'!"

"I don't watch a lot of movies, but it should be something horror-ish. That shit cracks me up." said Kisame as he sat back on one of the couch chairs in the living room.

"I don't even want to watch a movie." Hao said with a sigh. If felt like the more he was with these devils, the more his stress and annoyance-levels increased. "Why can't we just sit back and cook or something?"

"We are watching Evangelion and nothing else." demanded Anna as she snatched the remote from Yoh.

"Evangelion? What the fuck is that?" said Kisame. "That's sounds stupid."

"It's a legendary mecha anime. Surprisingly, Anna likes that kind of stuff." Yoh said with a shoulder shrug. "I'm cool with whatever we watch."

"We should watch The Purge." Hao said with a menacing smile. "Stupid humans killing other stupid humans, I never got around to watching it. I've heard its good."

"Now that sounds interesting." said Kisame. "Give me the damn remote."

"No. I said we are watching Evangelion and that's final." she said sternly.

"Who made you the boss over the remote?!" he yelled back.

"I did." she countered.

Orochimaru made his way into the living room after taking a quick nap, only to find Kisame, who was being held back by Lee, trying to attack Anna. Anna, not afraid of the blue man's advances, wanted to attack as well, but was being held back by her fiancée.

"Yoh, let go of me now!" she shouted at him.

"Anna, please calm down! I kinda want to watch The Purge, too!"

"Does it look like I care with what you want? I said let go!" she demanded.

"Listen here you green piglet. Let go of me, so I can kill little red over there." Kisame said, referring to Anna as 'little red' because of her red bandana she wore over her hair.

"Please, Mr. Kisame! We shouldn't fight!" replied Lee as he tried to hold the monstrous man back.

Orochimaru sighed loudly, catching everyone's attention. "I have a meeting I need to go to. While I'm gone, please don't destroy the house or each other. We need to be healthy in order for the plan to work."

Kisame and Anna stared at Orochimaru, before grumbling and turning away from each other. Hao snuck behind Anna and plucked the remote out of her hand, enraging her even more than Kisame did.

"Hao!" she shouted at the older Asakura.

"Settle down, little sister." Hao said as he patted the top of Anna head, making her feel like a child. "If you don't like the movie, I promise that we'll watch Evangelion."

"Oh no the fuck you don't promise that shit!" said the vulgar Kisame. "There's three Purge movies on this Netflix thingy and we're watching all of them!"

Kisame's outraged caused another shouting matching. Yoh ignored them all as he put on his headphones and nodded off, while Lee gave up on trying to keep it peaceful. Orochimaru sighed for what felt like the millionth time of the day. Just how much chaos would happen in this house if they kept acting like this?

Since Lee was the only person acting like an adult, Orochimaru reached out to him. "Lee, come with me."

"Where are we going?" asked the self-proclaimed Green Beast. Orochimaru's smirk made him think twice about wherever they were going.

"Why, I did manage to get a meeting with one Sairaorg Bael." Lee's eyes widened at Orochimaru. "Seems like the plan is starting to unfold. Care to join?"

 **The Next Day**

 **Underworld - Countryside of Bael Territory**

Towards the coast of Bael Territory was an average sized beach house. It was isolated, with no other houses in sight. Sitting not too far from a beach, one would call the house a splendid place to live, or at least, to go for vacation. However, the house's purpose wasn't anything like that.

Inside of the house's living room sat Misla Bael, the same person that helped cut the relationship of Serafall and Naruto, drinking a cup of herbal tea. She looked up when she heard footsteps entering the room, footsteps that belong to Sairaorg Bael and his [Queen], Kuisha Abaddon.

Misla Bael was once the proud wife of Lord Bael, is now an outcast along with her son. When she had Sairaorg, her first born child, she was the proudest mother in the world. Her own son was the heir to the most important clan in the Underworld and she couldn't wait to teach him all she knew. However, Sairaorg never inherited the Power of Destruction, the ability that the Bael Clan hailed as one of the strongest, if the not strongest, abilities in the Underworld. Lord Bael, her husband, disowned Sairaorg for his insufficiencies and casted him along with Misla to the outskirts of the clan territory for producing a child that didn't have their clan's legendary ability.

So they lived alone for years until Sairaorg started to build his own peerage. They would live here with his mother and train in isolation, promising to return Misla's former glory, but she knew that it would never happen. She never told her son this, though, because she didn't want him to live a life of sadness all because she didn't procure a child without the Power of Destruction. She wanted Sairaorg to succeed in his dreams, even if he had to leave her here, all alone.

"Son. Kuisha. It's nice to see you." Misla said with a smile.

"Mother… sorry for being gone for so long. Our training trip lasted longer than expected." he said as he hugged his mother.

"It's alright, dear. You're just preparing for your future. I don't have any problem with that." said Misla.

"While I do need some more food to stockpile on, it can wait. You do have that meeting from that mysterious man, right?" she asked.

"Correct." Sairaorg said with a nod. It wasn't too long ago when a snake crept to him while training with his peerage. It shocked him when he saw it spit up a rolled up piece of paper, containing a message from an unknown person asking for this meeting. "I was hoping to have it here with you and Kuisha. You two are smarter than me when it comes to these things, after all."

Misla chucked at her son's joke. "It's fine dear. I'm sure Kuisha agreed to this?"

"Yes. The person that requested this meeting asked for it to be a secret and somewhere secluded. It shall be here and he should be here anytime soon." explained Kuisha. "I'll go prepare some tea as we wait."

Nodding at his [Queen], Sairaorg sat down on the couch and took a deep breath in. While he was looking forward to this mysterious person, he couldn't deny that he was a little nervous. He didn't know what to expect of this meeting. He just hoped he could create more relationships in the devil world.

"Son, I do have a question." Misla's question took Sairaorg out of his inner thoughts. "Why did you accept this meeting if you don't even know who this is?"

"Uh…" nervousness wrecked through Sairaorg's body. He knew his mother wouldn't like the answer to her question. "Because… because they promised me a Rating Game I wouldn't forget?"

"Oh." Misla annoyed face said it all for Sairaorg. Honestly, her son was such a battle junky and that was something that she got from his father, not her.

The sound of someone knocking on the door caught the attention of both Baels. Kuisha came from the kitchen to check out the noise as well.

"Well, I guess now's the time." she muttered to the mother/son combo as she walked towards the door. She held in a breath as she opened the door slowly.

"Good morning." said the voice of Orochimaru. "I am the person that asked for the meeting. My name is Orochimaru and this is my associate, Rock Lee."

"Nice to meet you." said Lee with a bow.

'Thank Lucifer, he isn't acting like a rookie.' said Orochimaru as he approved of Lee's etiquette.

"Nice to meet you as well. I am Kuisha Abaddon, [Queen] of Sairaorg Bael and we are glad to have you. Please, come in." she said as she stepped aside and opened the door further for them to enter. "I just made some tea that I'm sure you'll enjoy."

"Thank you very much." Orochimaru said with a smile of his own. The two entered the house and Kuisha guided them to the living room where Sairaorg and Misla were waiting.

Both Baels stood as soon as Orochimaru and Lee walked in. Sairaorg stepped towards and stretched a hand out towards Orochimaru. "Hello. My name is Sairaorg Bael and this is my mother, Misla Bael."

"Greetings. I am Orochimaru and this is Lee." he said after shaking Sairaorg hand, noticing the strong grip he had. "I'm glad you accepted this meeting."

"Well, I am curious on why you would ask me for a meeting, however, your offer did peek my interest." Sairaorg said with a grin.

"I'm glad it did and I promise to uphold my offer." Orochimaru replied.

"Please sit. Kuisha should be bringing the tea soon." Misla said with a friendly smile of her own.

The two devils agreed and sat adjacent to Sairaorg and his mother. Kuisha came in soon after with a plate that had the tea. She sat it on the coffee table in the middle of the room and poured Lee and Orochimaru some.

"Why, thank you." he said as he gripped his tea cup and took sip. "This… is very good."

"Wow! This is amazing! Orochimaru, do you ta-" Orochimaru's glare brought Lee out of his hyperness. "I-I mean… this is very delicious. Thank you, Ms. Abaddon."

Kuisha giggled at Lee's outburst and took her position behind Sairaorg. He took a sip of his own tea before beginning the meeting.

"So, Mr. Orochimaru…"

"Please, no Mr. is needed." he responded.

"Alright, Orochimaru, why did you ask for this meeting? I don't know of you and I'm not sure of what you're planning." Sairaorg said in curiosity.

"Well, I'll be blunt, I am a member of my master's peerage and I came on his behalf." he said.

"You mean that your master couldn't attend this meeting?" asked Misla. It was disrespectful for someone to request a meeting and not show up.

"My master is currently injured at the moment and didn't want you all to see him in such a state." Orochimaru said while lying through his teeth. It was his goal to get out of this meeting without releasing any type of information on his master. "I'm sorry for the complications."

"Oh, I understand. It's quite alright." Misla said, understanding his master's predicament. "Who is your master, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My master has informed me to keep his identity a secret. He'll reveal himself soon, but now is not the time." answered Orochimaru.

"What?" said Sairaorg in confusion, "He asked for a meeting with me, but doesn't want to reveal his identity? I'm not the best at these meetings, but I know that this sounds suspicious."

"I understand your confusion, but master is in a very difficult predicament that he can't reveal right now. I'd do my best to further explain it." said Orochimaru.

"In your message, you said we would have a Rating Game. How can we have one when your master won't show himself?" asked Sairaorg. He didn't like how this man was representing his master and was feeling like this was a bad idea.

"My master shall show himself, but in a different way. If you would please show yourself, Master." Orochiaru said to no one in particular, confusing the Baels and Kuisha.

Suddenly, to the surprise of the three, an orange orb suddenly appeared in the middle of the coffee table, oozing out magical power in the form of mist falling off the orb. Sairaorg's eyes widened as he looked down at the orb.

"This…what is this?" he said as he looked at the orb at awe.

Even Misla looked at the orb in awe. She could feel the strength of the orb, which must be representing Orochimaru and Lee's master. "This form….it would take considerable magical power and control to do something this…" she muttered.

 _"_ _Wh..why…thank you…_ _"_ said a disoriented voice, shocking the three even further.

"It can talk?" Kuisha said to herself in amazement.

Both Lee and Orochimaru stood from their seats and bowed down at the orb. "I'm glad you are here master." Lee said.

 _"_ _No..pr…problem…I am th…the [King]…of my…peerage…_ _"_ said the disoriented voice. Inside of the orb, there was a red king chess piece floating in the middle of it. _"_ _My..proof…_ _"_

"This is something never seen before." Misla said as she continued to look at the orb. "You…you must be strong…"

 _"_ _No…..not strong…enough…_ _"_ said the orb as it slowly disappeared.

"What happened? Where did he go?" asked Sairaorg.

"Remember, my master is still injured. He can't remain in such a state for so long." answered Orochimaru, lying through his teeth again. He had to remember to commend Naruto for his performance. Naruto could be in that form for as long as he wanted, to Orochimaru's knowledge.

"Will he be able to hold that form during the Rating Game?" asked Sairaorg. "And I imagine that he won't be able to fight in that form. You'll be at a major disadvantage. Are you alright with that?"

Orochimaru chuckled somewhat at Sairaorg's comment. "He'll be able to hold that form. He's saving his magic for the Rating Game, which is why he disappeared. And I promise you, we'll be able to survive. While you maybe at an advantage because he won't be there, we can handle our own." Orochimaru's confidence was reeling off of him, something Misla didn't approve of at all.

"While you are so confident of your fellow peerage members, it would be wise not to underestimate Sairaorg as well." Misla said with a small glare. Orochimaru's smirk didn't waver as he waved off Misla's warning.

"I know, and that's why we're asking for this battle with Sairaorg. My master want to show off his peerage before he makes his entrance and make a statement in devil society." said Orochimaru.

"If I may." Kuisha said. "You issued the challenge to Sairaorg, but do you have another reason for this battle?"

"Quite a clever [Queen] you have there, Sairaorg." said Orochimaru. "Yes, we do have another reason why we want to face you in a Rating Game…." Orochimaru paused to add to the suspense in the atmosphere. "If we win, our request is that you give us a pint of your blood."

"A pint… of my blood?" said Sairaorg. "Why do you need that?"

"For my master's injury." explained Orochimaru. "An interesting fact about my master is that he is a Bael."

"A Bael?" said Misla in surprise. "Do we know of him?"

"I don't believe so, Lady Bael." answered Orochimaru. "My master was injured very badly-

"And you want to conduct a blood transfusion." finished Kuisha, surprising the two Bael again.

"Yes. My master lost a lot of blood during the attack and is in a comatose state. We believe that the blood of such a strong Bael could help him, and who not to turn to but the heir of the Bael Clan?" stated Orochimaru.

Sairaorg studied Orochimaru before replying, "So you want my blood if you win, but what about my award? Don't I get something in return?"

"Oh yes." replied Orochimaru with another one of his devious smirks. "Our reward: Anything."

"Anything?" Misla asked.

"Yes, anything that you want, we can provide." Orochimaru said confidently.

"How can you do such things? You don't have that type of power." Misla said. She was really beginning to distrust this devil.

"Ah, but we can. Maybe it will take a certain amount of time for some wishes, but we can accomplish anything. My master has secret connections within our society that have enough power to do anything. All you have to do is trust me." said Orochimaru.

"But I don't trust you." Misla said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "This seems too good to be true. I'm going to need some type of proof or incentive in order to take your word truthfully."

Orochimaru sent the women a small glare. Even while there wasn't any hole in his story, she still didn't believe him. However, that wouldn't be a problem for long.

"Forgive me for what you're about to see." said Orochimaru, confusing everyone, even Lee. Orochimaru opened his mouth and, to everyone's shock and disgust, and snake slithered out.

"Oh my…" Kuisha held in the vomit that flooded her mouth.

"Orochimaru." Lee said as he looked at the snake. This was just disgusting. He was regretting his decision on coming to this meeting with them.

The snake's mouth opened, revealing a sword handle. Orochimaru grabbed it, making everyone grimace at the scene, and pulled a sword from the snake.

"Please ignore the saliva." said Orochimaru as the snake retreated back into his mouth. "Do you recognize this sword?"

"No." said Sairaorg. He didn't see anything special about the sword, and he didn't like how he summoned it. This man was creepy and disgusting.

"That sword… that's the Kusanagi no Tsurugi…" muttered Misla in awe. Just who were these people!

"Correct. A very powerful sword of legend. It is a holy-sword, but after some experimentation, it could be counted as a demonic sword, available for the use of its owner. This is my bargain. I'll let you hold this to prove that we are serious about this Rating Game and want you all too fully commit to it. If we win, we get a half of Sairaorg Bael's blood, and if you win, you get anything you want, plus ownership of this sword. Do you agree to these terms?"

Both Misla and Kuisha looked towards Sairaorg for the answer. He was the one that had the overall say-so in the matter. This was a great offer that they were putting on the line, but it was up to Sairaorg now.

"When do you want this fight of yours?" Sairaorg asked.

"Soon. As in very soon. My master needs the blood because of his injury and we'd like to make the transfusion as soon as possible. The sooner the better, but it's up to you." said Orochimaru.

Before Sairaorg could say anything else, Orochimaru continued speaking. "And just in case you have trouble in deciding for a wish that you will fight for, we have to power to restore your mother's place in society."

Sairaorg stood from his seat and glared down at Orochimaru, who was smirking as if nothing was happening. "How dare you. Do not use my mother as a bargaining chip…" he growled out.

"I am using what is important to you because I need your blood." exclaimed Orochimaru. "We both have people we want to protect so I am forcing my hand in order for you to comply! Do you remember when I told you my master was a Bael as well? He is strong, stronger than you can ever imagine. He can release your mother from her forced isolation! Isn't that what you're fighting for?"

Sairaorg growled at Orochimaru, gritting his teeth in anger. "You just know of each way to attack me, huh?"

"I did my research." Orochimaru said with a shoulder shrug. "Knowledge is power, after all."

"Sairaorg." Misla called her son. "You don't have to do this for me. We've talked about this. You don't have to focus on me. You have a future to think about and not me. You should use your wish for advancing yourself."

"No, mother…no…" Sairaorg said. "I want… I want to help you. You've been through too much since you had me and it isn't fair. I want to fight for your wellbeing because I love you." he said with confidence, shocking his mother.

Sairaorg turned to Orochimaru and held out his hand. "Okay. Your master's peerage against mine. If you win, you can have as much blood as you need, and you can keep your sword. If I win, then my wish will be to restore my mother's honor and I'll keep this sword of yours. Do we have a deal?"

Orochimaru and Lee stood up as well. Orochimaru reached out and shook Sairaorg hands with a smirk. He had done it.

"We'll have this game in 5 days time. I'll contact the others and those in charge of the Rating Game to set it up."

"Good. I'll leave this here then." said Orochimaru as he set his Kusanagi down on the coffee table. "In five days time then. Good luck to you." said Orochimaru as a magical circle appeared below his and Lee's feet.

"Understood. Until then." Sairaorg responded. With a final nod, both Orochimaru and Lee disappeared.

It was silent for a while before Misla entered a coughing fit. Both Sairaorg and Kuisha were at Misla's side.

"Mother, are you okay?" asked Sairaorg with worry.

"I'm sorry… I tried to hold it back as long as I could." Misla said weakly. "It seems like this sickness is starting to get to me."

"I promise you, Mother, I'll use that wish to help you." stated a serious Sairaorg. "I promise you that I'll win."

 **Midnight**

 **Naruto Peerage's House (Yeah, that sounds better)**

Orochimaru and Lee appeared back at the house to find it totally dark. Everything was dark, except for the TV that was playing a movie.

"AHHHH!" shouted one of the female characters as a person from the shadows jumped out with a monster like facemask on.

"Ahahahah!" laughed the group that was watching the movie. Kisame, Yoh, Anna, and Hao were laughing at the movie like it was a comedy. While Anna and Hao's laughter was more controlled, Yoh and Kisame couldn't control themselves as the moved around in their seats in laughter.

"These people are so fucking stupid!" laughed Kisame as he put a hand in the popcorn bowl and ate a chunk of it. "This movie is too funny!"

"Stupid humans…" Hao said with a grin as he continued watching.

"Seems you all are having a good tim-

"SSShhhhhh!" said the group as they turned their attention back to the television. Orochimaru eye twitched somewhat at being cut off. He instantly grabbed the remote and paused the movie.

"The fuck!?" shouted Kisame as he looked at Orochimaru in anger. "What's your problem!?"

"That was the third Purge movie we were watching and you just cut us off…" Anna growled at the snake man.

"Not cool, bro." Yoh said with a dissatisfied face.

"Can you please return the remote to Anna so she can press play?" said Hao that promised pain if he didn't do so.

"I came to tell you all that we have a Rating Game coming up in the next five days." announced Orochimaru, gaining their interest while doing so. "Be prepared for battle. This is the first step in freeing our master from his jail.

They all silently nodded in agreement, understanding the importance of the Rating Game. The plan was in motion and it wouldn't be long until he would be freed.

"Okay, that's great. NOW PLAY THE FUCKING MOVIE!" shouted Kisame.

"You know, I heard that the next one will be in theaters soon." stated Yoh.

"Really now?" said Kisame with an raised eyebrow. "When?"

"Like, next week soon!" he said.

"We must go see it." stated Hao with a determined face. "We shall see it during opening night and enjoy this amazing slaughter."

"Agreed." they all said. Orochimaru sighed as he left the room, but not before handing the remote back to Anna's control. He did his part and now, he needed rest.

 **Morning**

 **Hyoudou Residence**

Issei yawned as he slowly opened his eyes. He felt well rest for some reason and his bed was so warm. One of the best sleeps he had in a while.

A small moan came from the resting body of Rias Gremory next to him. He had apparently placed his hand right on her breast when he stretched out, causing her to moan.

Issei looked at her beautiful body, and while he did find it attractive, he didn't overreact like he usually did. He wanted to enjoy the eyeful he was getting, but images of Yuuma flooded his mind.

He sighed as he looked up at his blank ceiling.

"This again…"

 **WWOOOOOOHHH! Just typed up a good 7 thousand words in one day cause I wanted to release this chapter today. I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter; it was fun to type the meeting between Orochimaru and Sairaorg.**

 **All of Naruto's peerage (except for Kuroka) have entered Kuoh and are about to fuck some shit up!**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: NARUTO'S PEERAGE VERSES SAIRAORG AND HIS PEERAGE! GON BE EPIC!**

 **Now, please tell me a story that's doing what I'm doing. A major battle like this?! Happening this soon? The Riser battle hasn't even happened yet but I'm already cooking up with hot fire in the story this early! The next one is going to be long to! Gotta be descriptive in my fight scenes that you all love so much!**

 **Orochimaru is such a freaking savage in my story. He such a savage that if he was a good guy in Naruto, he should act like how he's acting in my story. Would make Naruto even cooler than it is now.**

 **I don't have much to say, but if you all have any question, you can ask them as a review or pm. I'll be responding for the rest of this week so keep them questions coming in, ya diggggg….**

 **I shall see the Purge next week as well… even tho I haven't seen the third one yet…sadness…**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	6. TheMajesticGreenBeast!

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, waiting for the 4** **th** **of July so I can go see the new Purge.**

 **While most of the reviews I got from the last chapter were good, I didn't get as many reviews as I thought I would. Like, during the first 24 hours, I got somewhere under 50 reviews. Now I'm not being arrogant and saying, 'Oh, give me more reviews, peasants!' cause that ain't the NarutoPlug way. Its just that I usually get somewhere around 70 reviews for each chapter or something like that. The first chapter had north of 150 reviews….**

 **Anyway, I just want you all to be able to express your opinions of the story in the reviews, cause that's what make my story look good and it's the best way for you all to express your thoughts. Let's get this joint up to 530 reviews, ya heard me?**

 **You guys are killing it with the follows and favs! I thank you all for your support!**

 **Also, shout out to LaDraig because he is my beta now and I haven't received any complaints on Chapters 4 or 5, chapters that he edited, so send him a thank you for cleaning up my shitty typing.**

 **Anyway, enough of that,**

 **Let's get back to the story**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheMajesticGreenBeast!**

 **Occult Research Club**

Orochimaru sipped his tea lightly and sighed at the taste. Truly, Rias' [Queen] could really make some delicious tea…

"So you are really going through with this." said Rias Gremory from her desk. She had her has linked together to support her chin as she stared at the snake man. "You really are going to fight Sairaorg today?"

"Correct, but it isn't just me. My master's peerage will completely dominant the boy and begin to make a name for ourselves for the sake of my master." answered Orochimaru with another sip of his tea.

"You guys should watch us!" said Lee as he munched on one of Akeno's home baked cookies. "It's going to be really fun! My first Rating Game! I'm really excited."

"Of course. I'd be worried about my first Rating Game as well." said Sona as she adjusted her glasses. "I do hope you all succeed, despite our differences."

It was after the school day and the day that Sairaorg's peerage would face Naruto's peerage. Naruto's peerage were using the last few hours to prepare and relax their nerves for their first ever Rating Game, which would be filmed in front of the whole Devil society. Orochimaru and Lee decided to inform the owners of the territory they were staying on what was going on. Rias' peerage, along with Sona and Tsubaki, were all enjoying Akeno's cooking as they listened to Orochimaru and Lee.

"You should watch us destroy the Bael's peerage." said Orochimaru with his ever present cocky smirk that sent shivers down the younger devil's bodies. The man was always found a way to creep the out with those sly smiles of his that seemed to promise pain.

"I actually will watch this Rating Game." said Sona with a nod. "I want to see the power that you've been bragging about as well as the rest of your master's peerage. I've felt their magical power throughout the week, which I summed up to you all as training for the Rating Game. Tsubaki and I are really interested in you all."

"Sadly," said Rias with a sigh, "I won't be able to watch the game tonight. We still have a group of Fallen Angels that I need to handle. Apparently, one of them is the reason why Issei was killed."

"Yea!" shouted Issei as he stood up from his seat. "And when I catch her, I'll make her regret what she's done to me!" Issei's Boosted Gear appeared on his arm to back up his words. "I can't wait for tonight."

"Seems your all set then!" Lee said as he inhaled the last cookie, causing Koneko to glare at him in anger. "I'll have the same mindset for tonight then! I'll show them my YOUTH!"

"We really should have killed him back then…" muttered Koneko with murderous eyes.

"We'll I'm glad you're ready for the task, Lee." said Orochimaru, "because you'll be having a major role in tonight's battle." he said, causing Lee to raise one of his bushy eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean, Orochimaru?" he asked.

" Today will be your right of passage, if that's what you want to call it, into the peerage. It'll be a measuring stick to see how strong you've become over these last two years. You'll be the one to take on Sairoarg."

"Really!" shouted Lee with happiness. "I'll be able to fight Sairoarg?! And uninterrupted too?!"

"Absolutely. I plan on telling the others to clean up the other little devils so that you can have a full brawl with Sairoarg. You don't have to beat him, but if you do, I'm sure you'll make our master proud." answered Orohimaru.

"I'll do it!" Lee shouted with the largest grin on his face. "I'll show everyone that I'm a great fighter!"

Rias and Sona, along with the other devils, sent Orochimaru glances of disbelief. Does he really plan to make Lee fight Sairoarg, a high-class Bael, by himself?

"Are you sure of this, Orochimaru?" asked Sona with worry for the hyperactive beast. "I-I mean… Lee hasn't been a devil for a long time. Do you really believe that it'll be safe for him?"

"Nothing in this world is safe." said Orochimaru as he finished his tea. "We'll win no matter what, so we might as well use the opportunity to test young Lee's abilities. If he fails, then the next person will clean up the mess. If he wins, then it'll be an even more impressive victory seeing a low-class, reincarnated devil beat the heir to the Bael Clan. Everything will be fine."

"If you say so." muttered Rias as she looked at the jolly Lee, who had Issei in a crushing hug. They were doing so well with their rookie member. Maybe tonight would help Issei trust her more than he does now? "While I won't be rooting for you, seeing as Sairoarg is my cousin, I wish you no harm. You probably wouldn't do the same if we were in a Rating Game, but alas, I guess I'll be the bigger person." she bragged with a playful smirk.

"Oh, you are absolutely right." Orochimaru with a smile, causing Rias and Sona to sweat drop. Orochimaru was really cold-hearted and wasn't afraid to tell anyone. "However, I wish you luck during your own battle. You'll be getting rid of a pest that I was planning to deal with myself, so I thank you in advance for handling them."

"No problem at all." Rias said. "I'll be sure to watch your 'victory' later on."

"Fufufu… Seems you don't have faith in us." Orochimaru muttered with a glare. "It doesn't matter. I don't need the praises of a spoiled little brat. Maybe this battle can help you understand how a real peerage fights."

Rias' peerage sent their own glares at Orochimaru, even Issei, but he ignored them all. They couldn't do anything to him, so he wasn't worried at all.

"Well, it's time for us to go." said Orochimaru as he stood from his seat. "Lee! Time to go back home."

"Yes sir." he said as he prepared a teleportation magic seal. "I'll see you all tomorrow!" he said with a wave.

"Watch our match closely, Sitri." Orochimaru said with his wicked smirk. "It'll blow your mind." and with that, the two disappeared.

"That man…" muttered Rias with a shack of her head. He was going to be a problem in the future. She could just feel it.

"Well it is your fault for allow them to stay here." Sona said, bringing up Rias' embarrassing moment she had during their last meeting. "I'd say that they are your problem."

"Fufufu, seems like Rias has a problem that she can't handle for once." laughed Akeno. "I wonder how this will play out."

"Forget him." Rias huffed. "I'll be sure to put my foot down and show them whose boss!"

Rias opened one of the many drawers that her desk had to get a plate for the extra cookies that Akeno made. However, when she opened it, a 6 foot snake shot out of it.

"AAAHHH!" she shouted girlishly as she jumped out of her seat and hid behind Issei, who also looked at the snake in fear.

"How did he get that thing in there!?" shouted Issei as he imagined Orochimaru laughing at them evilly for falling for his little trap.

Sona, while surprised, giggled at Rias' predicament. Ever since she revived Issei, things had been lively in Kuoh. The snake man was sure to bring her more entertainment in the form of a screaming Rias in the near future.

"This battle just got even more interesting to me." Sona said to Tsubaki, who nodded in agreement with her [King].

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Hao and Yoh were sitting in lawn chairs in the backyard, soaking up the sun. The two were having some time together as brothers before all the chaos that would surely occur after the Rating Game later on today.

"Ahhh! This feels great." Yoh said as he closed his eyes in satisfaction. He didn't get a lot of time to relax because of Anna's harsh training, but now he could kick back, listen to music, and eat food. Life was starting to turn in his favor…

"We should do this more often. We'll just have to get Anna off our back every now and then." said the relaxed Hao as he crossed his arms behind his head. The catastrophe was soon to begin after the Rating Game, but at least he had his younger brother with him. "Maybe go to movies or something… It'll be nice."

"Yeah…" Yoh said. "I'm glad you're here. You really went crazy on us for a while. All of that's in the past though, right?"

"Right, that's all in the past. However, I still have hate for a lot of beings, but I won't act on that because there is good in this world. I just need to put myself in the right position in order for me to experience that goodness." answered Hao. "However, if somebody tries to attack me or anyone in this peerage, they're good as dead."

"Yea, yea. I didn't expect anything less." said Yoh with a grin. "What do you think about the others, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Honestly, they seem alright. Lee might get on my nerves sooner rather than later if he keeps asking me to train with him." said Hao with annoyance. "And Kisame…he's going to be a problem."

"Eh, I don't know. Maybe he's just defensive. We don't know his story. But I didn't like how he presented himself during the meeting. These past couple of days has been calm, but you suspect he may act out again?" asked Yoh.

"Surely." answered Hao. "He's arrogant. He acts like he can't lose. If he keeps acting this way, I may have to burn him." a small flame appeared in Hao's palm. "The only reason why I didn't do anything to him during the meeting is because I wanted to keep my appearance up in front of the others. Orochimaru, for example, seems very intelligent. Since Naruto-sama isn't here, I guess he'll be the leader of the group until further notice, which I don't have a problem with. Being the leader takes a lot of patience, a characteristic I don't have."

"We'll have to work on that. Don't want you blowing up the microwave whenever you wait for the popcorn to be done, huh?" Yoh said with a chuckle.

"You're so lame." his brother said back with a small grin on his own. He looked back up to the skies and sighed in contentment. This was what he wanted. He was happy with himself and wasn't alone anymore.

"Peace…" muttered Hao.

Yoh heard his brother, but he didn't comment on it. He knew what he was talking about. Hao has been through so many mental battles within himself, but now he found himself with the help of their master. Even though he wasn't the one to convince his brother of his wrong doings, he would forever be grateful for their master and would take upon any task that he needed to be done.

"Everything is gonna work out, Hao." Yoh said to his brother. "We'll be just fine."

 **Underworld**

"SSSiiiirrrrrrzeeeeeecchhhhhsssssss-cchhhaaaaaaannnnnnnnn!"

"Oh, well look at this surprise." said a red-headed devil that looked very familiar to Rias Gremory. He was sitting at a large desk filled with papers. "Been a while, huh, Serafall?"

"Sure has, Sirzechs-chan!" said Serafall as she walked into his study with happiness radiating off her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much. I've just been checking in with the arranged marriage situation that my sister is in. I'm still trying to find a way for her to be free from such a curse…" he said.

"That's so mean! I understand keeping up the pure-blooded population of devils, but I don't agree with forcing her onto someone as incompetent as Riser Phenex." she said with a pout. "She deserves someone better."

Serafall, after all these years, looked the same was she did centuries before. The only change was her clothing, in which she wore magical girl outfit for her television show 'Miracle Levia-tan'. Her attitude was noticeably happier than what she used to be during her time in the war, even though the person that helped her get through those times wasn't around anymore.

"Yes, she does deserve someone that she loves. I don't like the attitude that this devil has. He is arrogant and head strong. I fear for what he might do to her during their marriage…" he said.

"Is there anything I can do? I want to be able to help little Rias-chan." Serafall said in sadness. She looked to Rias as a little sister, not as much as her actual sister, but she did love the younger Gremory a lot and would take the chance to help her if she had to power to do so.

"I'm afraid not, Serafall." Sirzechs with a frown "I'll just have to wait this one out until the opportunity presents itself."

"Alright…" Serafall said as she sat in one of the chairs available. "Anything else on your mind?"

"Actually… yes… yes there is." Sirzechs as he turned to Serafall. "Do you remember Naruto?"

Serafall's heart dropped and her eyes widened when she heard her past-lover's name. Till this day, she felt guilty for what happened to him and hated herself for it, and now she didn't even know where he was to pick up where they left off. His name was always a sore subject for her and it took her a long time to get over the blonde devil, but he would still remain in the back of her mind no matter how much she tried to forget.

"Y-yes… Naruto…" she mumbled. Sirzechs raised an eyebrow at how she was acting. When he said Naruto's name, her bubbly personality did a full 180… and didn't she add 'chan' to everyone's name?

"Well, I was wondering if you knew where he was. I haven't seen him in centuries! Ever since the war ended, it's like he disappeared."

"Well…uhmm… there were some complications…between us…" she said regretfully.

"Complications? I never knew the reason why you two stopped dating. One day he is with you every day, and the next, he's like a ghost of the past." Sirzechs said with curiosity. "Can you tell me what happened, if you don't mind, that is."

"Well… I had to cut things off with Naruto for…political reasons…" she answered. "My mother and father didn't agree with me dating a low-class devil like Naruto. They thought it would tarnish my image so they told me to stop dating him after the war was over."

"Wow… I never knew…" he said in surprise. "And you did it?"

"N-no..No… I couldn't do it." she muttered. She didn't want Sirzechs to see her shameful face so she lowered her head towards the floor. "My father decided to take matters into his own hands and handled the break up for me."

"So he's the one that convinced Naruto to break up with you." Sirzechs said while rubbing his chin. "Interesting. No offense, but I didn't take Lord Sitri to be the threatening type."

"He is when his daughters are involved." she said. "Ever since then, Naruto disappeared. He hasn't tried to meet me, call me, anything. It's like he really did disappear."

"Do you think he killed him?" Sirzechs asked with no hesitation. He was not going to stand for such murder of a devil that did nothing wrong, even if he was a clan leader.

"No! No, he wouldn't do something like that!" yelled Serafall, surprising Sirzechs further. "My father isn't like that. He told me that he convinced Naruto to cut things off b-between us… for good."

"That… isn't reassuring." answered Sirzechs with a growl. "Naruto wasn't the type of person to succumb to any situation he was in. He was smart, even smarter than me, and would have found some type way to fight back. You know this more than I do, correct?"

"Yes, b-but Sirezechs-

"So when you tell me that your father said that he 'convinced' Naruto to break up with you, do you expect me to just accept that? Doesn't that sound a little suspicious to you?"

"It is, but I know my father wouldn't do anything to rash to Naruto! He knows the consequences of killing a comrade, especially Naruto after his efforts in the war, but do you think that my father would do something as stupid as killing him!? Do you, Sirzechs!?" she yelled. "I trust my father, and while I haven't seen Naruto, I know that he didn't kill him!"

"So he didn't kill him…" muttered Sirzechs as he laced his fingers together "So what does that leave? Banishment, maybe? If so, your father doesn't have the authority to do that. Naruto isn't a part of the Sitri Clan so he wouldn't have any jurisdiction to do so. If Naruto was still here today, I can assure you that he would have been promoted to a high-class devil and a general in charge of a portion of our army. I would have made sure that he would have gotten the respect that he deserved after everything he went through. For Lucifer's sake, his own mother killed herself because her husband died in the war! After all of that, he still fought for his home! Do you honestly believe that he's just okay living somewhere right under our noses!?"

Serafall dropped her head in shame. She couldn't retort to that. She had been running away from the idea that Naruto was dead a long time ago. However, after hearing Sirzechs break down everything, the thought of him being dead seemed more possible than anything.

Her shoulders shook as she thought back on her past blonde lover. He had tried everything to make her happy during those times of war and darkness. The small talks after battle, sneaking to her personal quarters and just chatting about anything that came to mind, giving her some of his food, even when it was scarce, just to make sure that she was well fed. Everything that the two went through flooded from the back of her mind and now every thought was about him. How he colored his armor orange because he didn't like the gray color of their armor, how he devoured ramen, his cheeky grin and his positive attitude to anything, event the bad things…. Serafall covered her eyes as tears started to fall at a fast pace because of what she did to him.

Sirzechs watched Serafall go through her traumas, but he didn't do anything to stop it. She was partially responsible for the disappearance of a war hero…. a hero that she dated no less! While he hated seeing her like this because they were close friends, he couldn't deny that there were better ways to handle this situation.

While Serafall wasn't paying paying attention to him, Sirzechs pulled out a letter from his desk and read the message for the hundredth time since receiving it-

' _Do you know want to know the secret of Naruto Bael? We'll meet soon….'_ Sirzechs folded the message and put it back into his desk. He didn't want Serafall or anyone to know about this yet…

After a few minutes of her crying, Serafall started to regain her bearings again. "Sorry…" she muttered to the devil leader as she wiped her eyes.

"It's alright." he said "However, I can't deny that this is a troubling situation, Serafall. I'm going to investigate this further in order to find out what happened to Naruto."

Sirzechs stood from his seat and walked towards one of the many windows in the room. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I was so caught up with my promotion that I totally forgot about him… Damn it…"

"I'm sorry, Sirzechs," Serafall said as she walked up to her friend, "but I felt like I didn't have a choice. I my life, up to that point, I was told to put my clan over everything. It was a physiological battle that I had within myself, asking myself day in and out whether should I choose Naruto or my Clan."

"And you chose your clan." he said. "I understand that… I was taught similarly to you, after all. Even if that his true, you knew that you were one of the few devils that had the best odds at becoming a Satan. You should have waited that out until you were free. While I want to defend you on this because we are very close friends, Serafall, you've done a lot of questionable things in this fiasco. You should have talked to somebody."

"I understand, but I was young and scared of all the pressure." she said. "I didn't fully understand everything going on and I take full blame for it."

Sirzechs sighed and turned to his co-Satan. "Listen, we'll deal with this soon. I was going to enjoy the Rating Game that is soon to come on; Sairaorg Bael against a peerage that hasn't been in a Rating Game. Care to join me?"

Serafall smiled at Sirzechs. "I'd like that."

 **Timeskip – Evening**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Naruto's peerage members were all sitting in the living room waiting to be called for the Rating Game against Sairaorg Bael's peerage.

"Ugghhhhh!" said Kisame as he slumped down into his seat. "When is this thing going to start? I'm hungry to shed some blood!"

"It will start soon, Mr. Kisame. We just have to remain patient." Lee said. "But I can't wait for this too! It's going to be so fun going against Sairaorg Bael by myself!"

"What!" shouted the shark man "Who said you were the one to fight him!?"

"We all said that yesterday during the meeting about this Rating Game." uttered Anna. "If you didn't go to sleep during the meeting, you would have known this."

"Well I say that we revote on this decision because I want to be the one who kills- I mean beat their [King]!" shouted Kisame.

"Too late. We've already decided that this is the time for Lee to show his strength off to everyone since he is the weakest." Anna barked back "If anything goes bad, we'll step in and finish the Bael off."

"Correct." said Orochimaru "Lee will save his energy for the final battle. We'll just sweep through the rest of them to quicken the eventual battle between Sairaorg and Lee."

"So wait, is this guy's peerage event that strong?" asked Kisame.

"Compared to most young devils, he is the strongest [King] with the strongest peerage. However, if you compare them to us, you might as well say it's like a few ants trying to kill a pack of dogs." answered Hao while sipping some red wine.

"AWwwwWWWwww Come on!" shouted Kisame as he slammed his hand on the edge of table, accidently breaking it off. "I thought this was going to be fun! This is just us babysitting the rookie!"

"I don't care how you see it, we're going to let Lee finish the fight." Anna gave Kisame a deadly stare "You should stop complaining before I take care of you myself."

"Friends, friends, we shouldn't fight." said Yoh, acting as the peacekeeper "We have a job to do. We'll just make this quick and watch the rest of that season of Big Bang Theory."

"I hate that fucking show! They're saying too many smart things!" shouted Kisame. "This is crazy! I can finish that little Bael in a jiff. We're going to be there all day with WonderBoy fighting him."

"Again, we don't care what you think. You should have paid attention to the meeting we had yesterday." Hao said. "I can be the one who can put you in check, or maybe we should call Naruto-sama to do that?"

Kisame grumbled a few cursed under his breath but didn't say anything else after that. Orochimaru sighed, glad that the stupid argument was laid to rest….. for now, at least.

Before anything else could be said, a petite, purple haired, female devil in a maid's outfit appeared in the living room. "Hello. This is the peerage that is going against Sairaorg Bael's peerage, correct?" she asked.

"Yes, indeed." Orochimaru said, standing out of his seat. Everyone else followed his lead "Is it time to go?"

"Yes, but before we do, I was informed that this Rating Game has… a special need… if that's the way to put it. Your [King] won't actually be in attendance, right?" she asked.

"Right. He'll be in a different form by using his magic. He is currently injured right now and cannot compete in a competition in this magnitude." said Orochimaru.

"So how will he attend because there cannot be a Rating Game without one of the peerage's leader?"

The maid tried to hide her surprise when an orange orb appeared from the floorboards blow them. However, she kept her act up and continued "Are you the [King] of this peerage?" she asked.

" _Yes…_ " mumbled the orb in a disoriented voice.

"Alright. What is your name?"

" _I'd like to re….refrain….fr…from mentioning…._ " answered the orb.

"We-well, we'll have to give you an alias if you want to participate in the Rating Game." she said.

" _An… alias?_ " said the voice in interest. While the maid didn't catch it, Naruto's peerage had the feeling that giving their slightly crazy master the freedom to choose an alias wasn't the greatest idea….

 **Rating Game Pocket Dimension**

Sairoarg and his peerage appeared in what seemed to be a old, abandoned barn. There was hay all over the ground, but there were some stacks that the team could use as seats.

"So this is the place they decided for us to have the game." Kuisha said to herself as she sat on one of the hay-made seats and crossed her legs.

"Seems so." said Liban Crocell, a young man with blond hair wearing a set of brown armor. "It reminds me of the Familiar Forest in a way."

"No matter the arena, we'll win anyway!" shouted Coriana Andrealphus arrogantly. She was a beautiful blonde haired girl that wore a revealing business suit that showed a lot of her creamy legs and chest.

"Let's not get to excited, Coriana." said Gandoma Balam, a devil that looked like a walking rock. "We hardly know anything about our opponents. Meanwhile, they've probably watched all of our films."

"True, but we've been on a winning streak lately." said Beruka Furcas, a teenager dressed in knight's armor and riding an armored horse. "It's okay to have confidence, but not too much confidence."

"Hehe, we'll win this battle." said Ladora Bune, an older looking man with dark green hair and eyes. "As long as we have Sairoarg with us, we'll be fine."

"While it is unsettling that we don't know who we're going up against, I can't say that I'm not excited for this game. We haven't had one in a while." said Misteeta Sabnock, a boy dressed like a warlock.

"This should be entertaining for now…" muttered Regulus, an orange/golden hair.

"Alright team, listen up." said Sairaorg. "While I don't know much about this team, there is a man on their team that has characteristics like a snake…"

"What do you mean?" asked Misteeta.

"He has pale skin, a sharp, manipulative, and has eyes like a snake." said Kuisha. "You'll know who we're talking about when you see him."

"I want you all to leave him to me," said Sairaorg, surprising everyone other than Kuisha. "Since he acted in his [King]'s place during the meeting, I'm strongly sure that he's the leader. And if he's the leader, he may indeed be the strongest. I'll handle him."

"And we still don't know how many people we have going against us?" asked Coriana with a hair flip.

"No, so we're going to have to work as a team in order for us to win. Buddy up. Nobody moves by themselves."

They all nodded at their heads at their King and prepared for the Rating Game.

"Hello." said voice of the ref of the game. "I am Chairtaro, the announcer for this match. This Rating Game hosts the peerage of Sairaorg Bael and an unknown devil that uses the alias of 'Pickle Rick'! The arena is a dense forest filled with a variety of different types of forestry! Unlike most Rating Game, this game shall have a special rule!"

"Special rule?" said Beruka.

"Please turn your attention to the sky of the arena!" shouted Chairtaro. A picture of the same orange orb appeared in the sky. "The rule is simple: because Pickle Rick couldn't fight in this Rating Game because of previous injury, if anyone on Team Sairaorg can capture this orb that represents the [King] of Team Pickle Rick, they will win instantly!"

 **Sirzechs Office**

"What is that?" Sirzechs said as he stared at his television in interest. That orange orb represented the [King] of the opposing peerage?

"That seems like a very high disadvantage for that team." said Serafall as she looked at the orb as well. "If you don't have you're [King] fighting with you, or at least leading, then the odds of you losing increases ten-fold."

"Maybe, but if they were accepting of those rules, then they must feel like they can compete without their [King]" stated Sirzechs. "We'll see how this works in the long run…"

 **Inside the forest**

"Why did you name yourself Pickle Rick?" said an irritated Hao as he glared at his leader, who was in his orb form.

" _Pic..pickless…. nice…. " stated Naruto. "Rick…..nice. nn..name…_" said their leader.

"No matter our name, we are here to win this Rating Game." said Orochimaru. "Now, Anna, I remember during our meeting that you can sense our opponents, right?"

"Correct. I se-

"I can sense them as well!" shouted Kisame with a bark. "There' 9 of em' directly north of us."

"But can you sense which are each piece in the Evil Piece system?" asked Anna as she glanced at Kisame with a scowl.

"…..fuck you…." he muttered at sat on the ground.

Anna smirked at her small victory before turning her attention back towards Orochimaru. "There are 9 of them, including two [Rook]s, two [Knight]s, and two [Bishop]s, and a member of their peerage worth seven [Pawn] pieces. There is also a [Queen] among them." she finished.

"I wish we can meet our [Queen]…." muttered Lee as he kicked some of the hay in their barn in sadness.

"Good job, Anna." stated Orochimaru. "Very impressive sensing capabilities; I'm sure that it will be useful in the future. The game should begin soon."

Not long after Orochimaru said that, the announcer started the countdown. "Good luck to both competitors! The Rating Game starts in 3….2….1….. Go!"

"Let's go, let's go, let's Gooooo!" shouted Lee as he started to run out of the barn, however, Hao grabbed the back of his jumpsuit. "Awwww! Let me go!"

"No. You're not fighting until the end. Anna, may you please tell us how they're moving?" asked Hao as held Lee in a surprisingly strong grip.

"They're moving in pairs. There's a [Rook] and a [Knight] heading east, [Knight] and [Rook] headed west, and two [Bishop]s headed directly towards us, and the [King], [Queen], and the [Pawn] are staying at their base."

"We'll then." said Orochimaru with a clap of his hands "Seems we'll split up."

"I got the [Knight] and [Rook] headed west!" and with that, Kisame ran off by himself.

"Ok then… Yoh, Anna… I'm sure you two can handle the other pair headed directly ahead of us. Hao, you can handle what's out east. Lee and I will follow Anna and Yoh, cleaning through their opponents, and head towards their [King]. When you finish your battle, Hao, head in that direction." explained Orochimaru. "We'll make things quick so we can take out their head."

"Agreed. I'll see you all in a couple of minutes." said Hao as he walked out of the barn.

"Will you follow us as well?" Yoh asked their master.

"Maybe…" and the orb merged with the ground, disappearing.

"Well then. That answers that. Let's get a move on." said Anna as she led the group directly north of them.

 **With Kisame**

"Gotcha!" shouted Kisame as he jumped down in front of his prey. The land caused a huge crater to form under him, the ground not being able to stand the pressure of Kisame's strength.

"What's happening!" shouted Liban as he used his arms to guard his face from the debris flying at them.

"Our enemy found us this quick?!" shouted Gandoma as he guarded himself as well.

The two jumped back from the crater when Kisame hopped out his crater. "While I have to clean this up really quick, I hope you two can entertain me for a couple of good seconds." the wrapping from Kisame's sword started to loosen towards the bottom of it.

"Get ready to use your Sacred Gear, Liban!" shouted Gandoma as he readied himself in a fighting stance.

"Sacred Gear? Oh, we can't have that!" Kisame jetted across the field and right in front of Liban, who started to reach for his sword. Quicker than the young devil could ever be, Kisame grabbed Samehada and jumped over Liban, dodging his sword swipe. Before Gandoma could help Liban, Samehada's mouth opened wide and ate Liban whole, his feet the only thing visable.

"Li-Liban!" shouted Gandoma as he looked at Kisame in shock.

"Ahhh…. that feels good…" muttered Kisame as held up Samehada and drained Liban of his magic. "Those pesky Sacred Gear users…they're so unpredictable, so I had to get rid of him first." Blood started to flow from Samehada's mouth and drip from Liban's twitching feet. "It'll take me 'bout a good 5 seconds for him to die."

"How dare you!" shouted Gandoma as he ran towards Kisame to assault him. After getting in range of the blue skinned devil, Gandoma punched at Kisame, but Kisame lazily caught the punch with his free hand, shocking Gandoma even more.

"Ugh… and they called me ugly…" Kisame said as he looked at Gandoma's face. "Oh well.." and with a jerk of his wrist, Kisame snapped Gandoma's hand.

"GAAahhhhHHHHH!" shouted Gandoma. He tried to pull back, but the grip that Kisame had on his hand stopped him.

"Alright, he's done." said Kisame as Samahada spit out Liban. His body was incased in blue while Kisame turned to the pain-ridden Gandoma. "Can you quench my hunger?"

 **Sairaorg's Base**

"A [Rook] and [Knight] of Sairaorg Bael has retired!"

"What!" shouted Sairaorg as he stood from his seat. "That quick!?"

"These guys… they must be really strong…" Regulus muttered to himself.

"This is surprising." said Kuisha as she stood with her [King]. "Maybe we should depart earlier than expected."

"Yea, before we lose anyone-

"A [Bishop] and a [Rook] of Sairaorg Bael has retired!"

 **30 seconds before announcement…**

"A [Rook] and [Knight] of Sairaorg Bael has retired!"

"Hmm… well he works fast." said Hao, referring to Kisame.

Hao was strolling through the thick forest with little difficulty and no sense of direction. He wasn't going to look for his hiding opponents; so instead, he let out a small amount of his magic for his prey to pick up on.

"Right on time…" muttered Hao as he kept walking, but his eyes darted to the left of him.

Beruka, sitting on top of his trusty steed, came from the bushes and charged at Hao with his lance.

"Diee!" he shouted. But before he could even make any decent ground towards Hao, a small stream of condensed fire pierced his armor and body. Shooting right through his right pectoral and exiting his back, the force of the blow knocked Beruka right off of Altobaru.

Coming from Hao's cloak was his right index finger which was smoking from the fire he produced. He looked down at Beruka in disgust as he withered on the ground.

"I thought [Knight]s fight with honor. But it seems that your fear of us increased when you heard the announcement of the other two retiring. Hoping to catch me off guard, you use your surrounding as an advantage. It would have worked on anyone else, but I'm no rookie. You were to slow and noticeable to me."

However, before Hao could end Beruka, another man dropped down from the trees. His magic was fluctuating in anger and his scowl towards Hao was deadly.

"How dare you do that to Beruka you insignificant boy!" he shouted as he started to grow.

Hao didn't appear to notice that Ladora was transforming into a dragon. The only thing that he cared about was what Ladora said about him.

"Insignificant…" Hao looked down at his palms and clinched them at anger. "You dare call me insignificant…."

Ladora, finishing his dragon transformation, locked onto Hao's form and spewlled red-hot flames from his mouth and towards him. Hao glared at the flames with hatred as he held out his hands to his supposed approaching doom.

"So small…"

A large, red arm appearing out of thin air held out its hand and blocked all of the fire intended for Hao. The flame assault lasted for a few seconds, but Hao was revealed to be completely untouched by the flames. His partner, however, was caught by the flames and Beruka's body looked like a torch.

"Oh no, Beruka!" shouted Ladora. Before he could go save his friend, a red monster half the size of Ladora in his dragon form fizzled in front of him. Hao was standing on its while looking up at Ladora.

"I'll show you insignificant!" shouted Hao, his anger getting the best of him "Spirit of Fire! End him!"

With a loud roar, the newly named Spirit of Fire reared its' arm back and lodged it into Ladora's chest. The dragon roared in pain and was trashing, trying to get away from Hao, but the Spirit of Fire's arm was fully planted inside of Ladora's chest.

"Burn." muttered Hao as Ladora's body was encased in fire, much like his partner's own. Soon enough, Ladora receded into his base form and faded away in a blue light, with Beruka following in suit.

"A [Rook] and [Knight] of Sairaorg Bael has retired!"

 **With Sirzechs and Serafall**

Both Satan's attention was focused to the television as they watched the spectacle happening right before their eyes.

"Who are these people…" Sirzechs as he watched Hao laughing at Ladora's body fading in the light before flying off on top of the monster that appeared out of nowhere.

Serafall couldn't utter any words as she continued to watch this mysterious peerage destroy the peerage of the most powerful youngest [King] in the underworld.

 **With Orochimaru, Yoh, Anna, and Lee**

"They really are doing some damage out there, huh." muttered Yoh as he listened to the latest update on who was still in the Rating Game.

"They're doing they're job." said Anna. "I don't want to be here for long. We'll finish the weaklings in front of us and Lee will have his battle with Sairaorg."

"Oohhhh, I can't wait to show them my YOUTH!" he yelled.

Continuing their walk, the group approached the last remain members of Sairaorg's peerage that wasn't at their base.

"Stan-stand back!" shouted Coriana as she shot a spear of ice towards the group. It was easily destroyed by a simple sword stroke from Yoh.

"Hey now, no need to be chunking ice spears at anyone. We just want to pass through all happy and healthy, ya know? So if you can just slowly get out of our way, we won't attack." Yoh said with a peaceful smile.

"Stop being peaceful, Yoh." his grin turned into a frown "We're going to make quick work of them at that's it."

"We wo-won't let you through! We have to protect Sairaorg!" shouted Misteeeta, but the fear was evident in his voice.

"Right… even though we may lose, we still won't give up!" shouted Coriana, clinching her fist as she charged up her magic.

However, what the two didn't see were two demonic creatures standing behind them. One red and another blue, both flashing large fangs and spikes protruding their foreheads, they gave the unsuspecting Coriana and Misteeta a chop to their necks. They both fainted in the quick but embarrassing defeat.

"Good job, Zenki and Goki." said Anna. They both nodded as their body dismantled into mist and flew into her necklace, which was glowing blue before fading away once it absorbed both shikigami.

"That was so cool!" shouted Lee as he jumped around Anna in admiration. While she didn't show it on the outside, she was grateful that somebody recognized her talents.

"Well then, your battle is soon approaching, Lee. Are you ready?" asked Yoh.

"Yes! I'll show them my YOUTH!"

 **With Sirzechs and Serafall**

Both Satans stared, again, at the television in shock. While the quick knockouts was embarrassing and didn't have a lot of entertainment, the way she finished them off is what had them in shock.

"This… this doesn't make sense… Who are these people…" muttered Serafall.

Sirzechs was paying attention to the necklace that Anna had around her neck. It took a while, but his knowledgeable mind soon figured out what was going on.

"A shaman…" he said to himself, but Serafall heard him.

"A shaman? You think she's a shaman?"

"I do." Sirzechs said as he continued to study Anna. "Shamans are basically magicians, but it is a rare and dying form of magic that humans used. Cursed with the ability to see spirits all their lives, they can summon dead spirits or spirits of this world. I remember reading about them a long time ago. And that necklace…" he said. "Those have to be the 1080 beads. She uses them to summon her personal spirits to fight."

"So, in a way, she summons her own familiars?" Serafall asked.

"Yes, in some shape or form or fashion, that is true. However, it's different with shamans. Using their shamanic power, they summon their spirits and fuel them with their magic. They can always be destroyed with a stronger attack or spell, but they can re-appear again if their own boost them with more magic." he explained. "The effects of a shaman being reincarnated into a devil are truly amazing."

"Whoever their [King] is, they really chose a team of monsters. If they continue to develop…" Serafall didn't even want to think what kind of havoc they could cause.

 **Team Sairaorg's Base**

Regulus, Kuisha, and Sairaorg waited outside of their abandoned barn for their enemies to arrive. It was only a matter of time now until the final battle unfolded…

"Master," Regulus spoke "Are you sure we should continue?"

"No, I'm not sure." Sairaorg answered truthfully "However, I may never get the chance to see if I can deal some type of damage to these devils." Kuisha sighed as she knew that Sairaorg battle maniac mind started to appear.

Sure enough, the group lead by Anna came from the forest and stopped not too far from Sairaorg. It was quiet for a while before Sairaorg spoke.

"You set all of this up, didn't you, Orochimaru?" Sairaorg said with a snarl.

"Well, of course." Orochimaru said with a grin and shoulder shrug. "You know what I need from you and I felt like this was the best way to do it. Plus, everyone watching should be amazed at how we are decimating your team. Such a shame…I thought this would be more entertaining…"

Hao dropped from the skies, his Spirit of Fire diminishing after Hao recalled it. He stretched his arms out before saying, "I'm sure you all had no problems with your opponents, no? For this to be one of the strongest peerages among the youth of devil society, they weren't as strong as I thought they were."

Ignoring Sairaorg growl at Hao, Orochimaru spoke "Anna handled quickly and in an impressive manner. While it was quick, Anna has shown her strength and I must say I'm surprised."

"Just because you've never seen my skills before doesn't mean you should doubt me." Anna said with a glare sent at the pale man. "I was chosen to be on this peerage, after all."

"Fufufu, oh yes. Please forgive me." he said nonchalantly.

Kisame walked out of the forest with a shit-eating grin and approached his teammates. "Alright, finished up those bugs that stood in my way. Rookie, make sure that this battle is worth my time."

"Yes sir!" said Lee with a thumbs up. "Sairaorg Bael, I challenge you to spar with me! One-on-one!"

Sairaorg, Regulus, and Kuisha couldn't hide their shock as they looked at Lee who held a confident grin. "You want to fight me alone?" Sairaorg chuckled "While we may lose this Rating Game, I don't think that you should just throw yourself at me like that. While I'm not arrogant, it isn't smart for the weakest member to fight the [King] of the opposing peerage, right?"

"That would be true in most cases, but when the weakest member of this peerage is stronger than that [King], there should be anything to worry about." he said with a smirk. "You aren't scared, right?"

Sairaorg grew his on devilish smirk as he entered a battle stance. "If you say so… let's see which one of us is stronger then."

Lee entered his own battle stance with excitement filling his body.

"You will not defeat me."

 **Sairaorg Bael, Pure-blooded Devil, [King]**

 **Vs.**

 **Rock Lee, Half-devil, [Rook]**

Sairoarg took in a deep breath before charging at Lee with a burst of speed. Lee met the Bael half way, clashing against him in a battle of strength. Sairaorg caught Lee's punch while Lee caught Sairaorg's. The Bael heir raised an eyebrow at the force that Lee was exerting.

' _He's actually matches me in strength.'_ Sairaorg said to himself before focusing back on the battle.

Break away from Lee, Sairaorg ran through a quick combo of punches and kicks. Lee, using his agility to the fullest, dodged ever single punch and kick sent his way. Taking the initiative when he saw an opening, Lee dodged another punch and got in close to Sairoarg, launching a speeding uppercut to the unsuspecting Bael's face.

"Alright, Lee!" shouted Yoh from the sidelines. Lee heard the compliment but didn't have time to recognize it as Sairaorg quickly retaliated with a fierce kick that he dodged.

"Lucky hit! It won't happen again!" Sairaorg shouted with a punch to Lee's midsection. Lee grunted in pain but countered another one of Sairaorgs attacks. Feinting with a left hook, Lee shot his right arm at Sairaorg's face, but he tilted his head to left at the last second. Sairoarg went on the offensive by kneeing Lee in his stomach, but was met with Lee's own knee, stopping the blow from hitting him.

Lee pushed off of Sairoarg before landing on the ground. "Leaf Whirlwind!" he shouted as he conjured up some wind magic to his legs. Twisting his body around, a fierce wind surrounded Lee's body and attacked Sairoarg feet, knocking him off his balance. Seeing the opportunity, Lee blitzed over the falling Sairaorg and greeted him with an elbow to his midsection, forcing spit out of Sairaorg's mouth as the force of the blow created a large crater under him.

"Sairaorg!" shouted Kuisha as she went to help him, but one of Anna's shikigami, Goki, blocked her path.

"Stay right where you are." demanded Anna. "I don't need you getting involved. Be glad we haven't knocked you two out during their brawl." Kuisha growled out at the shamanic devil but didn't try anything else.

Sairaorg dusted some of the dirt from his body as he stood up from his personal crater. "You're good. Really good." he complimented.

"Thanks, but I don't want to lose focus with conversation." Lee said.

' _He's stronger than I thought he was.'_ he thought. _'I could fight with 'Touki', but I haven't quite mastered that technique yet. I guess I'll just have to take off my weights.'_

A golden seal appeared over Sairaorg's arms, surprising Lee, and faded away once Sairaorg released them. Take another deep breath, Sairaorg disappeared from everyone's vision before reappearing over an unsuspecting Lee.

' _Got you!'_ he shouted as he landed a powerful punch to Lee's stomach. Lee was shot back towards his peerage from the force. Kisame caught his body as Lee erupted in a coughing spree.

"Aw, hell naw! That's it! Really? That's all you've got." said Kisame, disappointed.

"Heh, he just caught me off guard. He wasn't that quick at all before. Plus… he's not the only one with weights." Lee said with a smirk as she wiped the blood from his lip with his hand.

Orochimaru smirked at Lee as he released his own weights. "Seems things are about to get serious now."

Lee disappeared, shocking even Orochimaru at his sudden increase in speed. Sairaorg twisted his body and meet Lee's kick with one of his own. The two continued to battle it out, sending everything they had at each other.

After getting a hit off of Sairaorg when he tried to reel back from a punch, Lee did a quick Leaf Whirlwind technique to knock him off his feet. Noticing Lee's stance was similar to what is was a while ago, Sairaorg jumped over the strong winds sent a drop kick at Lee, which he evaded quickly by summoning his devil wings and flying upwards, kneeing Sairaorg under his chin.

Ignoring the pain, Sairaorg grabbed Lee's leg and slammed him down on the ground. He stomped on Lee a few times, forcing Lee down into earth below, before delivering a sickening kick to his ribs. However, Lee didn't fly away, using his wings as a wind buffer so he could counter Sairaorg with a foot to the face.

' _He's resourceful.'_ thought Sairaorg as jumped over Lee. Landing on his feet, Sairaorg summoned all the power in his legs to catapult him to Lee's open back. Rearing his fist back, Sairaorg expected to hit Lee with everything he had, however, he wasn't expecting for Lee to bend his body all the way back. Both his feet and now hands were planted on the ground as Sairaorg flew right over him.

' _What!'_ shouted Sairaorg within his mind. He wasn't suspecting Lee to be able to pull out such a maneuver.

Take advantage of his position, Lee put all his weight on his hands as he lifted his feet and kicked Sairoarg in the air. The strength in the blow made Sairaorg cough up some of his blood and his lungs cried for mercy. He sensed Lee behind him and before he could act on it, Lee sent a few quick, but strong, jabs at his spine, disabling him momentarily. Taking his paralysis to his advantage, Lee quickly released his bandages and wrapped Sairaorg in them, enhancing their durability with his magic.

"Time to finish it!" shouted Lee as the two started to plummet back down to the ground. Lee released his devil wings once more to add to the speed of the attack. The two spun at incredible speeds as they continued their way down to the ground. Sairaorg eyes widened when he figured out what he was about to do, but he could hardly move because of how the bandages wrapped around his joints as well as he back pain. He closed his eyes in fear as he readied himself for the pain that was soon to come…

"Primary Lotus!" shouted Lee as he slammed Sairaorg into the ground. He jumped away just before he finished the attack, saving himself from any injury. Sairaorg, however, wasn't so lucky.

"Wow." muttered Orochimaru as he took in the sight of Sairaorg body sticking out of the ground. _'That move was very deadly indeed. The training he must have put in to have the stamina for such a move is remarkable.'_ Orochimaru smirked to himself _'Naruto-sama really knows raw talent when he sees it.'_

"Holy shit! That was awesome!" shouted Kisame. "Great job out there, Rookie! I might have to steal that move from ya'!"

"Sorry… but that's a personal favorite of mine." Lee said with a few huffs. "I'm keeping the secrets to that one myself."

While he looked tired on the outside, Lee was giddy on the inside. He lifted his fist and smiled to himself in pride. _'All that hardwork… it's starting to pay off!_ ' He looked over to Sairaorg who, will still conscious, was heavily damaged and was being checked on by his two peerage members. _'If I can do that to a high-class devil like him, there's no limit to how strong to how I can get!'_ he thought confidently. _'I still haven't used 'it' yet!'_

Sairaorg had dug himself out with the help of his two peerage members. He was in a world of hurt and disoriented, hardly being able to hear what his [Queen] was saying to him.

"Sairaorg! Sairaorg! Do you hear me!? We need to surrender! You can't handle this type of punishment!" Kuisha shouted at him.

"Surrender…" Sairaorg whispered, the words echoing in his skull. He couldn't surrender. He still had to think about his sick mother. He couldn't just stop here! He had someone he was fighting for!

Sairaorg stood up, ignoring his crying muscles, and glared at Lee. Feeling someone's eyes on him, Lee looked over to the Bael who was stretching out his body.

"You have push me." he said as he cracked his neck. "No more holding back! I am fighting for someone and I won't let you be the person to stop me!"

"Same here." muttered Lee as he stood up, figuring his little break was over. "Seems like you still have some fight left in you."

"Oh, I do. Tons more. Oceans more of energy left for me to fight for what I believe!" he said prideful.

"But it won't be put to any use." said Lee as he entered his battle stance. "I told you once, and I'll tell you again," all playfulness left Lee's voice as he glared daggers at the smirking Bael.

"You shall not defeat me."

Sairaorg chuckled.

"Regulus! Come!"

 **Same time**

 **Kuoh**

"Move!" shouted Issei as he fought back a group of exorcist inside the abandoned church. While Lee and Yoh had their battle, Issei had his own as he cleaned through many of the weak exorcist that dared to stand in his way. After convincing Rias to help him in his quest to save Asia (in which she accepted quickly, something that he noticed but was strangely put to edge on), the group made their way to the abandoned church at the edge of town when the night was at its darkest. Rias and Akeno were handling some Fallen Angels outside the church, while Kiba, Koneko, and Issei battled it out inside the church.

"You sons of bitchs are tough!" said Freed as he fought against Kiba with his Light Sword. So far, both were even, but because of Kiba's versatility, he was slowly coming out on top.

Koneko was handling her enemies well, taking minimum damage while fighting against exorcist that depended heavily on weapons like light swords and guns that they weren't properly trained for.

Issei's anger was increasing every second someone else got in his way. He needed to find Asia and save her from whatever those fallen bastards had planned.

" **Boost!"** shouted his gear. Taking advantage of his added energy, he stretched his arm out to a large group of exorcist and prepared his magic for a big blow.

"Dragon Shot!" he yelled as a large beam of energy blasted towards the exorcist, overwhelming them by the power put behind it. They were lucky that they were only knocked out from the blast, because Issei was saving his energy for another person.

Finding one of the exorcists was still conscious; Issei grabbed him by his collar and repeatedly punched his face in with his gantlet-enhanced fist. To Issei, it was hurt first, ask questions later.

"Where's Asia!? Where are you hiding her? Tell me now!" shouted Issei as he slammed the exorcist down on the ground.

"GAh!" shouted the man as he howled in pain.

"Do you think I care about your pain!? I said where is Asia!?"

" **Partner, I think you should calm do-**

"I don't have all day!" Issei ignored the dragon in favor of getting information out of the priest.

"She's (cough) she's un-under the alter… secret room…" the exorcist coughed out.

"About time." Issei delivered the final blow to the exorcist head, not knowing if he had killed him or knocked him out. The only thing on his mind was finding where Asia was.

Noticing that he was the only person left, Freed took to his Plan B. "Seems you shitty devils have done more damage than I thought. I'll mutilate your bodies some other day!" and threw a flash grenade down on the ground. When the light settled, he was gone.

"Doesn't matter that he's gone." Koneko muttered "Let's procede."

"Right!" Issei said with a smile. He was glad that he had both Kiba and Koneko with him. "Let's keep it moving then!"

Finding the secret entrance, the trio carried on until they finally made it to the room where Asia. She was hung up on a cross surrounded by chanting priest.

"Asia!" shouted Issei, catching the blonde's attention.

"Issei!" she answered back in happiness that her friend was here.

"And there goes any chance at a surprise attack…" muttered Kiba with a sigh as he summoned a sword. The priest noticed they were there and prepared to attack the trio.

"Well, look at this." said an all too familiar voice to Issei. Raynare stepped in front of Asia with a cocky look on her face. Issei's anger was slowly increasing as he saw Yuuma's killer.

"You…" he muttered at Raynare. Even though she killed Yuuma, she looked painfully similar to her. However, Issei remembered who his enemy was.

"While I'm glad you're here so that I can finally kill you, you're too late to save her." Rayare said with a grin. "The ritual is complete, and now her Sacred Gear can finally be mine!"

"No!" shouted Issei as he charged towards Raynare, but the priest stopped him right in his tracks with their light swords. "Get out of my way!" he shouted as he fought with some of the priest.

"Issei, we'll make a way for you to get to her! Just calm down!" shouted Kiba as he dueled with a priest on his own.

"We'll get to her." muttered Koneko as she punched a priest up into the ceiling.

Turning her back to battle scene, Raynare focuses on Asia. "Finally, I can have the power to heal any injury! Do you know what this means for me! Nobody will be able to stop me!"

"Please, Ms. Raynare, you don't have to do this." Asia said with worry.

"Oh, yes I do. With Twilight Healing, I can become stronger, strong enough for me to finally be recognized!"

The pain of the forced ejection of her Sacred Gear was becoming harder to bear as Asia started to scream in pain. The green light glowing from her chest area started to grow brighter and brighter as her screams grew stronger.

"Hold on, Asia!" Issei yelled as his attacks grew more violent. The exorcist were getting in his way of saving his friend and he wasn't going to lose someone else!

" **Boost!"** shouted his gear. Issei's senses kicked in when he felt someone behind him. He jumped to the side just in time to avoid being cut in half by a light sword. Acting on his new power boost, Issei punched the priest right on his temple, the force cracking his head as he landed on the ground, either dead or soon to be dead.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at the scene but couldn't focus on it for long as he continued to defend himself from the exorcists.

Suddenly, Asia's screams grew quite. Issei looked towards her to see her eyes didn't have the life they once had in them and her body was slumped. Raynare was grinning madly as she held Twilight Healing in her hands.

"At last…" Raynare said as she looked at the gear in awe. "I finally can start to make my way to the top… I can finally be respected like the way I deserve…"

She hugged the Sacred Gear to her chest, moaning erotically as it entered her body and filling her with its power. Issei, Koneko, and Kiba had a few exorcists to deal with, but the light of Raynare absorbing Twilight Healing blinded everyone and paused the fighting.

"Ahahaha!" she laughed out with an evil laugh. I feel amazing! I would say my thanks to this stupid nun, but she's already dead! Oh well." and with a snap of her fingers, Asia's body was released from the chains holding her onto the cross.

"Asia!" shouted Issei as he ran up the alter and saved Asia from further harm when he caught her in his arms.

"Is..Issei…" Asia muttered weakly.

Raynare laughed at the scene "So this is what you did? You switched from that look-alike of me to this little slut?! Ha! This is how you honor your past loves life?! She was probably happy that she died if she could get away from you!"

"Shut up." Issei shot a glare up to the Fallen Angel. "You don't understand what you did to her… she was innocent… she doesn't deserve this!"

"That's just how the world works, idiot!" she shouted. "I'm trying to get out of this shit hole just like you! Don't you want to grow, not be known for being a low-class devil! I'm doing this for a better life for myself!"

"So you'd kill innocents just to accomplish your goals?!"

"And I'd kill a thousand more!" she yelled "Anything to accomplish my own goals! You serve some dumb [King] that has control over your life and you'll never be able to break that! Always a slave to some dumb bitch prepped and pampered all her life! This is how the real world works!" she summoned a light spear and aimed it at Issei "If you can't adapt to it, then die!"

Issei jumped out of the spear's path and landed at the bottom of the alter. Asia wasn't responding at all to him, making Issei assume the worst.

"Asia…" he said as he took in the sight of her unresponsive body. He forced his eyes closed, trying to hold back his tears.

"I need to leave." Raynare said to herself as she watched Kiba and Koneko fighting against the remaining exorcist. "They'll keep the devils busy. Time to go-

"No you don't!" shouted Issei as he noticed Raynare starting to leave the underground room. He grew his own wings and flew up to Raynare, his Sacred Gear shouting a quick **"Boost!"** while flying up to her.

"Still got spunk, huh?" she said as she as she summoned another spear. "Then come at me!" and she threw the spear at him.

Remembering his agility training with Kiba, Issei flew around the spear and closed in to Raynare. He dropped kicked to her shoulder, but she easily slide out the way while summoning another spear.

"Got ya'!" she shouted with a disgust grin filled with evil as she threw it at him. By the way he was positioned, he wouldn't be able to dodge it and she knew that her spear would deal heavy damage because it was made from light.

"No you don't! Dragon Shot!" he yelled blasting the spear with his own shot of energy. He didn't use all of his new energy from the previous boost because he knew that he was going to need it later on.

"Arrgh!" shouted Raynare as his attack destroyed her spear and hit her as well. It wasn't as strong thanks to the spear taking the brute of the damage, but it still hurt.

Issei took the initiative and flew towards Raynare with his fist cocked back and delivered a wrecking blow to Raynare's stomach. She howled in pain as she descended to the ground.

"I'm not finished with you yet!" Issei said as he jumped on top of Raynare when she tried heal herself.

"Get off of me!" she yelled as she trashed against him. He caught both of her arms with his gantlet-enhanced hand. He started to assault Raynare repeatedly with his human arm, anger influencing his every move.

"She didn't deserve it!" he shouted and knocked the wind out of her when he punched her stomach. "She didn't do anything to anybody! She just wanted to help people!"

"You think I care!" she shouted back, trying her hardest to ignore the pain coursing through her body. "I don't have time to care about anyone else! GaHH!" she spit up blood when Issei punched her again.

"You're a disgrace. You don't deserve to live!" he yelled. His Booster Gear doubled his power again, charging his body with energy. "You don't deserve anything!"

"Fuck you!" she shouted when she finally kicked him off of her. While it was a success on her end, her body looked at mess as she was bleeding from various parts. "You don't know me! You don't know anything I've been through!"

"And you don't know what you did to me when you killed Yuuma!" he answered "And now Asia! You'll continue to kill those who have power just so you can quench your sick thirst for strength! You're just taking the easy way out!"

"Ugg…" blood spilled out of Raynare's mouth as she tried to talk. "I.. I don't need to explain myself to you.. You don't know how it feels to be at the bottom! I've been in this same position all my life! You think that I want to live like this! Living in this shitty church!" she cried out "I've had enough and I'll take the easy way out any day if I can grow stronger!"

Issei's Boosted Gear gleamed a dangerous red as it boosted Issei's power again. Tears were pouring out of Issei's eyes, but he didn't try to stop them.

"You killed Yuuma, and now you killed Asia…" he muttered. He raised his gantlet towards Raynare's direction, who was struggling to stand up properly. "I won't give you the opportunity to spread the pain I'm feeling now."

"Noo!" she shouted as she ran up to Issei with a new spear, ignoring the pain from the beating Issei gave her.

"Dragon Shot!"

 **With Lee and Sairaorg**

"This just keeps on getting better and better." Orochimaru said from the sidelines as he took upon Sairaorg's new form. Orochimaru was surprised that the boy that was on Sairaorg's side was actually the Longinus, Regulus Nemea, and that Sairaorg could achieve its Balance Breaker.

"What do you think, beast?" said Sairaorg, covered in golden armor. "This is Regulus Rey Leather Rex, my Balance Breaker!"

"It's interesting." Lee said "But I can take it."

"Oh really?" Sairaorg said "So you have a party trick of your own you want to bring out?"

"Not a party trick! I'll show you… MY YOUTH!"

"…." Sairaorg tilted his head in confusion.

Orochimaru sighed with a hand to his hand as he tried to hide his face from the cameras that were bound to be on him. "Damn it, Lee. That can be taken so many different ways."

"AAAAhHHHHhhhhhHHHHHH!" yelled Lee as his magic started to surround his body.

"Lee is incredible!" said Yoh from the sidelines. "Who knew he could be summoning all this magic… and for a rookie devil, too!"

"This is rare for a reincarnated devil to be pushing out this much power." Hao said. "However, there has to be some type of side effects of all of this power coming from him."

"Gate of Opening! Open!" yelled Lee as his magic swayed around him. "Gate of Healing! Open!"

All of Lee's injury started sizzle away, surprising everyone watching his display. Lee's magic convulsed wildly as he shouted "Gate of Life! Open!"

Debris was thrown around by the magic outage Lee was letting out. His skin turned red as a green aura surrounded his body. Sairaorg covered his face from the strong winds pushing him back as he took in the sight.

"What are you, you beast…" he muttered as he noticed Lee didn't have any pupils anymore.

Lee was taking in deep breaths and focused in on Sairaorg, who raised an eyebrow at Lee's skin tone. "It seems that power of yours is taking a toll on your body."

Lee smirked "Not quite." and disappeared.

"GAh!" shouted Sairaorg as he felt pain in his back as his body was knocked into a nearby tree. He recovered quickly and met Lee face to face with another power struggle.

"Ggrrrrrrr!" Lee mustered his strength into his palms as he pushed forward, surprising Sairaorg at his strength.

"Impressive!" he said with a smile. "But you have to play smart too!" Lee lost his balance when Sairaorg stopped exerting his strength on him, causing him to fall forward. Sairaorg kneed Lee in his stomach and switched to a kick, causing Lee to fly in the air.

"Argh!" he shouted as he winced at the pain. He ignored it in favor of focusing on the approaching Bael. He faked his injury and waited until Sairaorg was close enough until his twisted his body and dropped kicked Sairaorg on his head. Not stopping his assault, he continued to brawl with Sairaorg in a quick pace in the air.

"This is fun!" shouted Sairaorg as he dodged a punch and answered with a kick to Lee's side. Lee quickly grabbed and threw Sairaorg back down into the ground, forming a crater.

Sairaorg quickly flew out of the crater as Lee descended to where he once was with a deadly kick enhanced with his magic. He stomped his foot on the ground, changing his momentum, and soared back at Lee. Lee disappeared from sight, using pure speed, when Sairaorg tried to attack, and appeared by his side, sending a quick jab at his ribs. Sairaorg answered with a kick to Lee's waist and a sledgehammer on his head, but Lee caught both his hands and struggled under the pressure.

"Urk!" he winced as the ground started to break under his feet.

"You are really strong! I am enjoying this fully!" shouted Sairaorg as he switched to a kick to Lee's open stomach. Lee set his right foot behind him and stood his ground once contact was made with Sairaorg's foot into his stomach. He slapped his leg away and got a good punch into Sairaorg's chest.

"Argh!" he shouted as he jumped back away from Lee. Lee was smirking at Sairaorg, knowing that he got a clean look at him. He didn't give Sairaorg any rest as he rushed at him.

" **Master, if we continue like this, we'll lose."** Regulus stated in Sairaorg's mind. **"We'll have to use 'Touki' if we want to win."**

' _I haven't mastered Touki yet.'_ Sairaorg grunted as he took another hit from Lee. When he tried to answer, Lee disappeared in a burst of speed. _'I don't know how, but he's faster than me. While I have the edge in strength, not being able to hit him at all is really getting annoying. And if I use Touki, my stamina will drop considerable.'_

" **A risk we'll have to take."** Regulus stated **"You'll have five minutes to deal with this boy if you use it. I'd say it's your only option."**

"Alright then!" shouted Sairaorg as he pushed Lee away from him. A white hue of magic surrounded Sairaorg as he muscle bulged even more. "While I haven't mastered this technique fully, I know I can defeat you with it!"

"Come!" shouted Lee as he appeared in front of the Bael once more. Sairaorg ducked a punched and delivered his own to his chest, but Lee answered with a knee to Sairaorg face and slapped him away. Sairaorg, with a quick burst of speed, appeared over Lee and slammed into him with a tackle. The ground broke from under them as they continued to brawl. Lee dodged a hit to his left and avoided another punch from the older boy, weaving through his offense before finding an opening and delivering a sick kick under Sairaorg's chin.

"I got you!" he yelled, shaking off the kick like it was nothing once he grabbed Lee's leg and spun him around. He released Lee and he crashed into the old barn that was once their base. Lee jetted out of the wreckaged and responded with another powerful kick.

"Dynamic Entry!" he yelled as he landed the kick on Sairaorg shoulder, who let his guard down. He wasn't expecting the quick recovery, but learned his lesson as he clawed at the ground to stop himself from going any further.

"Take this!" he shouted as he slammed into the ground and sharp rocks jetted from the earth. Lee weaved through them all, using his enhanced speed to avoid everything while approaching Sairaorg. Once out of the jungle of sharp rocks, Lee continued his assault on Sairaorg as they dueled in a battle of speed and strength.

' _Left hook, right kick, guard, move left, swipe right, break defense, block punch, hit, hit HIT!'_ Lee commanded his body to do everything as the battle waged on.

' _This is incredible!'_ Sairaorg said mentally as he continued his fight with Lee. He couldn't help but smile when he felt Lee kick him from behind. ' _This energy is amazing! I've never felt this way before!'_

"AAAAaaahhhhhHHHHH!" Lee's battle cry filled the area as he attacked once more. He was having the time of his life as well, but his face kept serious as he released more magic and knocked Sairaorg away with the heel of his foot during a spin kick.

Sairaorg spit blood as his armor cracked. **"Master, this is getting dangerous! You're straining your body a lot! You need to finish this now!"**

"Alright.." he said out loud, but nobody heard him. Lee phased towards Sairaorg in a burst of speed, but Sairaorg caught his punch, along with the next one that Lee sent your way.

"I haven't had fun like this in a long time…" Sairaorg muttered to Lee. Lee didn't react to the words, but Sairaorg continued, "Unfortunately, this has to stop now. Forgive me."

With speed Lee didn't know he had, Sairaorg jawed Lee with his elbow. However, he was still holding onto Lee's fist, so he didn't fly away like he did throughout most of the battle. Sairaorg stomped on Lee's right foot, making Lee cry out, and grabbed both sides of Lee's head.

"This is it!" Sairaorg shouted as he delivered a mind blowing head butt to Lee's head. Sairaorg's armor protected him from most of the damage, Lee, however…

"Damn." muttered Kisame as he watched Lee go limp in Sairaorg's hold. "While he didn't beat the Bael, he did well. I have to say, I'm impressed."

"He's proven himself if you ask me. I'd say that this initiation was a success." Hao said.

"Agreed." Anna said simply.

"Lee! If you're still conscious, even thought your probably aren't, then you pass the test!" Yoh shouted happily.

"Test?" said Sairaorg as he let go of Lee, his body dropping to the ground. "You mean this was all a test!?"

"Sure was, and he passed." Orochimaru said with a grin. "We'll finish you off now. This was good entertainment for us and I'm sure our viewers enjoyed it as well."

"You snake bas-GAAAHHHH!" Sairaorg yelled as he held his stomach in pain. He looked down to see an angry Lee, magic rolling off his body and his skin boiling with heat.

"Gate of Pain…Open…" Lee grunted. Blood was flowing from his forehead from Sairaorg's head butt, but he ignored everything in order to focus on defeating Sairaorg.

"How..How can you still move?" asked the Bael as he was gripping his injury with care.

" **Master! Master! You need to stop now! Touki has taken too much of your stamina! You might die if you keep going on!"**

"Because they accepted me!" shouted Lee and with an unknown strength, he kicked Sairaorg high in the air.

"Sairaorg!" shouted Kushia from the sidelines, but Anna's shikigami was still in her way.

"GAarHH!" Sairaorg's mouth was filled with blood as he flew in the air. He couldn't move properly because of the strain Touki put on his body.

Sairaorg's body was hit repeatedly by Lee with unrelenting force. He couldn't defend nor predict Lee's attacks and could only endure through the suffering Lee was giving him.

" **Master! SAIRAORG! We need to get out of here NOW!"**

Sairaorg was losing consciousness with every hit from Lee. He couldn't keep up with and he could slowly feel himself being wrapped in Lee's bandages. When Lee finished wrapping Sairaorg in his bandages, he flew down towards him, increasing in velocity.

"REVERSE LOTUS!" shouted Lee as he slammed his palm and foot into Sairaog's stomach. Sairaorg's vomited blood and his armor was destroyed from the hit. He couldn't even roar in pain because of the damage he took from the hit. He rocketed into the ground, creating a huge crater in the forest floor.

"Sairaorg! Sairaorg!" Kuisha pushed past Goki but it didn't chase after her. Anna recalled her shikigami, knowing that the battle was over and there was nothing that she could do.

"That was incredible."Anna said with wide eyes, a rarity. "For Lee to become this strong in just two years…"

"Thanks to master being strong before he reincarnated Lee, I'm sure that Lee's strength and potential skyrocketed once he was reincarnated." explained Hao "Either way, I'm proud of him. He's surpassed everyone's expectations if you ask me."

Lee landed on the ground and stopped his flow of magic. He was taking in deep breaths, but manage to stand up on his own. He swayed as the wind pushed against his body, but he ignored it in favor of seeing the blue light that coming from Sairaorg's crater.

Lee raised his left hand in the air while a content smile on his face.

"Victory…" he muttered.

"HE DID IT!" shouted the announcer "Since Sairaorg Bael, [King] of his group, has retired, Team Pickle Rick is victorious with a flawless win!"

Lee turned to the rest of the peerage, hearing clapping coming from them. Sure enough, they were all applauding him and his impressive victory, making a smile grow on his face as he walked back to them.

"Great job, Lee." Orochimaru said with a smile as he patted his back. Lee winced at it, his body was badly injured from the fight, but he knew that Orochimaru didn't do it on purpose.

"Thanks.." Lee said back. Orochimaru frowned at Lee's body, analyzing all of the injuries he took.

"We need to get him home so he can rest." said Yoh. They all agreed and disappeared with a magic seal, headed back home to take care of Lee.

 **Kuoh**

The light of Issei's Dragon Shot died down. Everyone went wide-eyed when an orange shield was protecting Raynare.

"What is that?" Issei muttered. Raynare was looking at the barrier in curiosity and a little gratefulness. That attack would have surely killed her, so she was thankful for whoever made it for her.

Rias walked into the room with a frown on her face. She felt a foreign magic in the air but couldn't locate where it was coming from. "Show yourself, whoever you are! I am Rias Gremory, heir to Gremory Clan, and I demand you show yourself or I won't hold back!" she yelled to nobody in particular.

After a couple of quite seconds, Raynare's shield shrunk and molded together into a small, orange orb. Magic was radiating from it in the form of mist and it put everyone on edge.

While the orb didn't have eyes, Issei felt like it was staring right at him. He shivered because the orb gave off a sense of dominance and he felt he shouldn't react any type of way in front of it.

" _Don't gi…give in… to hat…hatred….. " _a disoriented voice said, surprising everyone again. _" Yo..you'll reg..gret…..it…_"

"Who are you?" asked Issei.

" _The ma..master…of t….the peerage…..in Kuoh…._ "

Rias', while surprised at these turn of events, narrowed her eyes at the orb and marched towards it. So this was the person that felt like they could walk all over her, allowing their peerage to settle here in Kuoh like it was nothing? She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

"Excuses me." Rias said to the orb. The orb slightly turned towards her and she also felt the dominant aura that was flowing from it. However, she kept her intimidating gaze at the orb "You're the master of Orochimaru, correct? If so, why did you stop my [Pawn] from finishing her off? Are you a traitor of your own race, defending the Fallen Angels like they're your own kind?!"

The orb didn't answer for a few seconds, but when it did, she didn't like the answer that it gave.

" _Such…arrogance…_ " it muttered….." _Childish Gr…..Gremory…_ "

Rias was going to retort, but the dominating aura cut her off. She shivered in fear, not like how Orochimaru made her shiver when he first showed up in Kuoh, but it was still uneasy. She felt….lesser… while in front of the orb and she didn't like it.

" _You can att…ack… the girl….again…but… I don't want… you too._ "

"Why?" asked Issei.

" _Issei…good…bo…boy…..inno..innocent….good intentions….I don'…t…..want to ruin….that rarity._ "

A magic seal appeared under the unsuspecting Raynare. Red hands came from the seal and held her body down. "Hey! What's going on! What are you doing?"

" _Are yo… going to…r…. the girl?_ " asked the orb. Issei's eyes widened and he turned to Rias with a hopeful look.

"You can revive her? Really?! Please, Bucho, please! Bring Asia back!" begged Issei.

Rias frowned and looked down at the girl. She was dead, that was clear, but she had her Sacred Gear removed…

Issei's hopes started to dwindle because Rias didn't say anything at all. He looked up to her with tears in his eyes, making Rias wince at the scene. "Aren't you going to do it? She didn't deserve to die…. she didn't deserve too…."

"She….She doesn't have her Sacred Gear, Issei." Rias explained. "I…I don't think that it would be a good decision to revive her."

Issei gritted his teeth in anger, all of his sadness thrown out the window. "So she's just useless, huh? She's just a useless human being who can't defend herself from the supernatural!? That's all she is to you, isn't it!? The only thing you care about is power!"

"Wait, Issei! It isn't like that!"

"Yes it is! It just like how it was with me!" he screamed "And to think that I was starting to like you…. to enjoying being around you all…. But all I see now are power-hungry DEMONS!"

"Issei…" Rias inched her way towards him.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" he said and recalled his Boosted Gear and turning it to Rias. Rias halted her steps and raised her hands in surrender. Kiba and Koneko prepared themselves just in case he tried to hurt Rias.

"Don't do it, Issei." Kiba said to his friend. He just got finished fight enemies from another faction. He didn't want to fight his friend that was a devil like him, in the same peerage, no less.

Issei growled at them, but didn't do anything else. He stared at Rias with hatred in his eyes, making her flinch and look away. This was really how devils operated. If it was true, then he wanted ou-

" _Hehehe…."_ the orb laughed. " _Hehehe…heheehahaa….hahaahahah…HAHAHAHHAHAHA!_ "

The chilling laughed reverberated in the room. Everyone, even Raynare, who was trapped, shivered at the cold laughter. It was unsettling, especially from the earlier tension.

The orb slowly stopped laughing and turned towards Raynare. One of the red hands went to her fingers and started to pull Twilight Healing. She started screaming as a green light was encasing her hand as the red hand continued to pull it until it was fully ejected from Raynare.

"AAahhhh!" he howled in pain before falling into unconscious. The red hand floated over to Asia's body and placed in between her breast. Another green light show happened, and when it was done, Twilight Healing was back in Asia's body.

" _Hehe…he….tha…that….was funny…_ " the orb muttered out " _Tha….that's all…I needed…to see.._ "

The hands around Raynare's body glowed red and the energy started to disintegrate her body until nothing else was there. Raynare was dead.

" _Yo..you can..hehe….revive her….now….._ " and with that, the orb disappeared, leaving Rias' and her peerage with an awkward atmosphere.

 **Whheeewww! That was long.**

 **Sorry for the wait. I just got back home from Chicago and I finished this one up as soon as I got back home. Had to kick it with the family before I left, so I couldn't type as much as I wanted to.**

 **LEE THE BADASS! I SWEAR I LOVE TYPING BATTLE SCENES!**

 **And you all will get to enjoy more battles soon! Phase 1 of Orochimaru's plan is complete, now, in the next chapter, he'll be targeting Rias and Sona to free Naruto from his prision.**

 **Also, Sirzechs is now in the fold, trying to find out what happened to Naruto and he won't stop until he finds out what happened to his friend. Whew, don't you guys just love me?! I'm doing so much stuff it's crazy! And this is the only story on Fanfiction that you can enjoy such….. crazyness, because there is only one NarutoPlug, bitch!**

 **I didn't send this chapter to my beta so that he could review it. I've had yall waiting long enough so I just dropped it while checking it out myself. I hope its good and has minimum errors. If it has a lot, don't blame LeDdraig. It's all on me.**

 **Damn, this chapter is 30 pages…. I put in that work!**

 **Anyway, make sure to run up those reviews! I hope the battle between Sairaorg and Lee has you all wanting to express your opinions. I want to get to 1000 reviews before the tenth chapter, so I hope you all make that possible for me. I'll be sure to put out more content now that I'm back home, so you can expect another chapter by the end of the week (if I don't get to lazy! It depends on y'alls demand for the story)**

 **Ask any question you want, I'll be reply to reviews and pms all day tomorrow. Right now, I've been missing a lot of anime. I just started to watch Fully Cooly thing on Adult Swim, but I've only watched the first episode since I flew out to Chicago. I gotta catch back up on my YouTube as well..**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	7. StrugglesOfADevil

**[READ AUTHOR NOTE! VERY IMPORTANT INFO, YA HEARD ME?]**

 **Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, just got out the shower bumping that new Drake, ya heard me?**

 **MMMMAAAANNNN! You niggas ran up them reviews! I had over 100+ reviews before the 24 hour mark of uploading Chapter 6. Thank you all so much for all the favs, follows, and reviews! This story is doing wayyyy better than I thought it was going to. I swear, by the time we get to chapter 12, this story will have more favs, follows, and reviews than The Corrupted Mind which is crazy because that story has been up for at least three years while this story has been up for a little over a month. Just thank you.**

 **Anyway, VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION TIME!**

 **Now, a lot of you were asking on how Lee was able to beat Siaraorg and not Rias in chapter 2. There's reason for this and I'll explain how I'm changing the power scaling in Dxd.**

 **If you watch the Dxd anime/mange, then some of you may have noticed how fast Issei grows in the story (his power grows for stupid and perverted reasons only if you ask me) and how strong Sairaorg already was when he was first introduced. I felt like the young devils that the story follows are perceived as strong but not doing anything to attain such strength. For example, the only reason Rias is held in such high standings is because Issei bails her for everything. If we had the choice to put Rias against someone with actual power, she wouldn't be able to win because she only has one trick, shoot destruction balls of power in a straight line to her foes.**

 **So, with the power scaling, I'm going to keep the younger devils as they are, I'm just going to push the older devils power levels up, forcing the younger devils to actually train themselves in order to be potential Maous, like how Sairaorg is referred as. This way, you all can actually watch these characters grow in strength and actually struggle during their own battles, because as it is now, the only reason why Rias isn't married to Riser right now, is because her brother cheated the system and I'm not lying about that in the smallest.**

 **As for Lee, I explained that the stronger the King is in the peerage, the stronger there servants are when reincarnated. Because Naruto is already strong (how strong is something you all will have to wait to find out in the future) it increased Lee's strength as well as how strong he can potentially be a lot. The only reason why he didn't beat Rias and the gang during Chapter 2 is because he was tired and that he was just having fun. He failed his mission the moment Issei died because Naruto doesn't like to revive people against their will (something Rias doesn't quite understand yet) so he just decided to fight Rias to make up for lost time.**

 **WELL, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT UNTIL A CERTAIN SOMEONE CHANGED MY MIND!**

 **Shout out to a person who's name shall remain unknown (he's name's Dumat, but you didn't hear it from me). He told me that I shouldn't change up the power scaling as much as I thought. He said while it will be enjoyable to watch the younger devils grow up; he said I shouldn't just give the older generation a boost in power just like that. He suggested that I should just slow down everyone's growth a bit, something I can agree with. However, I did try to add some type of humanity into the story by having Sairaorg not master the Touki technique, but all in due time.**

 **However, it did look like a nerfed Sairaorg a lot, especially when he used Touki. A lot of y'all said that when he activated it, the battle didn't change in anyway. Sorry about that. Won't happen again.**

 **It's just that I wanted Lee to be a badass and when was Lee a badass in Naruto? Oh, I'll tell you, about a good 15+ years ago against Gaara. That's it.**

 **Also, I'm going to have to start reading the Light Novel, something he's pointed out countless times. Like, in all honesty, most of my information I know from Dxd is from the Dxd Wiki and other fanfictions. Like, the most I know up to in the anime is when they beat Kokabiel….. I think… So I'm going to have to change up my study habits if I want this story to be clearer… My B.**

 **And while I was just going to explain what Dumat told me, I had already typed up my first opinion, then I read his pm and just typed some more. I didn't want to delete what I already put up. Adds more words to the word count, ya heard me**

 **Review your thoughts on both mine and Dumats perspectives. I want you all to have a voice in this story, so don't be afraid to share them.**

 **Whew, glad I got that out the way. If you have any questions about this, ask me as a review or pm me for more information.**

 **Also, not even playing about this one, if any of you are fans of Avatar the Last Airbender, I have a story idea that some of you my like if you want to become an author. I'll choose a person in my reviews. Read the AU at the end of the chapter for more**

 **Anyway, forget all that, we got a story to get to.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **StrugglesOfADevil**

 **The Next Day**

 **Kuoh Academy**

"I hope everyone studied for this test." Orochimaru said as he passed out papers down the aisles of students. "I don't want to see any failing grades in this class."

Orochimaru handed a paper to Rias, but she didn't reach for it. Halting in his steps, Orochimaru back tracked in front of her desk. He rose an eyebrow when he noticed that Rias was totally spaced out, staring out the window.

"Ms. Gremory." Rias snapped out of her gaze and looked to her teacher.

"Oh! I'm sorry. My mind was elsewhere. Thank you." she grabbed her paper and started working.

Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders and walked back towards his desk. His master told him of what he did while they were fighting in the Rating Game. Orochimaru chuckled to himself while thinking about the situation Rias was in with her [Pawn]. _'I may have to start taking notes from Naruto-sama. He really is a crafty man…'_

Orochimaru checked his students, studying their eyes, to make sure they weren't cheating. While none of them were, he noticed that Rias was just staring at her paper, lost in thought again.

"Ms. Gremory," everyone, including Rias, looked up to Orochimaru "If you find staring at the paper more enjoyable than actually working on it, I can just grade it now and let you stare at it all day."

The class quietly giggled as one of the queens of the school was called out. "I'm sorry." Rias blushed before returning to her test, making sure to finish it without any slip ups.

After a while, the school bell rang. The students stood from their seats and handed Orochimaru their papers. Sona gave him a slight nod, in which he returned. He guess it had to do something with the Rating Game, knowing that he watched it, so he couldn't help but grow one of his famous smirks at their accomplishment.

Rias handed in her paper and quietly left out the room, confusing Orochimaru all the more. While he knew that she was troubled, she was usually given him a glare before leaving. _'I guess the situation with her [Pawn] is effecting her more than I thought it was'_ he thought with a shoulder shrug. While he already knew of the situation, maybe he should get another perspective of what she was going through. He needed all the information he could get since she was the next target of his plan to free his master.

It was Orochimaru's break period, so he took his time with grading papers. He would have more time focusing on the red-haired devil soon. He just had to deal with the real evil of the world…

"Fucking paperwork…" he muttered as he got out his pen and started reading.

 **Hyoudou Residence**

Issei was laying his bed with the lights off and the curtains closed. He didn't want to be around people right now, especially those apart of Rias' peerage. He had to take some time and think for himself before he saw them again.

" **You have been in a mental battle for hours, partner, and it's starting to get on my nerves."** Ddraig said. **"Your mind is feeling uncomfortable right now with the sense of depression."**

"Sorry." Issei muttered. "I'll brighten up some way to make you feel better."

" **And how do you plan to do that coup up at home? It seems that your condition is worsening."**

Issei sighed and ran his hands through his hair in stress "I know… I just can't be around them right now. I don't feel like being around anyone right now."

" **Why don't you go out with Yoh and his peerage? They seemed nice… except for Orochimaru."** Ddraig said roughly. **"I get a bad feeling every time I see that man."**

"They don't want to be around someone so weak." Issei said sadly. While he felt like he was improving, he still couldn't protect Asia when she needed him. "I feel like everything that I'm doing is for no reason, right now. I feel so out of place… like I shouldn't have ever been reincarnated…"

" **While you do have the best Sacred Gear in existence,"** Issei laughed at the dragon's arrogance **"you won't become strong with a snap of your fingers. Development takes time. You shouldn't be depressed about the way you are because you only became a devil a few weeks ago. You need to take every moment to train."**

"Well, what do you think I should mainly focus on now?" he asked.

" **Conditioning your body."** answered the dragon. **"As you already know, you won't be great at using magic, seeing as you can't even make a single teleportation seal. I mean, kids can do that, but you can't? Disgraceful."**

"Uh huh." Issei sweat dropped. "Thanks for the motivation. Really felt that one."

" **But you won't even need it with me. Your Boosted Gear is more a physical Sacred Gear than spiritual one. Developing your body can help you stand the pressure of increasing your power every 10 seconds. Work on that, and you'll see increase for sure. You've already learned the basics of devils and the supernatural world. Now is time for you to focus on yourself."**

"Makes sense. Thanks, Ddraig." Issei said gratefully. "I'm glad that you're my Sacred Gear. You are the best one in existence."

" **Damn right."** he muttered. **"So get to it! You've spent more than half the day in bed!"**

"Not today though, Ddraig. You just said that I need to focus on myself now, right? I need to focus on my thoughts rather than my body right now. I'm… I'm too distracted."

It was quite for a while, causing Issei to slowly fall asleep. He didn't know how long he was asleep, but the sound of light knocking on his door woke him up.

"Issei? You awake?" he mother said through the door.

"Yea mom…*yawn* I'm okay. Just not feeling it today."

"Well your friends are outside. They're asking for you."

"I don't want to be around them right now Mom." he said as he checked his cloak, which read 1:28 in the afternoon. School wasn't even out yet…

"They insist, Issei… Please come out. You're not the type of person to be inside all day… I'm worried..."

Issei sighed before getting out of bed. He put on some gym shorts and a black t-shirt before slipping his shoes on. He opened the door to see his mother smiling at him weakly.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Yea.. Yea, I'm okay. I've just got a lot on my mind right now." he answered. "Nothing to serious. Just felt like taking a day off."

"Well, your friends are waiting for you at the front door. Maybe getting some fresh air will help you clear your mind." his mother suggested. He nodded and started his way down the stairs. He figured that he was going to have to meet up with his peerage members again soon, so he might as well get over the awkwardness now rather than later.

He yawned as he opened the door. "Yo, Issei. Took you long enough."

Surprised by the sound of his visitor's voice, Issei opened his eyes to see Yoh and Lee, giving him light smiles. He raised his eyes in surprise before answering "Oh… hey! What's going on Yoh, Lee!" he said. His mood did a complete 180 after seeing the two. He was expecting some like Kiba or Koneko, or, god forbid, Rias Gremory, but not these two.

"YOSH! Friend Issei! Me and Yoh wanted to know if you would like to go out and eat food!" said the excited Lee. Issei noticed that he had a few bandages on his face, but he summed it up as damage he took from their Rating Game yesterday.

"Sure." he said with his own smile. "I'll be back Ma!" as he shut the door.

"Glad to see you out and about." Yoh said as Issei locked the door. "I felt a depressing aura coming from your room while waiting for you. You okay?"

"Eh… it's a long story. Anna's not here, right?" he asked as he looked around in fear.

Both Yoh and Lee chuckled. "Nope, she's at the house sleeping… or dealing with Kisame trying to steal the remote. Anyway we have the day to ourselves."

"GUYS DAY!" shouted Lee. "We shall have fun and show the world our YOUTH!"

The trio laughed before walking on the sidewalk, headed into town to find something to do together.

 **Occult Research Clubhouse**

Rias watched her peerage members, excluding Issei, teleport off to their own contracts. He sighed once everyone was gone a laid her head on her desk. While everyone has met her already, she felt like it was important to introduce Asia to everyone. She was staying in the Occult Research Clubhouse for the time being until she found a place for her to stay by herself. However, the situation with Issei was really stressing her out.

"Am I really that selfish." she muttered as she looked at her hand. She summoned a small amount of her magic and her hand was coated in the legendary Power of Destruction. The power of the Bael, she stared at her blessing in awe as it flowed in her hand.

' _The power to destroy anything…'_ she thought as she stared at it. She wasn't supposed to have this power. Gremory's were blessed with extreme magic control, but she inherited this power from her mother, Venelana Gremory, once Venelana Bael, and it became her main weapon of choice. She practiced ever sense her youth to control the wildfire in her hands, molding it to her liking. It hasn't failed her sense…

She frowned when she thought back to her battle with Lee a few weeks ago. He said he came to the fight tired and still dealt his damage to her, Kiba, and Koneko. If her peerage didn't show up at the right time, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have been beaten into a inch of her life if he wanted to. It was an eye opener for her, but she hasn't had the time to actually do anything about herself yet. Teaching and training Issei was her top priority, but the trust they once had, while it wasn't much, was now completely broken because of last night's events.

Rias' eyes narrowed as she thought back to the orange orb. It blocked Issei's Dragon Shot and killed the Fallen Angel by himself… and he laughed at her… like he already knew how she would react to Issei's pleas, which he did. He completely played her at her own game. She wanted Asia for herself while wanting to increase the trust between Issei, however, while she did get want she wanted in Asia, her friendship with Issei was completely broken. He didn't trust her or anyone apart of her peerage.

She thought back when she watched Raynare's body slowly disintegrate from the power of the unknown master. That power… it destroyed her body strangely similar to how her Power of Destruction would…

' _Wait… could their master be a-_

Her head shot up in realization, but she couldn't voice her opinions out loud because of her scream of fright when she noticed Orochimaru, standing in front of her desk and looking down at her. She jumped out of her seat and took quick breaths. She didn't even sense nor hear him enter her domain. How could he do something like that without her notice?

Orochimaru chuckled at her face as he let her calm down. She instantly changed her demeanor and pouted at Orochimaru. "What are you doing here!? You can't just come in here unannounced!"

"Yes I can." said Orochimaru as he took a seat on one of the couches in the room. "I can do whatever I want on this campus because one, I'm your teacher and I came over here to give you back your test grades, and two, because I want to."

Rias growled at the man before taking her seat. "Well, why are you here then?"

"It isn't a fun to mess with you during class when your spacing out." said Orochimaru "My master told me what happened last night. Seems like things just don't go your way, fufufufu…"

"Shut up." she said with another growl "I can handle this situation myself, thank you very much."

"Oh really?" he said with a laugh "I heard the perverted boy wasn't at school today. Seems like he doesn't want to be around his 'friends' today, fufufufufu…."

Rias couldn't hide the shame in her face. He knew everything then, especially how she was played. His master was a dangerous person.

"Well, I didn't come to make fun of you…. well, it wasn't the main reason why I came here, at least." he said as he dug into his briefcase that was filled with papers. After a few seconds he found what he wanted and threw it on her desk. It was a medicine bottle which landed perfectly on its bottom.

"Bet you can't do that." he said with a sly smile. She rolled her eyes and picked up the bottle.

"Sleeping pills?" she said as she read the label. "Why do I need these?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed yet, you have very noticeable bags under your eyes. I would have thought that you would have put some make-up or something over them. That is what females do, no? But, I guess because you're so stressed out that you didn't even notice them this morning." he explained.

Rias opened her desk and brought out a mirror to check her face. Sure enough, there were bags under her eyes. "Oh my…" she said as she stared at herself. The bags under eyes were very dark and she couldn't believe that she didn't notice them earlier.

"Those should help you sleep at night, especially for your… predicament, fufufu… "He laughed. Rias sighed and placed the bottle in her desk. Orochimaru really reminded her of Akeno… only more… evil and cruel… and manipulative…

"Wait..." she said as she took the bottle out. "How do I know that you didn't put something in these? You know… something that will do… something…. to me?"

Orochimaru stared at Rias in shock before laughing out loud. Rias shivered. Even though he was laughing at her, it still sounded very evil.

"Oh…Oh my!" Orochimaru took a few deep breaths. "I have to thank you... heheh… for that… you are really one paranoid girl… seems like you need those more than I thought."

Rias blushed in embarrassment before putting them back into her desk. "Sorry… I'm just…"

"No need to explain, princess. Remember, I'm giving you those for my own selfish desires. You're not as fun to be around when you are tired; however, you do say some hilarious things."

"Yea... Thanks… what's with the princess name though?" she asked.

"Well, you are a princess and you do act like a spoiled princess." he laughed. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but she couldn't help but smile at what he said. "I'm going to the Underworld for a bit. One of my master's peerage members will be on school grounds, if you don't mind. You could meet him or you could watch the video of us beating you cousin into a pulp." Rias' eyes widened "Doesn't matter to me. I shall see you soon."

Rias watched the snake man disappear. When he was gone, she slumped back into her chair. That man really knew how to get to her.

"So they really beat him." she muttered. She had to watch the recording of it. While she didn't like Orochimaru at all, she was very interested in what he and the rest of his peerage members were capable of; and if Lee was their weakest member, then she really wanted to see what the other members could do.

Rias turned her attention to one of the doors that led to a few spare bedrooms in the building. Asia slowly walked out of the room, but Rias could tell that she was in a state of shock.

"That man… he's… he feels so… evil…" she shuddered. Rias' eyes softened as she walked up to the girl and enveloped her in a hug.

"He's not going to do anything to you, Asia. I promise. He's… just a person that lives in the city. He won't do anything bad to us…"

"No!" she yelled. Rias looked at Asia, who seemed to be really scared of Orochimaru. "I've felt his magic before… it… it was back when…." Asia shuddered again.

Rias narrowed her eyes "Explain now."

 **Kuoh School Grounds**

Hao was walking through the school grounds with his usual cloak on. He was being stared at by many students, but he didn't care. He came to look around the school, wanting to meet some of the other devils in the area.

It was while he was near the gym entrance where a young boy stepped in front of him. Hao could tell that he had magic in him and by the face he was making, he didn't like that Hao was walking in their territory unannounced.

"Why are you here?" Saji demanded. While he was glaring at Hao on the outside, on the inside he was scared out of his mind. He watched the Rating Game last night with the rest of his peerage. He thought that Orochimaru was lying when he said that his fellow peerage members were strong, but his confidence shot to the ground when he watch them all clean their enemies like they were nothing. And while the fight with Lee and Sairaorg was enjoyable to watch, Saji couldn't help but fear these new devils that made base here in Kuoh.

Hao smirked at Saji as he put a hand on his hip, but his cloak was hiding it. He could basically feel the fear rolling off the boy in waves. Honestly, if he wanted to intimidate him, he could have done a better job.

"I came to meet the devils in this area." Hao stated "One of my fellow peerage members, Orochimaru, I'm sure you heard or meet of him, works here as the chemistry teacher. I just wanted to take a look around town."

"Well, you can't come onto sc-school grounds unannounced." Hao smirked at Saji's slip up. Saji gritted his teeth before continuing "The President would like to see you."

"President? Who?" asked Hao.

"The Student Council President, uh, sir." he answered.

"You know, if you try to come onto a person and try to intimidate them, you shouldn't be shivering in fear of them." Saji widened his eyes and noticed that he was, indeed, shivering. Hao magic was starting to increase and it was all focused in on Saji, overwhelming him.

"Uh...I..."

"For you to walk towards me," Hao stepped closer to Saji, causing him to take a step back in fear "and act like you're the bigger man… don't you know your place in the world, ant?"

Saji took another step back, but he tripped on the stairwell leading to the gym doors. He looked up to see Hao hovering over him with an evil smirk.

"Do you fear me?"

"That's enough!" the voice of Sona Sitri reverberated throughout the school yard. Saji looked towards his crush in hope and awe and made his way to her. Hao smirked and stood back to his full height.

"Seems like you're the boss." he said as he walked closer to her. The rest of the Student Council was behind her, all glaring at Hao. "Just my luck."

"I don't like the fact that your own my territory without anyone's permission, and I especially don't like you threatening my [Pawn]." she stated while adjusting her glass.

"Well, I knew that you were somewhere on campus, I just didn't feel like finding you myself. So, I just used some of my magic as a tracker for you to teleport to me, saving me the hassle." he said with a hair flip. Sona took to opportunity to look under his garb, noticing his weirdly shaped gloves, sandals, and that he wasn't wearing a shirt, just baggy pants. "Smart plan, eh?"

"Well, congratulations, your plan worked." she said as she crossed her arms. "Now, and I am asking politely, may you please leave my territory?"

"Leave?" said Hao in fake confusion. "Why would I leave when I came to meet you?"

"You came to meet me?" asked Sona with suspension.

"I felt like I had nothing to lose but something to gain by meeting you." he said with a shoulder shrug. "I was curious."

Sona analyzed Hao for while before giving her conclusion. "Follow us." Hao nodded and followed the group until they made it into the Student Council Room, furnished with comfortable couches and sweets already made by Tsubaki's hand.

"This looks nice." Hao said as he sat on one of the couches and crossed his legs and prompted one of his arms on top of the couch. "Very comfortable."

"Thank you." Sona muttered as she sat at her desk. The rest of her peerage members either sat on the remaining couches or just stood around Sona protectively. "Now, can you give us a little information about yourself? I mean, you are the one that barged onto my school without any warning."

"Yes, yes, but isn't it proper to give your name before asking for someone else's name?" he chuckled.

"My name is Sona Sitri."

Hao chuckled again. "So serious… My name is Hao Asakura, a middle class, pure-blooded devil. It's nice to meet you."

"Excuses my interruption" said Momo, one of Sona's bishops, "but I've never heard of an Asakura Clan before."

"That's because we're more like a family than a clan." Hao explained as he accepted a tea cup from Tsubaki. "We are in control of a few marketplaces in the Underworld. However, in the human realm, we have established a multi-billion dollar industry. Since most of our money is being made in the human realm, we settled in Tokyo."

"Really now?" Sona laced her fingers and placed them under her chin in interest. "And what company is this?"

"I'm sure you heard of the company 'Sony.'"

"I have." she said surprised. Her peerage members were also surprised. "I didn't know devils ran that company."

"Yes, well, the man over it, Kenichiro Yoshida is over it currently. However, he was placed in that position by my grandparents, the real owners of the company. They don't like the limelight, so they placed a figurehead there in their place." he explained.

"And so a middle-class devil like you, who has all the riches in the world, joins a peerage of an unknown man that easily beat Sairaorg Bael, one of the strongest devils in this new generation. My question is, why give that up to serve someone?"

"My master has done more for me than my family ever has." Hao said as he sipped his tea. "He was the only one that understood me and talked me out of my darkest moments. He's a honorable man. While my family has done a lot with me, I never connected with them in beliefs. I feel like my master raised me more than my family ever had."

"Seems like you hold some hostility for your family." she said.

"No, not hostility, it's just that I couldn't get what I needed from them. I'll always have respect for the Asakura family, but my master…. he feels like my parent." stated Hao.

"You hold your master in such regard…" Tsubaki stated in awe "maybe even more than I do for Sona, sadly. He must be an amazing person."

"He is…" Hao stared at his reflection from his tea. "I'd do anything for him."

"While I was watching you during the Rating Game," Sona's voice brought Hao out of his daze "you seemed to be a brutal person. However, maybe I misjudged you. It seems like you're fighting for your injured master's honor."

"Yes, I am, but I am a brutal person." he said with a smirk. "I'm sure you saw how I handled my opponents. They got on my nerves."

"That's another question I had." Sona said. "What was that monster you summoned? Was it a familiar?"

"Not really." Hao leaned back into the chair. "My partner, Spirit of Fire, is a part of me. In order for you all to understand, I'd have to give a history lesson."

"Can't say that I'm not interested…" Momo muttered.

"As am I; I'd like to know more." Sona said.

"Good." Hao took his last sip of tea before continuing. "Have you ever heard of one of those blasphemous stories about how a village would sacrifice one of their members in order to appease the gods?"

"I have. However, those beliefs were always crazy to me." Sona answered.

"Sorry to inform you this, but they're real. We do live in a supernatural world, after all. The most insane traditions or beliefs could be creditable once upon a time. Devils did steal human's souls a long time ago; who would have known that humans could become out allies so far into history."

"While true, I don't see what this has to do with your 'Spirit of Fire', if that's what you call it." said Sona.

"'He' is one of those monsters of legend." Hao glared at Sona for calling his partner an 'it'. "In Mapuche mythology, the indigenous Mapuche people of south-central Chili, the 'Cherufe' is a dangerous, flesh-loving, man eating creature that lives in volcanoes. The villagers would appease the Cherufe by sacrificing virginal maidens into the volcano to appease his hunger for humans. If he wasn't feed, he would cause volcanic eruptions or earthquakes that would destroy the village."

Two, long, red arms appeared from mid air, along with a small head with long arms. Sona, along with the rest of her peerage, took a few steps back away from the behemoth in fright. Hao chuckled at their fear.

"This is my partner, Spirit of Fire, a Cherufe. It would be wise not to madden him."

Sona expected the top half of the Spirit of Fire's body, seeing as it was the only part of its body that it formed. It didn't look scary, but just by knowing its background and history, Sona gulped in fear and made sure not to do anything stupid.

"Any questions?" asked Hao with a happy smile.

"Uh..Yes..." Sona sat back in her seat and pushed her glass up "How did you acquire… him… as a partner? Earlier you said it wasn't your familiar, but you haven't explained what he was to you."

"Of course. The Spirit of Fire… I met him during my travels in Chili being attacked by magicians. One thing you don't know is that Cherufes can create ardent stones, something magicians use for their dark arts. I bet them and we connect in a way." he explained.

"How so?"

"He told me that he liked the fire in my heart… And I felt like… my body called out to him, in some weird way."

"And then?" asked Tsubaki.

"He ate me."

Silence filled the room as everyone went quiet. The Spirit of Fire ate him? That was something you don't hear every day.

"Well… if he ate you… how are you still alive?" asked Sona.

"He ate me, but he didn't kill me. He sensed the magic I had in me and decided to merge with me. As you said, the traditions of people sacrificing their villagers to appease their gods are old, so he hadn't tasted flesh in a long time. He decided to come with me instead, so he resides in my mind. I summon him with my magic and he merges with the oxygen around us since he isn't in volcano anymore. He needs an energy source to live."

"That's amazing." Sona stared at the spirit in awe. "What then?"

"Oh, I ate the magicians that were trying to capture him." everyone in the shivered. "He gets to eat his favorite food all the time and I absorb that magic he eats. It's a win-win situation."

"Oh…" Sona felt very uncomfortable around Hao and his… partner, now. "Well, you won't have to use that strange ability here."

"I don't know. I was thinking about using it against him" Hao pointed to Saji, who then jumped behind the couch in fright "for how he was acting towards me. Spirit of Fire agreed with me."

"Uh, forgive him, Mr. Hao, of his actions. He is my newest member and is still learning the ropes." answered Sona. Even if Hao did try to eat Saji, she would defend him, but she knew she would lose the battle and maybe her life as well.

"Ah! You're new to? Just like that Issei child I keep hearing Yoh talk about. He seems fond of him." Hao rubbed his chin in thought. "I honestly don't see what he likes about that disgusting human…"

"You don't like humans?" Sona asked.

"No." Hao face went from content to serious, as if he was in battle "I hardly like any race, even devils, but humans… they top the cake… They destroy the world they live in… destroy and hate each other for meaningless matters… if you would have asked me a few years ago, I would have said that we devils should kill them off.

Tsubaki gulped before saying "Well… what made you change your mind?"

"My master… he taught me all about history, focusing on the good side rather than the bad, something I've been doing for the majority of my life. He taught me to have faith in all races and that just because history is riddled with bad events; it doesn't mean it has to be that way. I do still hate most humans… but there are a few that I've seen good in."

"That's good. My peerage here is made up of reincarnated devils. They were all once fully human. They are good people." said Sona with all seriousness. Her peerage members smiled at their [King], glad that she believed in them in such light.

"Even Saji?" asked Hao. Saji gulped and turned to Sona for help.

"Even Saji."

Hao chuckled and stood from his seat. "Well then, I'm actually glad I came here. This was nice."

"I'm sure we can become allies then." Sona said while standing from her chair. "I don't want our relationship to mimics Orochimaru and Rias'."

"Oh, they want. You are actually intelligent; I can tell." Hao stretched his hand out to Sona. "I'll be on school grounds tomorrow again. While I don't want too, I do need to have another conversation with Rias Gremory."

"Then you are allowed here anytime, that is, if you don't cause any troubles." she said. They both shook hands with smiles on their faces, the beginning of a new alliance between devils.

"I'll see if I can stop by tomorrow then." he said as he released her hand. "I'll see you then."

Sona nodded and watched Hao disappear in a magic circle. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding and pushed up her glasses, a full blush on her cheeks

"He's...cute.."

"WHHHAAAtttttTTTTTTT!" Saji shouted.

 **Serafall Memorial Hospital**

Sairaorg opened his mouth and let Kuisha feed him some of the soup the hospital provided. He still felt terribly weak from the battle against Lee yesterday. While his mid-section took the most damage from Lee's last hit, he was full of bruises and entered the hospital with a dislocated left arm.

Currently, his whole peerage and his mother were in his room to make sure he was okay.

"Feel better?" Kuisha asked as she pulled the spoon back.

Sairaorg groaned as he swallowed the hot soup "No…" he whined. Kuisha rolled her eyes and fed him again.

"It's alright, Sairaorg. You did well." Misla said from beside her son. "No need to stress yourself anymore."

"I'm sorry mother. If I had won, I would have used that wish to help you out." he said sadly.

"I know, but you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. I'm still proud of you and your peerage. You all fought your hardest."

"But it still wasn't enough." he growled out. "They… they were so strong… we couldn't even take out one of them."

"I'm sorry, Sairaorg," Coriana said "for not being able to put up a fight. That girl took me and Misteeta out by surprise and there was nothing we could do…" they both lowered their heads in shame.

"It isn't your fault, it's mine." Sairaorg said in between coughs "I shouldn't have accepted a Rating Game against a team we don't know anything about. He raised the stakes so high because he knew they were going to win…" Sairaorg growled when an image of Orochimaru appeared in his mind "I swear, the next time I see that man-

"You'll do what exactly?" everyone snapped their heads towards the door to see Orochimaru standing there with his ever present smirk on his face. "My, my, little Bael. I didn't know your hatred of me ran that deep? We just met."

"Orochimaru..." Sairaorg growled his name. Automatically, Sairaorg's peerage moved in front of their [King], defending him just in case Orochimaru came to finish Sairaorg off.

"Calm down, I'm not here to do anything bad." he said with his hands up in surrender, but it didn't feel like he was surrendering at all. Sairaorg sighed and called his peerage off, which they did reluctantly.

"Seems like you're still banged up." Orochimaru said as he entered the room. "I hope Lee didn't deal too much damage to you."

"Well, he did." Sairaorg said with a laugh. "That boy is really something. He took all my hits and kept on moving like they were nothing."

"Lee is like a tank, probably has the most stamina and has the most the most defenses in the group." explained Orochimaru as he set his bag on the ground. "You shouldn't feel bad about your defeat. I pit Lee against you for a reason, after all. I wouldn't have thought that if I didn't believe he had a good chance at winning."

"You planned this entire thing out, didn't you?" Sairaorg said. "You outsmarted me at any moment you could."

Orochimaru smirked at the Bael "Glad you figured it out. But again, you shouldn't feel bad. I am a masterful manipulator and you are young. I just adapt to what I'm giving and go with that. And to make you feel better about yourself, if you would have lasted at least another 10 seconds or so against Lee, you would have won."

"Really? How?" he asked.

"Lee depends strictly on physical prowess." he explained "When he activated that Gates technique that surprised everyone, he released all of his magic that he holds dormant. He's not the best when it comes to magical control, so that's why he had to end it as quickly as possible."

"Even as a [Rook]? They are known for having a strong defense. However, I must say, he moved very fast for him to be a [Rook]; more like a [Knight] if you ask me." Sairaorg said.

"True, but when it comes to magic, Lee is terrible at controlling it. His stamina was draining out of him quickly because of his magic adding to his strength and speed. Basically, he was beating himself more than he was beating you; it just so happened that you dropped your guard during the last few moments of the fight."

"Sadly, I felt like I won. It's something I'll look back on for the rest of my career and never forget." Sairaorg said.

"Good call. I enjoyed the fight while watching it. You are very strong; you've got a bright future ahead of you, Sairaorg Bael." Orochimaru bowed to Sairaorg in respect.

Everyone looked at Orochimaru in shock. Orochimaru always came off as a bad guy, not a honorable person. While he did complement Sairaorg on his battle, he wasn't so sure if he should trust the snake man yet.

Misla stood up and presented Orochimaru with his sword. "I believe this is yours." she said while holding it out to him.

"Thank you very much, Lady Bael." Kusanagi transformed into a snake, shocking Misla since she was the one holding, and it slithered up Orochimaru's leg and into his rob.

"That is very disturbing." Kuisha said out loud. Orochimaru chuckled at the girl.

"We're devils. I'm pretty sure that there are weirder things than me in this world." he said with a laugh.

"We'll then, Orochimaru, why I'm glad you came here to gloat over your victory, but I feel like that's not the only reason why you came here." Sairaorg said.

"Oh yes, thanks for reminding me." said Orochimaru as he reached on the ground and grabbed his bag. He pulled out a blood pump with a plastic bag attached to it. "I hope you forgot the other end of the deal since I won, right?"

Sairaorg sighed and raised the sleeve of his hospital gown. "No, I haven't forgotten the deal."

"Good. This won't hurt at all." Orochimaru said with a smile.

"Before you do this…" Sairaorg said with a raised hand "There's something I haven't told you." he looked at his mother in worry.

"What?" asked Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… I don't know how to say this…"

"Just say it." Orochimaru said.

"I mean… I know your master needs the blood and all… it's just… ya know..."

Orochimaru eyebrow twitched in annoyance "Sairaorg, I don't have all day. Tell me now."

"Alright..." Sairaorg said with a sigh. "It's just that..."

"What is it?"

"I'm not a full Bael. I'm a hybrid."

 **Evening time**

 **Kuoh**

"Dang, bro. Sorry you had to go through that." said Yoh as he munched on his fries. "My master told me about what happened, but it's different from hearing it from your own perspective."

Yoh, Issei, and Lee were out at a fast food restaurant after spending the day together. Issei was generally happy with how the day went. His mind had drifted away from the previous night's events and focused on having fun. While he did have his moments throughout the day, he felt like he could open up to Yoh and Lee. They were different than Rias.

"Yea… I still haven't checked up on Asia, but I'm sure she's okay. They'll take care of her to keep me on my good side." Issei said as he took a sip of his soda.

"That's why master doesn't revive people against their will." said Lee. "He doesn't want to condemn them into a life they may or may not want. He doesn't take risk like that."

"Well, Rias needs to learn from your master then." Issei said. "She knew all along that I was going to be killed by Raynare days before it actually happened. Shits messed up if you ask me."

"It is; seems like the Gremory doesn't understand people's feelings." Yoh said

"She doesn't and that's what I hate about her. She's so selfish... she doesn't understand me at all, but she has the nerves to reincarnate me as her [Pawn]."

"Well what are you going to do?" Lee asked. "Whenever you see them again? It's going to be weird."

"It is… and I don't know what I'm going to do when I see them. I need to go see Asia, though. She's the reason I even went to that damn church in the first."

"If you want, we can come with you?" Lee said as he devoured his chicken nuggets. "I mean, we're not doing anything any time soon since we just beat Sairaorg at the Rating Game."

"You two would really do that? Come with me to make sure everything's okay?"

"Why not?" Yoh leaned his head into his palm "We're your friends."

Issei stared at the two for a while before smiling "I would really appreciate that. Thanks."

"No problem, anything to get away from Anna." said Yoh "She's been getting really feisty because she doesn't control the TV anymore like she used to back home. She and Kisame are going to tear that house down sometime soon."

"I need to see this video of you all winning your Rating Game that you've been bragging about all day." Issei said. "Did Lee really put on a show?"

"The best one there was!" Lee said out loud. "It cost me a couple of fractured bones, but the battle was worth it. I can't wait for us to have another one!"

"How did you heal so quickly then?" asked Issei "I mean, your talk about having fractured bones sounds serious. It's amazing that you've healed in just a couple of hours."

"Oh, Mr. Kisame healed me, with a little help from Ms. Anna." said Lee.

"Who's this Kisame guy?"

"A very scary man, but he's actually cool." Yoh said "He was acting arrogant when we first met him, his blue skin put me on edge, but he's actually cool once you get to know him."

"Yeah, and he has this crazy sword-thingy that sucks up magic and he uses that to heal him sometimes. He said it only worked with me because his blade liked how my magic 'tasted'." Lee explained.

"Taste? Blue skin? That's some weird shit if you ask me." Issei said.

"It's not as bad as you think." Yoh said. He took out his phone to check the time "Eh, it's getting late. We need to head back home, Lee."

"YOSH! We must rest for tomorrow's activities!" Lee said as he jumped out of his seat and ran out the restaurant.

"Uh… You guys really have to go?" Issei said, reluctant to see them leave. "This is the most fun I've had in a while… I just don't want it to end."

"We'll… you can kick it at our spot tonight?" Yoh suggested "You'll have to deal with the rest of the guys, but it'll be fine… You'll fit right in."

"Alright! Thanks!" Issei said happily, glad his time with the two wasn't going to end.

Yoh left some money on the table as a tip as the two walked out of the restaurant. Lee was doing jumping jacks to make use of extra time until he noticed Issei. "Ah, Issei! Are you coming with us?"

"Yup, should be fun." he said with a shrug.

"Well, you'll have to know the rules in order to stay. They're easy to follow, but they are also very strict." he said.

"Yeah, like how everyone has a night with the TV in the living room." explained Yoh "Today, its Kisame's night, so it's for your own safety not to touch the remote."

"Alright, got it. What else?" Issei asked.

"Don't go into anybody's room without permission, ESPEICIALLY OROCHIMARU'S!" Yoh emphasized. "Please, sweet Lucifer, don't go in there! There are… things… in there you don't want to see…" Yoh and Lee shivered.

"I actually believe you on that." Issei said with his own shiver, thinking back to his first time meeting the man. "I promise you that I won't go anywhere near his room."

"Uh… what is else there?... Oh! Don't leave dishes in the sink. Anna will kill you…. slowly…."

"Orochimaru doesn't like it if you step on the grass on the front lawn. If you do, a snake may pop up and bite you. He's planted a few in the ground to keep watch." Lee said.

"Okay, okay… anything else?" Issei asked.

"Nope, I think that's it. Orochimaru's not home, so you don't have to worry about him." Yoh said.

"Alright! Let's get this going!" Issei said happily.

 **Underworld**

Orochimaru opened the door to the hotel his was staying in. He had his bag filled with Sairaorg blood and set it on his desk. He turned the lights on a sat on his bed. Disappointment was all evident on the snake man's face as pulled on his hair in frustration. He was snarling and his fangs turned purple, a strange liquid oozing from them.

"A Vapula…..a fucking Vapula…."

Orochimaru stood on his feet and disappeared in a magical circle, reappearing in a forest. He stretched his hand out and a magic circle charged with lighting shot out a massive bolt that fired a lot of trees in the surrounding area. A forest fire was started and many of the animals living there were running away from it or the falling trees.

Orochimaru growled out. He had miscalculated.

' _I paid so much attention to Sairaorg himself, I just assumed that Misla was a Bael as well.'_ he thought _'While I knew that idiot Rias was an hybrid devil, I didn't even think about Sairaorg being one as well…'_

Orochimaru's hair started to rise as his magic surrounded his body. Evil intent filled the area with a sickly atmosphere, freezing any of the escaping animals in freight.

Orochimaru was taking deep breaths while an orange orb grew from out of the ground and levitated next to him.

" _You….okay...?"_ Naruto asked.

"I'm sorry… I'm…" Orochimaru recalled his magic and the animals were able to run again. "My emotions got the best of me… I'm sorry…"

" _Wha…..what… happen? "_

"I went to retrieve the blood of Sairaorg since we won the Rating Game. However, I didn't know that he was half Bael, half Vapula. I… I just assumed that Misla Vapula was born a Bael as well…. I'm sorry…. master…"

Naruto was quiet for a while before speaking _"_ _Th…that….is a li…little…trou..bling…Ho..however…I'm.. not too worried…..we kn..knew…the Gre…mory….was a half…It may..still..work.. "_

"We are riding on luck now, though." Orochimaru said "We were only hoping that Rias' blood would work, even though she's half Bael. But now… now we have TWO HALF BREEDS!"

Orochimaru summoned a ball of magic and threw it at the area he already destroyed. A large explosion occurred, leaving a massive crater in the ground. Nothing could have survived the attack.

 ** _"_** _T..true… but…we'll remain….hopefull… ..plus…..I have…. back up…..plan…_ "

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow "A back up plan? One different from mine?" the orb tilted downwards and back up, so he guessed that was a nod in agreement "We never talked about this. What is it?"

" _Hehehe…heehe…..We… should leave…so…someone..will appe..appear soon…._ " Naruto said. _"_ _We'll discu..ss… chan..ges.. in the..pla..n.. in..the morning…We'll… ..with… .. ..measures..plan.. ..Hao…..I'll… leav…leave …for yo..u….to give… your… contact..tomorrow….don't….open it… "_ and with that, the orb disappeared.

Orochimaru sighed at his master's secretive acts, but agreed with his words and teleported back to his hotel. He would carry on with his master's original plan and if it didn't work, they'll just use Naruto's backup plan.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"What is he doing here?"

"Ahh! Anna! My light in the darkness! You look lovely!" Yoh kissed her on cheek, but it seemed to not affect her at all "Ooooh, you smell great. What is that...is... Is that…*sniff*…. cinnamon?"

Anna used her hand to grab and clench his cheeks, making Yoh groan in pain. "Stop sucking up to me and tell me why he is here?" she said while pointing to the frightful Issei.

"Oh, Ms. Anna! Yoh invited Issei over for the night." Lee answered. Anna growled and pulled Yoh's face down towards her. He gulped and tried to smile, but she applied more pressure to her death grip.

"Without informing me about this?" she asked.

She loosened her grip so that Yoh could talk clearly. "Anna, he needed some people to be around. You know what he went through last night… I was being nice."

"I don't ca-"she stopped when she saw Yoh's pleading look and sighed. She threw Yoh away like garbage and took a seat on another couch. "If he does anything stupid, I'm killing him and you."

Both Issei and Yoh sighed in content; Anna was alright with Issei spending the night. Yoh sat by Anna, but made sure to keep his distance, while Lee and Issei sat on another couch. Kisame was sitting in his own, personal recliner with the remote in his hand.

"Glad you mother fuckers finally stopped talking." Kisame said with a growl "It's Shark Week on Nat Geo, but y'all don't care about that, huh? You don't care about the greatness of sharks and our culture!?"

"Uh… you said 'our' culture." Issei said hesitantly "What do you mean."

"I'm a shark demon, dumbass." he said "Can't you tell with the gill indents? Pointy teeth?" he flashed his fangs to Issei.

"Don't forget small brain." Anna added.

"Hey… remind me the next time I catch you lacking to chop you up into little pieces." Kisame said with a growl. The rivalry between the two would be ever-present as lighting danced in between the two as they stared each other down. The other boys sweat dropped at the scene.

"Eh, fuck you…" Kisame said as he relaxed back into his recliner. "Anyway, Yoh!"

"Yeah?"

"Where's ya' hoe as brother, Hao?" Kisame laughed at his own joke.

"Behind you."

"Oh for real?" Kisame looked behind him to see Hao glaring at him with a bag in his hand. "Hey there, little guy. Did you bring the goods?"

Hao rolled his eyes before handing Kisame a box of poki and sat down next to Yoh. "Yesss…. Tonight will be perfect. I've got Shark Week on... Poki in my right hand… and the controller in my left." he chuckled as he pulled the lever on the side of his chair, bringing forth the leg rest. "Ahhhhhh! Today's a good day. What did you all do today, Rookie? Yoh? Perverted boy who's magical energy smells delicious?"

Issei shivered at Kisame's grin. "We went out to eat, went to the mall, the movies, stopped by the record store, ya' know? Just a regular day."

"I assume you didn't talk to any females today, right?" Anna shot a glare at Yoh.

"Of course not! Well… except for the female working the cash-register at the record store."

"Then you shall never go there unless I'm with you." Anna demanded.

"But AANNNAAAA! You never want to go to the record store!" he whined.

"Can you two shut the hell up!? Do you not see what is on the television!?" Kisame shouted.

"Unlike you, we don't get off by watching dumb fish eating other dumb fish." Hao said while leaning his head on his hand, his left arm propped up on the couch's arm rest.

"And I don't see the purpose of your opinion, seeing as no one asked for it!" Kisame barked back.

"Yosh! We should all train together tomorrow! It shall be sunny, said the weather man today!" Lee shouted out.

Issei watched all the chaos happen in front him, but he didn't fear it. Rather than fear… he enjoyed it. He never felt like a part of Rias' peerage. Sure, he did some light training with Kiba and Rias taught him how the supernatural world worked, but he never had any fun with them. It's been over a month since he was reincarnated as a devil, but he never actually enjoyed his time as one. This was the first time in what seemed like a long time that Issei was having fun.

However, the voice in the back of his head kept reminding him that he couldn't enjoy this peace for long.

He was the [Pawn] of Rias Gremory, after all.

 **The Next Day**

 **Occult Research Club**

Issei didn't come for the second day of class.

Rias groaned and dropped her head on her desk with a loud thump. Akeno, Kiba, Asia, and Koneko all looked at their [King] with worry. The Issei situation was really taking a toll on her and they didn't know what to do.

"Bucho, what can we do to help you?" asked Kiba.

"Reverse time…" she mumbled out.

"Rias, running from this isn't going to help. We need to go find him now and apologize. It's not late to explain everything to him." said Akeno.

"I know…" she muttered. She sat back into her chair with a sigh "But…. but what if he's right?"

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"That…" she bit the bottom of her lip "That I'm selfish… that I only care about power…."

"That isn't true." Koneko interrupted "You love all of us and we love you back for everything you've done for us."

"Yeah, I can tell that you're a great person, Bucho! You don't seem like that type of person!" Asia said, supporting Koneko.

"I… I thank you for your words… but he's right." she said sadly "I waited until he was dead to revive him… and I was hesitant…no… I didn't want to revive Asia because she didn't have her Sacred Gear anymore… all I do care about is power… just for my own selfish desires…"

"Rias." Rias looked over to her best friend "I don't care what you think about yourself, but you aren't an evil person. You have your own demon that you have to deal with and that's what influences you to do the things you do." Akeno said, referring to her arranged marriage to Riser.

"I know, but that isn't good enough of a reason to force someone into servitude all their life." she said "All this time…. I thought I was doing right…"

"Rias!" Akeno shouted with anger, surprising everyone in the room "No matter your personal problems, we have a family member out there who hates us! We need to go get him and explain everything now!"

Rias stared at Akeno with shock before nodding your head "You're right. This… we should go find him and explain everything… I won't hide anything from him."

"That'll have to wait." Koneko said as she turned towards the door "Someone's coming."

"It must be that person that Sona was talking about." Rias said to her peerage. "Hao, I think his name was. He is one of the member's of that peerage that lives on the outskirts of town."

They all waited until Hao knocked on the door. Kiba went over to the door and opened it, slightly bowing to Hao.

"Good evening." Kiba said. "Are you the devil that Sona told my [King] was going to visit here today?"

"Yes. My name is Asakura Hao, middle-class, full blooded devil." he introduced himself, but he didn't bow. "May I enter?"

"Of course." Kiba said with a polite smile as he opened the door fully and stepped aside. Hao entered the room and took a look around.

"This is nice… dark… perfect for devils if you ask me." he said as he found a seat on a couch.

"I'm glad you like the accommodations. It's one of the reasons why I chose this place as my main base of operation." Rias stated. "My name is Rias Gremory, heir of the Gremory Clan. Sona told me that you would visit us, but you didn't tell me yourself. Not a nice jester on your part."

"Your [Pawn] is at my house eating my food in my fridge. That isn't a nice jester on your part." he countered.

"Issei's at your house!?" she said with a surprised look. Everyone, even Koneko, was surprised at the revelation.

"Yes. I was informed of what happened at the church two days ago by master." Hao turned his attention to Asia. She flinched when she felt his eyes on her "Are you the one that he was fighting for? You fit his description of what you looked like." he asked.

"Y-yes… Uh.. Mr. Hao.. is Issei okay?" she asked shyly.

"He is now, but if he keeps getting on my nerves I'm going to handle him myself." he turned back to Rias "When do you plan on getting him out of my house?"

"We were just planning to find him. We didn't know he was at your house. Forgive me." she said with a bow.

"Hmmm… well, Lee and Yoh did invite him over for the night, so I guess it isn't your entire fault." he said "Nevertheless, he's getting on my nerves. If he spends the night again, I may just kill him."

Rias shivered at his cold stare. "I-I'm sorry, once again. We'll convince him to leave as soon as possible."

"Thank you, but for now, I came to talk to you. I already talked to Sona and her peerage and it went well, however, I don't know how this conversation will go because of how Orochimaru talks about you."

"What does he say?"

"That you're arrogant and easy to manipulate." he answered nonchalantly.

"Oh." Rias sweat dropped "Well, that's because Orochimaru is a very… hard man to deal with… Akeno, can you prepare Hao some snacks and tea, please?"

"Of course." she said and headed towards the kitchen.

"So," Rias laced her fingers in a business-like manner "What is it that you'd like to talk about?"

"I'd like to strike a deal with you, Rias Gremory." Hao rested his left arm on top of the couch and crossed his legs. "A deal that you can benefit from very much."

"A… deal?" she said with curiosity. "What is it?"

"I can break your contract with Riser Phenex."

Glass shattered in the other room and Akeno back into the main room, wide eyed. Everyone in the room, excluding Asia and Hao, couldn't hide the shock ridden across their face.

"Wh...What… what are you talking about?" Rias said in utter shock.

"Don't act ignorant." he said with a frown. "You've been trying to get out of this contract with him for the longest of time, so I've heard. I'm presenting the opportunity to you and you act like I don't know what I'm talking about."

"I'm- I'm sorry!" she said, trying, and failing, in hiding her happiness. "Please, continue."

"Well, basically, I'd have my peerage face his peerage in a Rating Game with me professing that I want to have your hand in marriage." he explain.

Rias frowned at him "That's great and all, but I want to be able to marry the man I choose, not someone that I don't even know."

"Right, that's when we beat him, I'll renounce the engagement and you're a free women." he said like it was nothing. "Seems like the perfect plan to me."

"That… that does sound good… but I don't know..." the plan did sound good out loud, but she didn't know this man or his intentions.

"You don't know?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm present you with the chance of freedom and you respond with 'you don't know'? I don't understand at all."

"Well, what you says sound good, and it may actually work," Rias gained a serious look as she gazed into Hao's eyes "but I don't know you, plus, you haven't told me what you'd get in return from this deal."

Hao didn't break eye contact with the younger devil. "When we win and break your arranged marriage, you will give me a pint of your blood and also convince Sona Sitri to give a pint of her blood as well."

"A pint of Bucho's blood?" Kiba said with suspicion "That sounds fishy to me. What do you plan on doing with their blood?"

"Orochimaru wants it for his little 'experiments'," Hao used air quotes over 'experiments "and to study the genetics of the Gremory and Bael. He is a scientist, as you know well, and is very interested in things like the body and how it works, especially with devils. The blood of a hybrid Gremory and Bael seemed like an interesting combination to him and wanted to study it more. He's just using the severity of your situation to get the blood of a high-class Sitri as well." he explained.

"That's a lot to take in…" she said with uncertainty "It's just… overwhelming…"

"Overwhelming, yes, but your only safe way out." he said "Let's be serious for a moment. There are only two ways in order for you to break your contract, and one of them is very risky. The first, and most risky, is to give your virginity to someone else, which will corrupt your high-class image if your maidenhood is lost before marriage. I'd avoid that option at the upmost." Rias nodded in agreement. "The next is if you beat Riser Phenex in an unofficial Rating Game, seeing as you aren't of age yet, which will null the contract because he is unfit to marry someone that is stronger than him. The sexist rules of the Underworld will be in your favor in this situation."

"Correct, that was my other option that I have been considering." she said.

"However, the problem with that option is that you won't win."

Rias narrowed her eyes at Hao will a little of her magic slipped out of her body. "Excuses me?" she said dangerously.

"I've watched every one of Riser Phenex's Rating Games." he started "I can tell you now, even though his peerage looks pathetically weak to me, your peerage, is weaker than his. You will not win in a Rating Game against him. You will lose your only opportunity to break this contract and free yourself if you face him yourself."

Rias stood from her seat in anger. "Who do you think you are!? Coming into my domain and disgracing my peerage! You know nothing about my peerage or our capabilities!"

"Your trump card hates you." Rias' eyes widened "That was your plan, right? Develop Issei as much as possible and depend on him the most because of his Longinus? I can see right through you, Rias Gremory. You aren't hiding anything."

"I'm not hiding anything." she growled out "But I will no longer take this disrespect from some unknown devil that has past jurisdiction into criticizing my family and calling us weak!"

Hao was about to stand up, but Kiba appeared behind him and slid a sword underneath Hao's chin. He had sensed Hao's slight rise in anger and magic when he heard Rias and was going to protect his [King] at all cost.

"Sit back down, please." he muttered without any kindness.

"Get that little plastic toy away from me." Hao growled out as he entered a staring contest with Kiba. While he was hiding it well, Kiba fear started to rise as he stared into Hao's eyes. He could feel the magic that he had…. and an incredible amount of evil in the depths of Hao's soul. He didn't surrender, however, and stood his ground against Hao.

Hao glared at Kiba before focusing his attention back on Rais, not caring for the sword at his throat. "You have a [Pawn] that hates you and doesn't want anything to do with you or this peerage." He pointed at Akeno "A [Queen] that is scared to embrace her heritage and holds back on her own power because of the hatred she has for herself!" Hao's anger started to rise as he pointed to Koneko next "Another devil who hates her own power in fear of what's she's capable of," and lastly pointed to the boy with a sword at his neck "And a fucking pathetic human that was a reject of a idiotic church project gone wrong! The nun is the only right-minded person under your care, but she can't go to heaven now because you forced her into a devil, right?!"

Kiba was shaking in rage and was highly considering killing Hao now with one quick stroke of his sword. However, before he could act upon in, Hao grabbed his sword and broke it with pure strength. He stood and walked towards Rias, who was stepping away from him in fear. Kiba and Koneko acted accordingly and blocked his path. Akeno jumped in front of Rias with an outstretched hand that had a magic seal ready for use. Asia looked on in fright from the sidelines as she jumped behind one of the couches.

"You think these weaklings can stop me…" he growled at Rias. "You need to get your head out of the clouds. I'm not nice like how Orochimaru is. I'm going to tell you this once: You have no chance in winning and you need us. You cannot handle the power of the Phenex with this dysfunctional group by yourself." Hao's magic flared around him and Rias swore she could see a fire in his eyes.

"You are too weak!"

The words hit Rias like a bullet to the heart. She lowered her head as her fears were shoved right in front of her. She really was weak… a terrible [King]…

She faced Hao again, but her eyes were filled with tears. They didn't affect Hao in the slightest. "I…I don't even know if my brother… will accept this…."

Hao smirked devilishly, putting everyone on edge.

"Don't worry. I have that covered already."

 **Same time**

 **Underworld**

Sirzechs slammed his hand against his desk in frustration.

"He was sealed… all this time…"

"Correct." said Orochimaru "And the only way for Naruto-sama to be freed is to gather the blood of a high-class Bael, Gremory, and Sitri since they are the ones who sealed him in the first place.

Earlier, Sirzechs was told that there was a devil that wanted to meet him. Usually, people who wanted to meet with him either were high-class devils that set an appointment with him, because you couldn't just meet with the most powerful devil in the Underworld. However, the maid told him that the person that was waiting for him had sent him a message about a certain friend in the past.

Sirzechs understood the hidden meaning fully and order the maid to bring whoever it was to them in an instant, which was when Orochimaru entered his office. He introduced himself to the Satan and told him everything, from the sealing of Naruto, all the way to the Rating Game they had with Sairaorg a few days ago. Sirzechs knew everything now and was in total shock of what happened to his near and dear friend.

And now, Sirzechs was feeling like an idiot. He had completely forgotten about Naruto over the years while he was suffering in a box of loneliness. Such conditions could drive any man wild, but he hoped that Naruto found a way to stick through it.

"I just don't understand… all of this time and now I remember…" Sirzechs stated.

"I have a hunch that my master was aware of. Can I see the paper I sent you the first time?" asked Orochimaru. Sirzechs nodded and reached into his desk for the message and handed it to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru analyzed the message with a sharp gaze. "There's a seal on this paper."

"A-a seal?" the Satan said. "Where?"

"It is very small, but it's there." Orochimaru used a magic circle to summon a microscope. He placed the paper under the microscope and inspected it further. "Wow… master is amazing… take a look."

Sirzechs took his turn with the microscope and sure enough, there was a tiny magic seal on the paper. "This… this is some type of memory seal. I'm not too advanced at those, but I can recognize them."

"Even better, this seal reverses the affect of a memory binding seal." Orochimaru said. "That means someone put a seal on you without your knowledge, which probably caused you to forget about Naruto."

"This… this is…." Sirzechs was at a loss of words. Centuries has passed since he last saw Naruto and he didn't even recognize it because he had a seal on him. "But I've had to of mentioned Naruto's name after he was sealed. I'm sure of it. And if this is a seal that reverse the effect of a memory binding seal, where is the old seal at?"

"Probably long gone." said Orochimaru, taking another look at the seal on the paper. "Once you touched the paper and read the message, you remembered the lack of Naruto's existence in your life. This seal probably destroyed the old seal the instant you touch this paper… This is incredible! It's like Naruto-sama planned out every single, small detail. His mind is truly a force to be reckoned with." Orochimaru said with praise.

"That's not hard to believe seeing as I've fought right next to Naruto during the Civil War." he said with a sad smile. "However…. this really worries me. Someone close to me was able to plant such a seal on me… this is horrendous… who did it and when?"

"My guess: one of the high-ranking Sitri. When did they do it? Probably right after the sealing." answered Orochimaru. "Whoever did this was smart about it, and a trait that the Sitri are known for is their intelligence. They waited until after the war, during the rebuilding faze and after everything calmed down, and attack. It's also possible that they placed seals on more people, those close to Naruto so they wouldn't ask any questions about Naruto just like you did."

"But what about Serafall?" asked Sirzechs "She doesn't know what happened to Naruto at all? Do you think that she has a seal on her as well?"

"Personally, I don't think so." answered Orochimaru. "Her sadness for Naruto's disappearance was real. The Sitri took advantage of Serafall's sadness over Naruto disappearance to make the story look real. This is a master plan that has been in effect for centuries and nobody even knew. Those who were close to Naruto, other than Serafall, probably just assumed there were problems with their relationship-

"And we thought that they broke up." Sirzechs finished with eyes of unbelief. "Oh my… this is evil… I can't believe this happened to him!" Sirzechs stood from his seat "I'm going over to the Sitri Clan now and I'm going to force a confession out of them!"

"Please, Lucifer-sama, there's a better way to handle this. We have a plan." Orochimaru said in a calming voice. Sirzechs took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before settling back into his seat.

"Okay… what's the plan?" he asked.

"The first thing in order for Naruto-sama to be freed is some of your blood." said Orochimaru. "While you are a half Gremory, half Bael, we'll also get a pint of Rias' blood as well, which could help in freeing Naruto-sama. Two samples of high-class Gremory blood should do the trick."

"Alright, I'll give you as much as you need." he said in agreement. "What next?"

"You allow my peerage to fight Riser Phenex. My colleague should be convincing Rias to let us handle the situation and she'll pay us in a pint of her own blood and to convince Sona Sitri for a pint of her own blood. That way, we'll keep up appearances as an upcoming peerage with the mysterious [King]. With all the blood within my grasp, we'll find Naruto-sama's seal and free him. We'll deal with the Sitri after the fact that he's free."

"Okay… okay, I understand." the Satan said. "Anything else?"

"There is one thing." Orochimaru said as he gave Sirzechs a closed letter. "My master told me to give this to you. Even I don't know what this is."

Sirzechs took the letter and opened it, reading its content with interest. His eyes widened at what he was reading.

Seeing his surprise, Orochimaru spoke "If it's not to private, can I know what is in the letter?"

"It says that as a reward from freeing my sister from her arranged marriage, he wants me to revoke the stray-devil statues of a certain person… this… hehe. Naruto, you think of everything…"

Orochimaru was really interested now. "Who is it that he wants you to revoke the stray-devil statues of?"

Sirzechs smirked at Orochimaru.

"Kuroka the Nekomata."

 **Occult Research Club**

"Now," Hao said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you agree to the terms of this meeting?"

Rias bit her lip and thought to herself. She was backed into a corner. She had built her peerage in order to fight off Riser's advances on her. If she would just give up and give Hao and his peerage the right to handle her problem for her, she would have revived them for no reason. They could have been living their own lives, or maybe in Heaven enjoying their days of an eternity of happiness. They had all been with each other for a long time… she couldn't just give up on them! She believed in her peerage and she knew that they would help her with whatever problem that stood in her way.

She glared at Hao as she activated her magic. "We DO NOT need your help! Unlike you, I believe in my peerage! My family! No matter what you say, I know that we can handle this together! AS A FAMILY!" she shouted. "You can leave now. Your presence disgusts me."

Hao growled out at the girl. This wasn't in his plans. She was supposed to agree with everything, not fight against his deal. However, seeing the determination in the Gremory heiress' eyes, he knew there wasn't any convincing her.

' _Damn it.'_ he thought to himself as he gritted his teeth. Seems like he was going to have to go with option 2. He started to summon his magic and-

"Wait!" Akeno shouted, stopping Hao from what he planned on doing. "She'll do it. She'll let you beat Riser if that's what it takes for her to be free."

"What! Akeno!" Rias shouted in anger.

"Rias, just listen to what he's proposing!" she said/yelled, but her voice was filled with concern. "This man is giving us the best chance we have in freeing you from that man. And while I don't like what he said about us-" she shot Hao the most dangerous glare she make "he does have a point. I.. I don't know if we can defeat Riser the way we are."

"Akeno…" Rias muttered.

"But they can!" she said with confidence. "We saw their Rating Game last night. They can beat him! I have 100% confidence that they can do it! While I don't like how he presented himself, he's our best beat for your freedom.. I…I don't want to see you cry anymore over this!" she yelled with tears in her own eyes.

Rias stared at her best friends watery eyes. She had the best- best friend in the world. To lower herself so much… just for her…

"I agree." Kiba said, catching her attention. "While I do not like this man one bit, it seems like he's offering a deal that is too good to be true. I say you take it."

"Me too." said Koneko quietly "This is the best way for you to be free. If that's what it takes for you to be free, then I'll do anything. You should do it."

"I-i- I think so as well!" Asia said from her hiding spot. "While I'm still confused… I can understand most of what's going on. You're in an arranged marriage with a man you don't love! You should fight against it, Bucho! Even though I'm new, I-I'll be right there with you all the way!"

Rias smiled at her peerage. _'No… family…'_ she thought happily.

She focused back to Hao, who had his arms crossed and waiting for a reply. She narrowed her eyes at him in hatred. She'd rather deal with Orochimaru any day than this man.

"I agree with your deal. If you fight and win against Riser Phenex and destroy any chances of me marrying him, then I'll give you a pint of my blood along with the pint that I'll convince Sona to give."

"Finally, an answer." he said while walking back over to Rias. Everyone in the room tensed, believing that he was going to do something to her. However, Hao only held out a hand for Rias to shake.

Seeing her look at him with suspicion, he spoke "All agreements are finalized with a hand shake. All you have to do now is shake my hand and all of your troubles will wash away."

Rias took a deep breath before shaking his hand.

"I agree. I hope you can uphold your promise." she said.

Hao grinned at the red-head.

"Oh, believe me. We'll do more than uphold it."

 **Good god, my fingers hurt!**

 **Bro, this chap is almost as long as the other chapter! I deserve a fucking Grammy or some shit for these two chapters! Almost 30k words between the two!**

 **But I did it for you all. As of right now (June 12, 2018, on Thursday at 10:32 central time) chapter 6 has 131 reviews! That's freaking insane! The Prologue, the chapter with the most reviews, had 164! I thank you all for the support, this story is going to go far!**

 **While this chapter didn't have any action in it, it had a serious tone to it. All the meetings and shit were fun to type. I love typing up someone manipulating someone else! Oh, the fun of this story!**

 **So Sirzechs knows everything now! He's knows everything and he sees red! He's going to be coming for those Sitri's asses, uuuuuuuhhhhhhh huh! Can't wait to type that shit!**

 **Naruto is one smart guy in this story (and I'm the smartest man in the story cuz I'm the one making it!) and I've got to say, it has been enjoyable developing his character.**

 **The Hao vs. Rias scene is the best of this chapter. I just love… making her cry for some reason! It's so much fun doing that.**

 **AND I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH TO EXPLAIN THE SPIRIT OF FIRE IN THIS STORY! I swear, it was so hard to find something similar to the Spirit of Fire. Apparently, the Spirit of Fire isn't based off of any actual spirits, which is surprising because of all the Buddist traditions in the show/mange Shaman King, so I had to find the closet thing to the Spirit of Fire and the Cherufa spirit was as close as it got.**

 **Issei still hates Rias' guts, along with the other members of her peerage. However, he's getting along with Naruto's peerage members. What could this mean for him (insert sideways eyeball emoji here)**

 **I was serious about that Avatar idea tho. If you are a serious about making an Avatar story, ask me in the reviews for the idea. I'll accept those who already have a story, or those who want to start being an author. It's a lot work being an author, but I think that its worth it, being able to entertain and interact with you all.**

 **I've been reading that Gladiator story by Seyary-Minamoto and whooooooo wheeewwwwwww that story is good. I'm on Chapter 141 of 151. As you can see, I'm totally invested in the story.**

 **Sorry for the grammar issue in the story, my beta hasn't been getting back to me…**

 **Ahh… you guys really do motivate me… I swear.. I can actually sleep at night now because I'm releasing my mind here on Fanfiction, and you all enjoy all of it. I thank you and love you (no homo, but I ain't against gays. I'm working on becoming a better me)**

 **But yea, that's it for me**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	8. HowToEatFriedChicken

**Ayo, ayo, ayo,its ya boy, NarutoPlug, back from taking a weekend break from typing up this stressful ass story…**

 **Even though it is a stressful story, especially with all these long ass chapters recently, but I still enjoy making this story for you all. It's kinda like cooking. Everyone hates actually cooking the food, but you already know that you gon smash that pork chop tho when it come up out the oven! I know a couple of y'all laughing cause you know I'm telling the truth.**

 **Y'ALL ARE DOING GREAT WITH THE REVEIWS! Good god! I'm mean, after that Rating Game y'all niggas been running it up! Chapter 6 got over 100 reviews just like Chapter 5! Thank you all so much! Ima make sure that this chapter gets, like…120 reviews or sum, ya heard me?**

 **Also, I don't know if you all know, BUT I REPLY TO YOUR REVIEWS! Like, no cap, I be replying and asking if you all have any questions or opinions, but ion be getting no reply back. Now that my story is getting very popular, I can't reply to all of the reviews, but I try. There's a higher chance that I'll reply to your review if you ask me a question or give an idea. So I'm asking you all to check you profile to see if I answered back to your reviews. I've been screaming since the beginning that I want my fans to be apart of this story by giving ideas they want to be seen in the story. You never know, it might just happen; Orochimaru being a chemistry teacher wasn't my idea, but a fan of mine. I forgot his/her name, but shout out that person.**

 **However…. I'm sad now cause this is going to be another long chapter and my fingers are going to be hurting for the next couple of days…..**

 **Sigh…..enjoy the story….**

 **P.S. – the title of this chapter is my favorite. I'm black, but not stereotypical.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **HowToEatFriedChicken**

 **Hyoudou Residence**

Issei groaned and squinted his eyes as the sunlight from the sun broke its way through the curtains. He pulled the covers over his head and got comfortable again. His eyebrow twitched when he felt his head buried in-between two…. things….Very soft, warm, and squishy 'things'.

He opened his eyes and noticed that his face was in-between a pair of familiar breast. Holding in his perverted tendencies, Issei looked up to see the smiling face of one Rias Gremory.

"Good morning." she muttered seductively that sent shivers down Issei's body.

 **Flashback – A week and a half ago**

After the confrontation and agreement with Hao, he led the Gremory group back to his house.

"You all stay here." said Hao as he opened the door. "I'll get your [Pawn] and bring him here. Don't do anything stupid."

Before Rias could retort, Hao closed the door behind him. She huffed in annoyance and sat down on the front porch.

"I don't get that guy's problem. Was he born an asshole?" she said as she crossed her arms over her large breast.

"I like Lee more than him." Koneko growled.

" I wouldn't mind putting something in his drink and dragging his body to my personal quarters to do bad things to him, fufufu." Akeno laughed creepily. Rias and Koneko slowly moved away from the giggling masochist.

"I just hope that things are okay with Issei." Kiba said, ignoring Akeno's disturbing comment.

"I'm sure that he'll be okay. If he trust these people enough to stay here, then they must be nice. W-well, unlike Hao." Asia muttered out.

The sound of glass breaking and a girlish scream made the peerage wonder what was going on inside. A few thumping noises were made, followed by another scream. Hao opened the door and dragged a screaming Issei out with him.

"What did I do!? What did I do!?" Issei screamed out in pain, not even noticing Rias and her peerage.

"Your time here is spent, and the next time you eat all the hot wings," a dark look spread across Hao's face as he looked at Issei "I will eat you." Hao then proceeded to throw Issei out onto the lawn like thrash.

Issei groaned in pain as he rubbed his side and stood from the ground. Hao huffed and closed the door behind him, glad that his 'Issei problem' was handled.

"Fucking bastard…" he glared at the house he just got thrown out of. He was planning to march back up to the door and give Hao a piece of his mind, but he noticed that the Gremory group was sitting in front of the door.

"Issei!" Asia said in happiness as she ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"Asia." he said in surprise, before enveloping her in a hug as well. He hadn't seen her since she was revived a few days ago. While he didn't want to see his peerage members, seeing Asia alive and well outclassed his negative feelings he had for them. "I'm so glad you're okay!" he said, happiness evident in his voice.

"I'm glad to see you too." she muttered into his stomach and gripped him tighter. "Are you okay?"

"Yea. Yeah, I am. Are you?" he asked.

"Yes, but Rias has something to tell you, Issei." she noticed the sour looked he had on his face "Issei, please listen to her! Th-there's a reason behind all of this!"

"I don't care what the reason is." he said with a growl as he stared at Rias' eyes. "She knows what she did and there isn't a damn excuse she could give me to make me give a fuck."

"Issei, I'm not here to give you an excuse." Rias said as she stepped forward "I'm here to explain everything about me to you so that you can trust me."

"I don't see the point in doing that when nothing you say can restore even the smallest amount of trust I had for her." he looked down to Asia "You do realize that she only want us for our strength? For our abilities?"

"It's not only that, Issei." Asia cried out "She's in an arranged marriage!"

"What?" he looked up towards Rias. "An arranged marriage?"

"Yes," Rias confirmed "my mother and father put me in this arranged marriage when I was younger to help preserve the high-class blood of devils. I was desperate to get out of it and that's why I revived you and Issei, along with the rest of my peerage." she explained "I had faith that you all would help me achieve my freedom from a man that I hate with all my being."

"That's… That's understandable, but you still did it for yourself." he said "Why should I be reincarnated the way I was just to serve you? If you would have just approached me like a regular fucking person instead of waiting on me to die, then I may have followed you with my free will."

"I-I understand." Rias bowed her head in shame "I was a fool for my actions and I ask for your forgiveness, both you and Asia. I need to let go of my arrogance and learn to humble myself more. I have a lot of work to become a good [King] for you all. I just ask that you'll stick around and grow with me, Issei."

"You see, Issei? She's sorry." Asia said "I know that you don't like how you were revived, but Bucho was going through her own problems that she didn't want to push on you yet. Please understand." the former nun said with tears in her eyes.

Issei stared at Asia's tear-eyed face before sighing and hugging her again. "Alright." he muttered.

"Thank you." she cried out as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Just know that I'm only doing this for her." Issei's glared was centered at Rias with extreme coldness "I still don't trust you, but I can't leave Asia alone."

"I understand and I thank you for this new opportunity, Issei." Rias said again.

 **End Flashback**

"Uh-morning?" he said hesitantly.

Ever since that day, Asia and Rias moved in with Issei. Asia moved in with Issei because she didn't like living in the Old School House by herself and trusted Issei, while Rias moved in with him in order to make him feel comfortable around him. Rias explained to Issei's parents that the two were staying over for maternal training, something that they were happy to help with. The two took onto Rias and Asia as 'the daughters they never had' and made sure that Issei didn't make the two feel uncomfortable during their stay.

Rias explained to Issei the situation with her marriage and Hao. She said that Hao, Orochimaru, and the other members of that peerage would fight for her while she would repay them with a pint of her and Sona's blood. By the way she explained to him, Riser Phenex, her fiancée, was a dick of a man that would only treat Rias like a trophy. While he didn't like that he couldn't fight against a prick that didn't know how to treat women, he was okay with his friends handling it, believing that they were strong enough to handle Riser and her peerage.

And so, here he was, with the legendary Rias Gremory in his bed, holding him in his arms.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Uh-yea! It's was okay." he answered with a laugh.

"Good mor-" Asia revealed herself from under the covers and looked at the two with disappointment. Asia liked Issei a lot and she didn't like how Rias would cling onto Issei for his body heat during the night. She would have to forcefully wrap herself around Issei before Rias could steal him for herself.

"Good morning, Asia." Rias said a little too sweetfully.

"How did you sleep, Asia?" asked Issei with a smile, making the young blonde's heart melt. He was always concerned about her and that's what made her heart swoon whenever they talked.

"It was nice. I w-was warm." she muttered with a cute blush.

"Good." he said with a smile. He got out of bed, to the disdain of his two 'roommates', and made his way down into the basement. He opened the door and turned on the lights in the room, revealing a weight set that Rias had bought for him. He put enough weight on the bar so that it all added up to 140ibs (he ain't strong yet, guys!) and sat underneath the bar.

" **We're pushing for 30 reps this morning."** said Ddraig. **"You'll do more when you we get back home after school."**

"Right!" Issei exclaimed before lifting the bar and doing a few reps.

After a while, Rias, only wearing an opened school shirt which revealed her matching undergarments, entered the room with a bottle of water for her [Pawn].

"25…..26..erk…27…28…" Issei took in a few deep breaths as his muscle started to strain under the weight.

" **Continue. You can finish it."** encouraged Ddraig. Rias didn't reveal herself, wanting to see if he could make it.

"..29…..30!" Issei huffed. He had finished, even when his muscles were crying for help.

" **Good job, partner. You can res-**

"31….ughh….32….33.." sweat poured off his forehead as he continued to push through. Rias raised an eyebrow at the sight as she continued to watch.

" **What are you doing?"** the dragon sealed within him asked in confusion.

"Just doing…enough…34…. isn't enough…35….You saw what L-Lee did…36… he didn't get that strong….37….Urrrgggahhh!...b-b-by doing what was…expected."

Ddraig's respect for the boy increased somewhat as let Issei continue with his reps. Rias continued to watch with interest as Issei started to get to the high forties.

"…47…48…." his eyes widened when he felt the weight start to drop. His arms hurt too much and he couldn't lift the weight again.

His breathing started too staggered even more as the weight pressed against his stomach and he groaned in pain. He didn't have enough strength to put the bar back on the rack and if he pushed the weight off of him, there's no telling the damage the weights could do to the floor.

His eyes widened when he saw extra hands grabbed the bar. He looked up to see Rias smiling down at him. "I'll help you with the last two. You can do it." she said smoothly. Issei gulped before nodding his head in agreement.

Issei pushed with all his might while Rias pulled the weight up with her own strength. "4-4-49…" he choked out as the weight was brought back down on his chest.

"One more…" Rias muttered in his ear as she added a little of her own strength to the weight again. Issei yelled out a war cry as he put in everything he had into lifting the weight one last time…

"50!" he cried out and Rias helped him rack the weight. His arms slumped to his sides and he fell off the bench while taking in huge gulps of air.

"You did great!" Rias exclaimed happily with a clap of her hands. Issei smiled at her, but was too tired to do anything else. "Now, all you have to do is 30 squats with 180ibs on your back!"

Issei groaned and mumbled something she couldn't hear. "Oh, that's right… You can't get stronger if you do what everyone else does, right? So I'll help you do 50 squats as well!"

"Fuck." Rias laughed at him before helping him off the ground and towards the squat machine.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Anna turned one of the burners on the stove and placed her favorite skillet on top. She planned on waking Yoh up with a healthy breakfast so that he could have the energy to train during the day.

She poured the eggs she mixed into the skillet and waited for them to heat up. Meanwhile, Kisame entered the room wearing only his boxers, yawning loudly and scratching his crotch.

"Yaaawwwnnn…..Eh…who's cooking…?" Kisame rubbed his eyes and then opened them to see Anna, wearing a pink bathrobe and slippers, glaring at him with coldness in her eyes.

"Go put some clothes on." she muttered before focusing her attention back on the eggs.

"Oh, it's you, Ms. Sour Puss." he said with a chuckle. He reached on top of the fridge for some cereal "Didn't know that you could cook. Can you make me some bacon? 'Been having the taste for that lately."

"No." she answered simply.

"Tck, and you wonder why I hate you."

"I know why you hate me and I don't care." she answered again "You annoy me."

"Well maybe you should be more open to helping out your fellow peerage members then." he barked back "I swear, every time I'm around you , I get this depressing vibe that makes me want to jump off a cliff. Jeez."

"If you did that, I'd clap at your funeral in happiness."

"Eh, I'll live longer than you anyway you cold heart bastard." he mumbled and poured some milk into his cereal. "See you at your funeral, because I get the feeling that we'll kill each other soon."

"Agreed." she nodded.

"Now, now," Orochimaru entered the kitchen in a black robe "There doesn't need to be any violence this early in the morning. I'd like to get a few more hours of shut eye before hearing any explosions in the backyard." he said as he reached for the coffee pot that automatically made his coffee before waking up and started to pour him a cup.

"Well, you should change her attitude before her cut her up into ribbons." Kisame chuckled.

"You can't beat me in real life or in an argument, fish face." Anna answered.

"Heh, say what you want, but I've got a secret weapon you can't retort against." Anna's peered at Kisame while cooking her eggs, interested in his answer "It's my night with the remote." he said with a chuckle "Guess that means no 'Big Band Theory' for you!"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at the two's childish banter. Kisame was laughing out loud while Anna had smoke coming from her head, forgetting all about the burning eggs on the stove top.

Soon enough, everyone in the house made their way into the kitchen. Yoh sat at the table happily with a fork and knife, but was surprised and confused when Anna placed black eggs in front of him.

"Uhh….Anna, these are burnt." he said.

"Eat the eggs, now."

"But I don't want to eat anything that's bur-

"I SAID EAT THE DAMN EGGS!"

"Can someone please pass me the salt?" Yoh asked, fearing for his life from Anna's wrath.

"So what's the agenda for today?" asked Lee as he cracked open a raw egg and ate it without hesitation.

"Well, I've come to believe that Riser Phenex may be coming to Kuoh soon to visit the princess." said Orochimaru as he sipped some of his coffee. "That's when you make your move, Hao."

"I hate this 'move' you speak of." Hao said with a roll of his eyes. "I have to act interested in a arrogant little girl that believe she's hot shit; sounds annoying and very boring to me."

"But you understand why we're doing this right? We need their blood if we want to free our master from his prison. You'll have to put your personal feelings aside in order to finish the mission." stated Orochimaru.

Hao sighed "I understand that, but I can easily just force the two to give me their blood."

"We need to keep things peaceful with those two. I don't want to have to major devil clans at our neck." said Orochimaru.

"Well, I've heard that the Bael Clan are embarrassed that we beat Sairaorg like we did." said Yoh, who was crying from the horrible taste of the eggs Anna made him "They didn't even like Sairaorg in the first place because he doesn't have the Bael bloodline, but now their embarrassed he lost? Sounds stupid if you ask me."

"That's just how those clans work, especially the Bael." said Orochimaru. "All they care about is power. While we knew that Sairaorg didn't have a chance against us, it gives the clan a bad look that their heir lost to an unknown peerage with an unknown [King]. However, we're using that to our advantage, adding to our fame in the Underworld. Once we beat Riser Phenex, we'll really have people turning their heads at the peerage that stopped the marriage of a Gremory and Phenex."

"And denying the Gremory's hand we win." Hao added "I honestly don't see how you put up with the girl, Orochimaru. She's arrogant and believes everything is under her foot just because she's the heir of Gremory and her brother's a Satan. It's even funnier once you realize that she's dealing with identity issues."

"While true, she isn't that bad. She's easy to make fun of, easy to manipulate, and I can't help but enjoy the feeling of satisfaction when I win one of our many arguments. It's like I have all the control, fufufufu…" the snake man said with a creepy laugh.

"Ugh, you two are boring! Can we talk about something else!?" yelled Kisame as he munched on a bagel. "I want to do something today! I haven't done anything ever since I've been in this boring town!"

"I've heard hanging yourself with rope is pretty fun." muttered Anna as she quietly munched on her own bagel.

"And I've heard that having complete control of the remote tonight is even better." Kisame smirked at Anna's scowl, knowing he won again with facts. "Really though, what is there to do in this shitty town?"

"We can go to the amusement park?" said Lee "I've never been to one. I've always wanted to go to one."

"An amusement park…" Kisame muttered with a hand on his chin "You mean one of those things on the commercial with the screaming children?"

"Yup." Yoh said. "We should wait for Issei to get out of school before we go."

"Ehhhhhhhh, no. I want to go now." said Kisame.

"It doesn't open until later, Mr. Kisame. We'll have to wait."

"Damn it…. we'll I guess I'll just enjoy my day with the TV, then." he couldn't hold back the satisfying smirk on his face when he saw Anna twitching. "I recorded a few episodes of Love and Hip-Hop using the DVR thingy that Lee showed me. Should be fun. And when it's night time, Naked and Afraid it is."

"Yoh, hurry up! We're training all day today!" said Anna, instantly appearing in her daily outfit.

"All day?! But I want to-

"I don't care what you want! Finish your food and hurry up!"

Yoh sighed and eat the rest of his burnt food in one gulp, trying his best to ignore the disgusting taste. He went upstairs to change and grab his sword.

"Today's going to be a stupid day…" he said depressingly.

 **Underworld**

Sirzechs sighed as he read through another paper. While he was working, his mind was elsewhere. He continued to think about Naruto after the last week and a half and couldn't help but feel guilty. Naruto was out there somewhere, alone, sealed inside a jail with no way out… and he was like that for centuries…

"Damn it…" he muttered to himself and sat back in his seat. He couldn't work like this. He needed to do something. He gave a pint of his blood to Orochimaru when he last visited, but the commotion with the seals was what really ticked him off. However, he was going to keep his mouth shut like how Orochimaru asked him to until Naruto was freed.

The door to Sirzechs' office opened and his wife, Grayfia entered with a small tray of tea.

"Ah, Grayfia! It's good to see you." he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Lucifer-sama." she said as she placed the tray of tea on his desk. She poured a cup for him, in which he accepted.

"Delicious." he said with content.

"I'm glad it pleases you, Lucifer-sama." she answered.

Grayfia noticed his troubled look, but he spoke before she could ask him about it "Grayfia, do you remember Naruto Bael? You meet him at that party the Phenex Clan hosted after the civil war was over."

"I do remember him, Lucifer-sama." Sirzechs raised an eyebrow at her statement "But that was the only time I've ever communicated with him. I never fought with him during the war because we were in different legions."

"Makes sense… so you wouldn't know too much about him then." he muttered.

"I've heard of all of his accomplishments during the war, but no, I do not know much about him at all, not like you and the rest of the Satans, Lucifer-sama… Is there something troubling you?"

"I'm not going to act like there isn't something troubling me, but it will solve itself soon enough. Don't worry, everything will make sense soon." he said.

"If you say so, Lucifer-sama." she said with a small bow before exiting the room.

"That boy Riser should be making his move soon," Sirzechs said to himself as he laced his fingers together. "If so, it's only a matter of time when Orochimaru beats Riser, retrieves the remaining blood they need, and free Naruto." Sirzechs sighed again for what seemed like the 10th time of the day. "There's only one problem…

"Where is Naruto's seal anyway?"

 **After school – Occult Research Club**

Issei threw his bag on the floor and sank into the comfy cushions of the couch. "School is so boring. I want to go hoommmeeee!" he whined.

Akeno giggled from her position behind Rias "I assure you, Issei, I can take you home. We can do things together I know you'll enjoy, fufufufu~"

"Uhhh, I'm not sure, Akeno, if I'll be safe going with you." he said with a blush and shudder. Akeno's giggles didn't serve to comfort him anymore.

"Akeno, stop teasing Ise." Rias said a laugh "Plus, Ise has been training ever since he's joined us again. I believe he should do what he's comfortable with and continue getting stronger. Soon enough, we'll have our own first Rating Game to participate in."

"I still don't like how we aren't the ones to finish you bastard of a fiancée." he grumbled "Seems kinda lazy to me."

"True, but we can't take any risk, Issei." said Kiba with a smile. "Orochimaru and his peerage can finish Riser off for sure. It's a sacrifice we must give in order for Buchou to have her freedom." he explained.

"I know, I know, but I'd still like to pummel that guy to the ground." Issei said with a pout.

Everyone's attention went towards the door as Orochimaru entered the room, seemingly stressed out by the look on his face. He dropped down beside Issei, not even caring that he was there, and threw his briefcase somewhere behind him.

"Tea." he said simply. Akeno bowed and went into the kitchen to brew his demanded tea.

"And who said you could enter my domain without knocking?" Rias said with a glare.

"We've been through this before, princess. Who's going to stop me?" he answered. Rias growled at the snake man, making him chuckle a little. "Plus, I like being here than anywhere else in this hellhole of a school. Those kids are aggravating. I almost killed one of them today when I saw him sleeping in my class."

"Ma-maybe you should find a job somewhere else!" Issei said hesitantly "I'm sure dealing with kids isn't you type of thing anyway."

"Don't tell me what to do, you incompetent fool." Orochimaru growled out. Issei sighed and slumped back into his seat, used to Orochimaru's antics. Akeno returned into the room with tea for Orochimaru. He sighed in content at the amazing taste.

"Probably the best person in this room." he muttered as he took a sip of tea "Thank you, Akeno."

"No problem." she said with a smile. Meanwhile, everyone sweat dropped at Orochimaru's statement.

"Why are you here, Orochimaru?" Rias asked with eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"I wanted tea. Please believe, I did not come here to see you, Princess." he muttered after another sip of tea. "And I came to see if the boy came here today. I wa-

"EEeePP!" came a scream from the door. It was Asia, peering inside; looking directly at Orochimaru's confused face.

"Eh, Asia? What's wrong?" asked Issei.

"It-it's... Its him…" she said with a shudder as she pointed at Orochimaru. Rias' eyes widened while Orochimaru's remained confused.

"Do I know you?" asked Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow.

"Actually, you do." Rias interrupted "You, Orochimaru, are part of the reason why Asia was excommunicated from the church."

"WHAT!" shouted Issei as he jumped up from his seat and glared at a confused Orochimaru. "What did you do?!"

"What did I do?" asked Orochimaru, ignoring how Issei addressed him. "I don't remember what I did."

"She explained it to me the day you left for the Underworld." said Rias. "She said that you were the one that hurt the devil she healed a long time ago. She healed him and the church members saw what she did, resulting in her disbandment of the church."

"Why did you do it, Orochimaru!" shouted Issei as he summoned his Sacred Gear in rage.

"I would watch where you point that thing, little boy." Orochimaru said with a cold glare centered at Issei. While he was frightened, Issei didn't back down from the challenge as his Boosted Gear double his power.

"Explain yourself and maybe I don't claw my hand all over your face!" he yelled.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes, not believing Issei's lie. "This will be the only time I let you talk to me like that, so enjoy it for now." he said as he took another sip of tea. "Now… let me see… I honestly don't remember the event of when I hurt the person you healed."

"I-it was i-in I-I-Italy some y-years back." Asia sputtered out, hiding behind Koneko.

"Italy, huh." Orochimaru rubbed his chin in thought. "I did go to Italy some years ago… I did kill a few people while I was there….hmmmm…. Oh, I think I remember now. It was early spring, no?" he asked Asia.

"R-right!" she squeaked out.

"So what were you doing there, Orochimaru." Rias asked with a suspicious glare.

"Why, I was collecting herbs for an experiment of mind I believe." he answered. "I was in a meadow, not too far from a church. I overheard this young boy planning on manipulating some nun in the church nearby. He had a wicked look in his eyes. I believed he planned on raping his target."

"Wha-what!?" Issei said in surprise.

"Yes, now I remember it all. He planned on raping the nun he wanted, breaking her spirit, and then adding her to his peerage. My master and I were nearby, so we overheard his plan while he was explaining it to one of his peerage members. My master told me to handle him, so I did. Simple as that." he said with a shoulder shrug.

"So you saved her." Rias said with wide eyes. Issei looked at Orochimaru in surprise as well, along with a little guilt.

"I guess you can say that. She was still excommunicated for healing him, but I honestly thought I killed him with the injury I gave him. I don't even know that devils name." he said.

"Wow…that's incredible..." Issei uttered "Uh… sorry for this." he said as he recalled his Boosted Gear.

"No problem, I just hope that you sleep with one eye open at night." Orochimaru said with a devious smile as a snake came from the sleeve of his suit. Issei took a few steps back in fear.

Asia, meanwhile, was looking at Orochimaru in awe as she made her way towards him. He was ready for when she threw herself onto him, hugging the snake man with all her might.

"What are you doing?" said Orochimaru with a frown. He was quite uncomfortable with Asia wrapped around him.

"Thank you!" she yelled, but it was muffled as she started to cry into his jacket. Rias smiled at the scene, along with the rest of her peerage.

"When is she going to stop? What am I supposed to do?" he asked them, but they only laughed at him. Orochimaru sighed and dropped his arms own his sides.

"Because of you" Asia choked out "I've meet all of these good people…"

"Oh." Orochimaru felt a little sympathetic then, but still refrained from hugging Asia.

"Thanks, Orochimaru, for saving Asia back then." Issei said with a smile.

"I told you, I didn't even know she was there. I just did it because what he was planning was evil. Nevertheless, I appreciate the praise." Orochimaru said. "Lee and Yoh want me to check up on you. They said that you could train with them sometime soon."

"Really? I can train with them soon, because that'll be a big help. I want to be fast like Lee." he said happily. However, Rias was frowning at the conversation topic.

"I think that you can get better training with us, Issei." she stated/demanded. Orochimaru noticed the tone in her voice and smirked. "I would like to be the one managing your training anyway."

"But, they're so strong…" Issei muttered in disappointment.

"You don't want to be trained by that beast Lee, senpai." Koneko said quietly, referring to Lee.

"But they're stronger than us! Shouldn't I train with people who can really help me? Help all of us?" Issei argued.

"It's not your fault, idiot boy," Orochimaru said with a chuckle "Princess is just mad because we can do better at training you than she can."

Rias growled in anger at Orochimaru and laughed at her. "Ahh, I missed this. You can train with us, idiot boy. I'll actually welcome it. That way, Lee can stop asking me for a sparring partner. Swing by anytime, I'll manage your training."

"For real!?" Issei had stars in his eyes "Thank you! Now I can grow even stronger to be Harem King!...and to protect everyone!"

"You can leave now, Orochimaru." she whispered darkly. She didn't like the relationship Issei had with Orochimaru and his peerage members. While she didn't tell anyone, she felt threatened that he may like them more than her own peerage….

Orochimaru's senses kicked in a Phenex magic circle appeared on the ground, causing him to smirk.

"I guess I won't be leaving anytime soon." he said as he crossed one leg over the other and leaned back into the chair. One of his snakes inside his business suit disappeared in search of Hao.

From the magic seal, Riser Phenex appeared with a cocky look in his face. He first noticed Rias sitting at her desk and a mischievous smirk plastered itself over his lips. "Rias, my fiancée, it surely has been a while."

"Riser." she said with disdain in her voice. This was the man that only saw her for her body and her name. He didn't care about her at all. Riser just wanted her for a trophy to show off and she wasn't having it at all.

"Aw, now now, Rias. What's with the hostility? Aren't you glad to see me?" he said with outstretched hands.

"No, I'm not. I've told you plenty of times how much I dislike being in your presence and I request that you leave immediately." she demanded.

Another magic seal appeared in the middle of the room and Grayfia appeared from it in all her beauty. "Rias-sama, it has been a while." she said with a small bow.

"It has, Grayfia. It's good to see you." she said with a small smile, but it quickly turned back into a frown "However, I wished our reunion could have happened for something other than this."

"So mean…" Riser said with fake hurt. "I honestly don't see what the problem is, Rias. You've known about this marriage for so long now, and you know that it's for the betterment of the devil society."

"I will NOT marry someone I don't love. I've told you before and I will continue to say it until my dying breathe." she said harshly.

Riser growled out, not liking the tone in her voice "You should lower your voice when talking to me, Gremory. I'm trying my hardest to be nice, but you are really being disobedient right now."

"You don't own me, so how could I be disobedient, especially to a pig like you." she barked back.

Riser was going to retort but Grayfia stepped in "You two should calm down. I am here to make sure that this meeting goes down smoothly. Anything extra isn't needed nor wanted."

"I agree." spoke Orochimaru as he sipped his tea, gaining the attention to the two new devils in the room "I've had a long day today and could really go without the yelling."

"Orochimaru-sama?" Grayfia said to herself. She was the one that escorted the snake man to the meeting with Sirzechs not too long ago.

"Who are you, peasant? Riser demands an answer." Riser growled out.

"Peasant?" Orochimaru nonchalantly looked Riser in the eye, but his eyes held a certain level of evil and coldness in them. "You should be the one watching your tone. You were supposed to have an intelligent meeting with the princess, but I guess idiots like you can't do something like that."

"Rias, who is this man?" Riser asked, holding back his magic. He really wanted to blast this man with a fireball to the face…

"This is Orochimaru, a devil under the disguise as a teacher at my school." she answered "He was here, unannounced and uninvited if I may add," she rolled her eyes at his laughter "before you appeared."

"Well, I demand that you leave, seeing as this isn't any of your business." Riser demanded.

"I don't take orders from such weaklings like you." Orochimaru said as he stood from his seat and walked towards Riser. Both men were of equal height, so they both were holding eye contact between each other. "You don't scare me one bit. Just a little boy handed everything to him all his life, fufufu… Please, it would do you good if you didn't mess with me."

"Who do you think you are?" Riser gave Orochimaru a deadly growl as he conjured up his magic. However, he was overpowered as Grayfia.

"I said that I wanted this meeting to be peaceful. Orochimaru-sama, I do agree with Riser-sama. You should leave. This meeting has nothing to do with you."

Orochimaru chuckled at Riser smirk. "Oh, fine. While things were getting interesting, I guess I'll take my leave now." he said as he went behind the couch and grabbed his briefcase. "I'll be back soon, Princess." with a wave, Orochimaru opened the doors to the room and left, leaving Rias, her peerage, Riser and Grayfia alone.

"Good. I'm glad that disgusting man knows his place." Riser said as he fixed his suit. "Really, Rias, you shouldn't allow such filth in your domain."

"He… he isn't filth… Just someone that's hard to get along with." she muttered as she bit her lip in worry. Orochimaru was gone, but where was Hao? She was starting to have doubts.

"Now, Rias-sama, I assume that you don't agree with the marriage?" Grayfia asked.

"Co-correct." she said, shaking her head and focusing back on the task at hand. "I will not allow this man to be my husband, for I will not marry someone I do not love."

"I'll make you love me, soon enough…" Riser said darkly, sending a shiver down her body.

Issei was standing aside during the meeting, learning that is was only respectful to do so, however he couldn't sit still after hearing something like that. "Hey! Don't talk to Buchou like that!"

Riser sighed and shook his head. "Seriously, Rias, can't you control your servants better than this?"

"I don't care what you say, you stupid fuck! You're disrespecting Buchou and I won't sit here and stand for it!" he yelled.

"Ise..." Rias muttered.

"Oh really? And tell me, little boy, what are going to do about it?" he asked with a smirk.

However, there was a knock on the door. It opened and Rias' worries flew out the window as Hao entered the room with a nonchalant look on his face. Orochimaru walked in behind him. "I'm back. Things just got interesting again." he said with a wave.

"Who are you?" Riser asked, annoyed with all the disturbances.

Hao looked back at Orochimaru "Do I really need to do this?" he rolled his eyes when he saw Orochimaru nod. He sighed and pulled out a note card from his cloak and read from it. "My name is Hao Asakura and I'd like to challenge one Riser Phenex for the hand of…eww….Rias Gremory." he read with a lack of interest. Rias' eyebrow twitched at Hao in annoyance.

"You! Challenge me?! I don't even know who you are!" Riser laughed out. Apparently, he didn't see the match between Hao and two of Sairaorg's peerage members.

Hao sighed again and filled his note cards until he found the right one. "I'm a devil who wants the hand of Rias Gremory because she is a… hold on… Orochimaru, did you write this mess?! While she does seem beautiful to most devils, her attitude and stupidity really makes her go from… like a 5 to a 2.2. And that's out of 10."

"A 2.2…." Rias smiled wickedly as he magic was swarming around her in anger.

"And who gives you the jurisdiction of such a proposal?" asked Grayfia. Hao switched his cards around until he found the right one again.

"Me."

"This is utterly a waste of my time! Look at these weaklings trying to convince you to be able to have a chance at Rias!" shouted Riser at Grayfia.

"Weakling…" Hao glared at Riser with a deadly gaze. "Don't ever call me weak again."

Riser laughed at snapped his fingers. A large magic circle appeared on the other side of the room and Riser's peerage entered from it. "You don't have what takes to have a peerage like mine! My peerage could be yours to the moon and back! You wouldn't have a chance!"

"I don't have a peerage. I am a [Bishop] in my master's peerage." stated Hao with a blank look.

Riser and his peerage couldn't hold back their laughter at Hao. "You mean you aren't even a [King]!? And you dare to challenge me, a high-class Phenex, to a Rating Game for Rias?! Blasphemy!" he laughed.

Orochimaru put a hand on Hao's shoulder, stopping him from doing anything crazy. "Remember why we're here." he whispered to the younger boy "You'll have all the time in the world to prove him wrong during the Rating Game."

Hao growled in annoyance but complied. "Whatever he thinks, we can have this challenge, right?" he asked Grayfia.

"Yes, you may. I'd have to check in with some of the devils over the arrangement, but I'm sure that they'll agree upon it. Would you be okay with using the same special rule used in your last Rating Game against Sairaorg Bael?" she asked.

"No problem. It wouldn't matter anyway. If that won't work, then I could act as [King] for the game. Whatever is agreed upon, we will accept whole-heartily." Hao said with a bow to Grayfia.

"Good. I'll inform those over the marriage about your challenge. You'll hear from me soon, Hao-sama." she said as she disappeared in a magic circle.

"Yes, we'll see each other soon." Riser said with a laugh "You'll be able to witness the power of Riser Phenex yourself once we battle. And remember, all deaths in the Rating Game are considered 'accidental'." he said with another laugh before he left, his peerage following behind him.

"You did well." Orochimaru said to Hao once they were gone. "You held your temper in well."

"I smelt a virgin in his peerage. Spirit of Fire smelt one too… a virgin of promise…" a wicked grin spread over Hao's face; A grin of evil and ill intent.

"I must thank you again for your services." Rias said to Hao and Orochimaru. "As promised, once you win, you'll have my blood along with Sona's."

"Good, however, I do have a question." Hao stepped up closer to Rias "Who was the blonde haired girl? The one with the pink dress on his peerage?"

"You mean Ravel?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow "She is Riser's younger sister. Why?"

"I'm sure Sona told you about me and my abilities." he said with a chuckle "Spirit of Fire and I sensed a strength coming from the girl…. and he did say all deaths are counted as 'accidental', right?"

Rias and Akeno's magic flared around them as they both shot Hao the deadliest glares they could muster up. The building started to shake as the pressure was increasing every second. Kiba grabbed Asia and jumped to the back of the room, far away from the group, while Koneko grabbed Issei and pulled him towards the back as well. They knew that the two Great Ladies had a personal relationship with Ravel, so they understood the reason for their rage.

Hao, amused at the scene, crossed his arms and sat down on one of the couches. Orochimaru sighed at Hao before making his way into the kitchen, hoping to find some more tea available.

"You will not touch her at all." Rias said with all seriousness in her words.

"I don't care what you do to Riser, but Ravel is off limits." demanded Akeno, her usual smile long gone.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask Spirit of Fire if he'll keep from eating her. He hasn't had virgin devil in a while, a rarity if you ask him, and is pretty hungry." a small flame appeared over Hao's head and a small head with long horns grew from it. The yellow eyes of Spirit of Fire looked down upon Rias and Akeno with hunger in its eyes, seeing as they were virgins as well.

Rias, however, didn't back down. "I want to be freed from my engagement, but not at the cost of someone innocent! You will not do anything to Ravel and that is final!"

The Spirit of Fire's body started to grow from the flame, now revealing half of its body. The two female stepped back when the Spirit of Fire's headed split, revealing a dark, black mouth and screeched at the two girls. They covered their faces with their hands as the wind in the room picked up, almost like a mini hurricane, from the Spirit of Fire's power.

"He doesn't like your tone." Hao said with a smirk as he crossed one leg over the other. "Don't you want to be free? Maybe this is the only way you'll do it? By sacrificing a friend's life, you'll be able to live out your own? Everything in this world isn't free."

"True," to the surprise of everyone in the room, Sona appeared in between Rias, Akeno, and Hao with his Spirit of Fire, "but we've already come to agreement: our blood for your services, correct?" she said as she pushed up her glass.

"Hmm… Right, but we never specified how we would win." answered Hao as he leaned his head in his palm.

"Well, then let me explain something to you." it was Sona's turned to glare at the smirking Hao. "This ploy you have about using our blood for Orochimaru's research? I don't believe it one bit." Orochimaru poked his head from the hallway, interested in what she was saying. Even Hao lost his smirk. "In all honesty, it sounds fishy."

"Aww, come on Sona. Who do you think I am?" asked Hao. "Aren't we allies?"

"I know you are a liar and I don't know if we are allies. I talked to Sairaorg not too long ago."

Hao really lost his smirk and it was replaced with a frown. Orochimaru was really interested now and walked back into the room. "Apperently, Rias and Akeno, they have been lying about their purpose of using our blood."

"Really now?" Rias said with a glare at Orochimaru. He ignored it and focused on what Sona was saying.

"Yes. I told him of your situation and how they were going to help, which made him confused. Apparently, their master is a Bael, and they lied to Sairaorg saying that their master was hurt and needed some of his blood in order to help him recover. You told me that Orochimaru wanted our blood for research purposes."

"It is true, to a degree." he said with a shrug.

"But it isn't your main goal, is it?" asked Sona.

Orochimaru smirked and looked towards Hao. "She really is smart. I agree with you, she's better than Princess."

"Told you." Hao said, ignoring the fuming Rias "She is much more enjoyable to talk to than the Gremory."

"While I would say thank you for the complement, we need answers if we want to continue with this 'alliance' we have, Hao." Sona said.

Hao sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. While I can't tell you everything at the moment, I can tell you some things."

"Understandable. Now, my first question: Who is your master?" she asked.

"Can't say." Hao answered "However, you are right. He is a Bael; a pure-breed Bael."

Rolling her eyes at his jab at her heritage, Rias stepped into the interrogation "So he is a Bael. My question is where your master is currently?"

"We don't know." Orochimaru answered simply "It is, honestly, a question we do not have an answer for. Our master hasn't revealed his location of hiding yet."

"For what reason though?" asked Akeno "Seems very weird for a [King] to be hiding from his own peerage. Perhaps he just doesn't like you all~"

"Watch what you say, half-breed." Hao shot his own glare at Akeno while the Spirit of Fire glared at her. "There is a reason why he hasn't shown himself, but we cannot say."

"Okay, but why do you need our blood? And what is the purpose of coming here, to Kuoh? There are many high-classed devils of the Sitri, Gremory, and Bael that you can ask for blood. Why us?" asked Sona.

"It's easier to manipulate the youth." answered Orochimaru "You all were out in the open; you two, here in the Human Realm, and Sairaorg in the outskirts of the Bael Territory with his mother. You all were easy targets to get what we wanted."

"So you were using us… all along." whispered Sona, but her sights were focused on Hao.

"Yes… but it wasn't all about us using you." Hao said, a slight wave a guilt flowing through his voice "I've enjoyed our days of conversation with you. However, I could have gone without meeting the Gremory."

"Feelings mutual." Rias answered back. She then turned her sights on Orochimaru "I guess it's the same with you, huh?" she said with disappointment.

"Hmmm… so this is what guilt feels like." Orochimaru hummed "Yes, we used you two, but I have enjoyed my time here. Getting on the Princess and her peerage's nerves has been quite fun these last few weeks."

"I don't trust you." Rias answered in a whisper "While you are a pain in the ass, I can't deny that you've given me hope in me being free…. but to learn that you were using us the whole time…"

"If you were in our position, you would have done the same thing." Orochimaru said with a chuckle "You two will learn in the future that the world isn't a nice place. You'll be put in awkward situations, by yourself, with no one protecting you. My master has been through hell and he is starting his uprising with his peerage. In due time, you'll understand."

"Alas, you two don't seem to trust us anymore. A pity, if you ask me." Hao said as he stood from his seat "I guess that means that we won't be on good terms until you understand."

"If you would just tell us, we could help you." said Sona with a glare. "While we are young, we aren't children."

"Yes you are. You don't and will never understand what it is we're doing, even if we explained everything. You'll have basic knowledge of it, but you will never understand what my master has gone through personally. While it isn't your fault, there are things that can't be revealed to you right now. Be patient." said Orochimaru.

"All I ask for you is to not kill Ravel. She is innocent in this matter." demanded Rias.

Hao smirked. "I'll see what I can do… good day…" he said with a wave. The Spirit of Fire disappeared behind him and Orochimaru followed him out to the door. Before he left, Orochimaru looked towards Issei.

"You can come by the house whenever you feel. Just inform me about it." and with that, he left the room.

It was quiet for a while, but the sound of Sona teleporting out of the room snapped everyone out of their daze. Rias sighed as she walked back to her desk and sat down, stress evident on her face.

"That bastard…" she mumbled with a shake of her head.

 **Four Days Later…**

The tension between Orochimaru and Rias carried during the days before the Rating Game. When the two were in the same room, some of the students could swear that the atmosphere around them felt heavier than usual. While Orochimaru would teach, he would take quick glances at the Gremory heir, feeling her eyes on him at all times. She truly didn't trust him at all, but it only made him laugh. She was a child that didn't understand what devils were capable. It was even funnier that her brother knew of everything, while she only knew the minimal of what was happening.

He didn't visit the Old School Building after their last confrontation, but everywhere he went, he felt the eyes of someone from Rias' peerage watching him at all times; even Issei.

Issei didn't know how to feel about the rocky situation between Orochimaru and Rias. He felt as if he was playing both sides. He visited Yoh and Lee two out of the four days after the confrontation, and he honestly enjoyed his time with them… regrettably, more than he enjoyed his time with Rias and her peerage. He felt like he fit in with that group rather than with Rias'. However, he couldn't do anything about it, seeing as Rias was the one that reincarnated him.

Sona and Hao haven't talked since the meeting as well. Sona, while she hid it well, was hurt by Hao's words and actions. It was like he was so cold to her, like he had forgotten about all the great conversations they had over the past week and a half. She believed that she truly misjudged him this time… he was someone that could easily cut off his emotions and expose someone for showing their own. While it did hurt that her crush had hurt her, she had to keep up her image as heir of the Sitri Clan. She would always represent her clan and that was her top priority…

Hao, while feeling a little guilty, took the meeting rather well. He didn't seem hurt at all. This wasn't the first time he lost someone… and it wouldn't be the last.

We find the members of the Occult Research Club sitting in the Old School House, waiting for the inevitable. Orochimaru, Hao, and the other members of the now dubbed 'The [King]-less Peerage' were supposed to meet Grayfia at the Old School Building to be shipped off into the Rating Game. The families over the arranged marriage agreed to the Rating Game, causing uproar in the Underworld. Everyone was excited to see the [King]-less peerage fight again. In just one fight against Sairaorg Bael, the heir of the Bael Clan, many high-class devils were waiting for another fight for them to enjoy.

Rias was pacing back and forth in worry. _'It would be any minute now that Grayfia would be there, but Orochimaru isn't here yet… but the meeting would be so awkward when they arrive… oh, I think I'm going to pass out…I-_

"Buchou." Kiba placed a hand on Rias' shoulder, gaining her attention. "It's going to be alright. While we are on shaky grounds, they'll come."

Rias took in a deep breath and then exhaled her stress levels decreasing with it. She smiled at her loyal [Knight] "Thank you, Kiba. I should have more faith in them, even after what happened."

Soon enough, there was a knock on the door and everyone could feel the magical presence of many people behind it. Akeno opened the door with a smile. The smile twitched somewhat when she saw Orochimaru, but she kept up appearances. "Hello, Orochimaru. Are you and your peerage members ready for today's battle?"

"Absolutely." he said with his ever present smirk "While we may be on bad terms, would it be a hassle if I asked for tea?"

"I've already made some. Please, come in." she opened the door for everyone to enter.

"OOhhhhh.. So this is the legendary ORC Issei keeps talking about." said Yoh, entering the room while holding Anna's hand, who was dressed in a kimono rather than her usually blue dress. "Feels homey!"

"Greetings, for those who I haven't met yet." Rias said with a bow. "I am Rias Gremory, heir of the Gremory Clan and-

"Where's the fucking bathroom!" Kisame interrupted Rias' speech, causing her eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. "Can't fight with a full stomach, if you get what I'm saying!"

"I'll lead you to it." Akeno said with a smile.

Kisame nodded and followed after her "Also, do you have some Febreze? 'Cause I'm gonna need some..."

Rias watched Kisame leave "Is everyone in your peerage wild and unethical?"

Orochimaru chuckled somewhat as his peerage members settled into the couches of the room. "No, all of us aren't. The most normal of the group is Anna and-

"Hey! Rias! It's me, Lee! You remember me, right?! Oh, and the little white-haired girl to! And the [Knight]! What's going o-

"Be quiet, Lee." Anna demanded without even looking at him, but he locked his mouth in place. Anna was a scary woman after all.

"I haven't met everyone in your group, but she seems strict." said Rias with a smile.

"I don't have any time for disobedience." Anna said as she stood up and walked towards with elegance Rias. She stretched out her hand to the Gremory heir once she was close enough "Kyoyama Anna, soon to be Asakura Anna. It's nice to meet you."

"Rias Gremory." Rias shook her small hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you as well."

Meanwhile, Issei walked up behind Lee and Yoh "I've never seen Anna so nice…" he said in awe.

"Take in the sight and burn it in your memory. Seeing Anna like this is like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs." said Yoh as he took a quick picture of Anna with his phone.

"I've heard of the dark dealings Hao and Orochimaru revealed to you. While you do feel betrayed, you'll learn that it was necessary for our master's sake. You will learn soon enough in the coming days."

"I hope so. I assume you can't tell me who your master is or where he is?" asked Rias.

"I cannot nor do I know where he is." she answered.

Rias sighed "A shame, really. I'm really interested in this man."

"As am I, but we shall meet him soon once the conditions are met." she answered again.

Rias picked up on what Anna said. _'Once conditions are met? What could that mean…?'_

"You don't seem to mad anymore." Orochimaru said once Anna sat back down with Yoh "Feeling any better?"

"I've had time to dissect our past confrontation." she said as she sat back down "I know that I don't know anything, and I do know my questions will be answered soon, so I can only remain patient."

"Good, I'm glad you've come to that realization, Princess." he said with a small, but true, smile.

"I still don't trust you." she said with a laugh "But I've got the feeling that you'll once again make me feel incompetent with myself and outsmart me."

"But, of course," he said, his smirk returning "that is my job, and my job only."

"I hate him, however." she said, pointing towards the smirking Hao.

"I can hear you, ya know." he said arrogantly.

"I don't care if you can hear me." she growled. She turned back towards Orochimaru "Could you stop him from killing Ravel, please? She doesn't deserve it. She's innocent."

"I'll… see what I can do." he said with uncertainty "I don't know if I could defeat Hao… I believe he's stronger than me. He is one of the strong members of the group."

"Then who's the strongest?" Rias asked

"PPPHHHEEEEEWWWWW WWEEEEEEEEE!" yelled Kisame as he entered the room. "Warning: Do not go in the bathroom! Dear Lucifer! It smells like a rat and a cat fucked in there, and the rat had a baby bat with AIDS!"

Akeno entered the room with a large gas mask over her face, but everyone could feel that she was annoyed because of Kisame. "I have to clean that up later…" she growled.

Small talk filled the duration of the time until Grayfia appeared in the middle of the room. Orochimaru and the rest of the peerage stood at attention.

"Are you all prepared for the battle?" she asked.

"We are." said Orochimaru "Are there any rule changes?"

"No. It will be the same like before. If the other peerage captures your [King] in his orb form, then the other peerage wins. Everything else is the same as usual." she explained "Where is your [King]'s representation?"

An orange orb grew from the floorboards and floated towards Grayfia. Rias and her peerage looked on at the orb in awe, the feeling of power coming from it. Grayfia kept up her façade well, but she too, was impressed.

"Your proof?" she asked once the orb was in front of her. Inside the orb was the [King] piece, showing that he was the owner of his peerage.

"Good. I shall now take you to the fighting stage. Is there anything else you need to say to Rias, seeing as one of your peerage members is fighting for her hand?"

"We don't have anything to say to her, but I know she has something to say to us." Orochimaru said as everyone looked towards Rias. She sighed before speaking "I just want to say thank you for fighting for me. And while I know that you all will win, I just ask that you keep safe."

"We will, Gremory…" Hao said with an evil smirk. Rias frowned at him and her worries for Ravel started to rise again.

"Beat the Fried Chicken Man." Koneko said quietly.

"'Fried Chicken Man! That's pretty funny! I'll be sure to use that." Hao said with a laugh

"See you guys soon!" said Issei with a wave. Lee gave him a thumbs up while Yoh waved back as they slowly disappeared into the magic circle.

 **Pocket Dimension – Kuoh Academy**

"Hello. My name is Grayfia Lucifuge, and I will be the referee for this Rating Game. This Rating Game will decide who will have the right to marry Rias Gremory, heir to the Gremory Clan. The battle will be between [King] Riser Phenex-sama and his peerage, against Team Pickle Rick, also dubbed 'The [King]-less Peerage', with Orochimaru-sama acting as leader. There is a special rule to this Rating Game. If anyone from Riser Phenex-sama's peerage is able to capture the orange orb defended by the opposing peerage, it shall result in a win. Other than that, this Rating Game will carry out under the usual guidelines.

"Eh, I guess its time." said Yoh as he cracked his neck. "Hopefully, we can get through this quickly."

Before the group could plan out for the game, Naruto, in his orb form, floated in front of his peerage. " _Helloooo….. How's everybody?_ "

"Master… you're speaking clearly." Orochimaru said at the orb.

" _Oh, I've just added more magic to this form, so I can speak clearly. I usually don't do this, but I'm just so excited._ "

"Is there something you need from us?" asked Anna.

" _Why, yes there is. I need this one to be flashy… something they've never seen before. Anyone up for the task?_ "

"Oh! I ca-

"I've got this one." Hao interrupted Kisame as he stepped up to his master in his orb form. "I already planned on taking charge for this game.

" _Ohhh! Hao wants to play!_ " The orb danced around Hao childishly. " _I guess I'll leave it to you! Have fun! And don't forget that pickles are the key!_ "

"Thank you for your patients." said Grayfia. "The Rating Game shall now begin."

Hao laughed to himself as he stepped towards the back of the room. Spirit of Fire, in all of its evil glory, appeared behind Hao. Its head split, revealing its mouth, and shouted a horrendous roar of power, its body glowing a blood red.

"Spirit of Fire wants to feed." Hao muttered evilly. "And I shall serve our meal on a silver platter."

Yoh frowned at his twin brother. "Hao…"

"Spirit of Fire!" Hao shouted at his partner, ignoring his brother. The spirit looked down upon its partner, who was taking off his cloak, revealing his shirtless, toned body.

"Resort to 'Over Soul Armor Style: Black Fowl'…"

 **Principal's Office**

"I want this to be quick but embarrassing. I want those idiots to learn that it is foolish to deny Riser Phenex of what he wants!" shouted Riser from his seat.

"Yes, Riser-sama." his peerage, other than Ravel, said with a bow.

"Ravel, I want you to stay with me." said Riser. The younger devil looked up to older brother "This fight isn't worth your time. Let my servants handle it."

"Sure. I just hope you know what you're doing." she said as she sat down in one of the available chairs.

"Well of course. Break up into our usual groups. Spread the fights across the school grounds so they won't be near each other."

Following their [King]'s demands, his peerage members all assembled into their usual groups and started towards the door, however…

"Wait a second…" Yubelluna muttered as she checked the window outside. Her eyes widened when she saw a rocket headed towards them in blinding speeds. "An attack! Get ready!"

"Damn it!" Riser grabbed Ravel and broke through the roof. The rest of his peerage acted on instinct, following their leader.

"Die…" muttered Hao, donning an open mecha suit. It had to long wings in the shape of claws that had the same markings the Spirit of Fire had, along with two twin energy cannons on his back. The energy cannons beamed with energy before blasting two shot of fire magic at the building Riser's peerage was in. The blast was catastrophic as a red energy field destroyed everything it touched. The heat was ungodly, like the heat of volcano spewing lava everywhere in the area. When the smoke cleared, 1/3 of the school grounds were gone.

"Six of Riser-sama's [Pawn]s, two [Knight]s, one bishop, and two [Rook]s have retired." Grayfia's voice rang out.

Riser's eyes were filled with shock as he took in the site of the man-made hell Hao made. There was literally a mile long crater in the ground, filled with fire and debris.

"Who is he…?" Yubelluna stated in shock as she also took in the site of destruction Hao caused. Ravel was hiding behind her, staring down into the crater.

"My name is Hao Asakura." he said as he flew in front of him Riser and his peerage. His claw-like wings were coated in fire and sliced Riser's peerage down to size.

Yubelluna countered the attack with one of her explosion, creating a huge explosion. However, Hao flew right through the fire of the explosion like it was nothing. Yubelluna and Riser's remaining [Pawn]s didn't even notice Hao until he was right in front of them with his twin cannons fully charged and aimed at them.

"So small…" he muttered as he fired his cannons, obliterating his enemies and forcing them to retire early.

"Two [Pawn]s and Riser-sama's [Queen] has retired." said Grayfia after Hao's last attack.

Riser was looking at Hao in fear, while Ravel was hiding behind her big brother. Hao smirked at the scene and recalled his armor. The Spirit of Fire reverted back to its original, large form behind Hao. "Greetings, again."

"Fuck you!" shouted Riser with anger as he threw fireballs at Hao. The Spirit of Fire blocked any attempt of harm towards Hao by using its large hands.

"Now, now… you can either get out of my way peacefully or we can do this the hard way." Hao said with a wicked grin. "Please surrender the girl behind you."

"What!? Why would I do that you idiot!?" shouted Riser.

"Spirit of Fire is hungry." Hao said. The Spirit of Fire growled out as it looked directly at Ravel, who was shaking in fear at the humongous beast. "He'd like the girl behind you for a snack. She smells of a virgin and that is his favorite food~"

"You bastard!" Riser released a flamethrower of flames towards Hao, but again, the Spirit of Fire blocked it by using only its index finger.

"As you can see, your petty fire won't work. It'll be quicker for all of us if you surrender the girl to I can quinch my hunger.

"Big brother, don't let that thing get me!" Ravel shouted in fear, tears pouring from her eyes as she hugged onto Riser.

"He won't." he said as he glared at Hao, ramping up his fire wings "I promise you."

 **Riser Phenex, High Class Pure-Blooded Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Hao Asakura, Middle Classes Pure-Blooded Devil, [Bishop]**

"You wish to fight then." Hao said with a smile "Great. More food for me."

Unexpectedly, Hao flew towards Riser, while the Spirit of Fire stayed behind. Riser tried to stop him with a barrage of flames, but Hao flew underneath the stream and was right in front of Riser, delivering a bone crunching uppercut to his chin. Before Riser could fly away from the force behind the punch, Hao grabbed Riser's leg. He spun him around, adding momentum to his movements, and threw his body down towards the ground. Riser didn't hit the ground, however, as the Spirit of Fire flew towards Riser's falling body and opened its huge mouth. Before Riser knew it, half of his body was eaten by the Spirit of Fire.

"GAahh!" he shouted as his body started to regenerate. The Spirit of Fire screeched at delight at tasting magic, its body radiating a dangerous red.

"That's right. Spirit of Fire eats magic, and since you can regenerate, he'll play with you for a while before ending it." Hao said with a laugh. He turned his attention towards Ravel, who yelped in surprise when their eyes met. She was shaking in fear as Hao slowly floated towards here.

"Hello, my dear." said Hao as he put a hand to Ravel's tear-stained cheek. "You are very beautiful… too bad your life ends here."

"AAhhhh! ahhhhHHH!" Riser's pain-filled shouts reverberated through the area. The Spirit of Fire kicked Riser's small body to the ground, before continuingly punching him, creating a crater underneath it. Ravel's body shook with fear as she watched the assault the Spirit of Fire was giving her brother.

"The Spirit of Fire likes to play with his food before dinner." Hao said with a chuckle. "Don't worry; he won't do that to you. It'll be quick and simple. Painless."

"N-non-no! I-I don-don't want to die!" she screamed as she tried to fly away, but Hao caught her arm. She used her other arm to create and throw a weak fireball at him, but Hao didn't even defend it as the ball of fire dissipated to nothingness when it hit him.

"Pathetic. This is the maiden of Phenex? Heh, the only reason why the Spirit of Fire likes you so much is because of your bloodline."

"Let go of me! Please!"

"No thanks, I have a plan for you." he said darkly "Oh, and if you try to retire yourself, then I'll torture your brother before eating him alive. We don't want that to happen, right?"

"GAahhhh!" the Spirit of Fire picked up Riser's body and chomped on everything other than his head. He released Riser so he could heal, but he could tell that his magic reserves were lowering by how long it was taking him to regenerate.

"Seems your brother is at his limits." Hao said. He forcefully pulled Ravel down with him towards the ground, landing in front of Riser's body.

"Let..huff..her go..huff…" he wheezed out.

"No thanks…" he said with a wicked smile "It's feeding time anyway."

 **From the Stands**

Lord Phenex, a blonde haired man wearing elegant clothing jumped from out of his seat and turned to Sirzechs, who was sitting nearby.

"Sirzechs-sama! You must stop this! He's going to kill my daughter! This need to end!"

"You know I can't do that, Lord Phenex." Sirzechs said with gritted teeth. While it was assured that Naruto's peerage would win, he didn't want it to be like this.

"She's going to die! We need to stop this!" shouted Lady Phenex, an older, carbon copy of Ravel.

"I… can't…" Sirzechs gripped the sides of his chair as he was forced to watch. If he were to stop the fight, it would show favoritism for high-class devils. He was forced in a corner.

Nobody noticed the orange ball behind them…

 **With Hao, Ravel, and Riser…**

" _Keep going. I want to test something._ " Naruto voice rang inside of Hao's mind. He smirked at his master's demanded and continued with his act.

"Now you'll get to watch as the Spirit of Fire consumes your sister. Any last words?"

"No! Let me go! I don't want to die! Please, I'll do anything!" Ravel was crying a flood as she tried to lossen the grip Hao had on her wrist, but he was too strong for her.

"Please…" Riser spit out a glob of blood. "Don..don't hurt her."

"Hmmm? And what could you give me in return?" asked Hao.

"Anything.. Anything! Just… just don't hurt my baby sister." Riser said in between coughs.

Hao smirked kept growing as he stomped on Riser's stomach, causing him to groan in pain. Ravel was yelling in protest, but her cries were ignored.

"Tell me that you're worthless." Riser's eyes widened, even through all the pain he felt. "Tell me that your life means nothing and that you were dominated by me. If you do that… then maybe I'll let your sister live. All deaths during a Rating Game are considered 'accidental', right?" Hao said with an evil laugh at the end.

Riser felt the shot Hao sent his way, using his own words against him. He spit up blood while glaring at the fire master.

"You have ten seconds or she dies." all playfulness left Hao's eyes as he stared at Riser. Riser could feel the coldness overtaking him, even if they were surrounded by fire. He shook in fear as Hao's evil eyes made him remember his worst nightmares.

"10…..9…..8….."

 **From the Stands**

"Sirzechs-sama! You have to stop this! Riser won't do what that monster wants! He's to prideful of his heritage! Please, if you don't stop this, my daughter will die!" shouted Lord Phenex.

Sirzechs' clenched fists were shaking in rage, but he knew that he couldn't do it. He knew that if he did anything… there would be severe distraught in the Underworld…

"hehe…4…..3…."

Lord Phenex's heart dropped when he noticed that Hao had skipped some numbers to pressure Riser further. Anger filled his eyes as he turned towards Sirzechs.

"IF YOU DON'T STOP THIS NOW, THE PHENEX WILL CUT ALL ALLIGIANCE IT HAS WITH ANY DEVIL CLAN IN THE UNDERWORLD! YOU WILL NO LONGER RECEIVE ANY PHENEX TEARS, DO YOU HEAR ME! SIRZECHS!"

Sirzechs' eyes shot open as he stood from his throne…

 **With Hao, Riser, and Ravel**

"…2…-

"Alright! Please, stop…" Riser spit up some more blood. "I'm… I'm useless… You are better than me… bet-better at me at everything, okay!? I-I….I mean nothing…."

Hao's smirk never left his face as he heard Riser's confession.

"You're too late~"

Riser's heart dropped when Hao threw Ravel up in the air to the Spirit of Fire's mouth. The spirit squealed in delight when Ravel was in front of him and opened his mouth to devour the girl….

Ravel's body was surrounded in a blue light before she disappeared, saving her from the hunger of the Spirit of Fire who's jaws clamped down on nothing but air.

"Ravel Phenex has retired. Lord Phenex has terminated the arranged marriage between Riser Phenex and Rias Gremory, making the rest of this battle null-in-void. Because 'The [King]-less Peerage' has more peerage members in the game, they win by default."

Hao stared at the sky with disbelief, before entering into a laughing fit.

"This is incredible!" he laughed "Master is truly a deceitful man!"

"What are you talking about?" Riser asked as he struggled to stand up.

Hao smirked at the younger devil "I was never going to eat your sister. It was all an act."

"What?!" Riser's anger started to rise. He did all that begging and pleading… for no reason! He was just entertaining this man for his disgusting amusement?

"Yup! But I did want to eat her and the Spirit of Fire here really hated the plan because he wanted her more than I did, but I have a rule: let the innocent continue to be innocent. You're sister had nothing to do with this stupid marriage or your arrogant actions. It was all a game for me." he said with a laugh before gaining a serious look.

"However, I wasn't expecting the higher-ups to do something like this… Pulling a player of a Rating Game out to save their life? That won't be taken well among the low-class devils. Many devils have died during these games, most of them being low-class devils. To see a high-class devil being pulled from a Rating Game…" Hao rubbed his chin in thought "Master really knows how to create controversy…"

"So what do you get out of this?!" shouted Riser.

"More than you know, but you'll have to remain ignorant of it." answered Hao with a shrug. "One thing you need to work on is your arrogance if you want to grow stronger."

"My arrogance?"

"You're too prideful in your powers of the Phenex, and while there aren't many people like me with similar abilities, I easily exploited you because of the confidence in your own power. Always assume your opponent is stronger than you if you don't know of his strength or power; you'll be more careful of your actions and remain focused throughout the battle."

"Why… why are you telling me this?" asked Riser.

"I'm not a nice guy, and if we were in a different scenario, I really would have eaten everyone in your peerage." Riser took a few steps back away from Hao in fear. "But, I'm not here representing myself, but my master, so I'll control myself for now."

Blue light illuminated out of Riser and Hao's body as they started to disappear. Hao gave Riser a closed-eye and a wave.

"Till next time! I'll be sure to eat you then." and the two disappeared.

 **Same Time**

 **Bael Territory – High-Class Neighborhood**

 _'Everybody was so distracted!'_

 _'Naruto was so slick that they didn't even notice!'_

Inside a large mansion in the Bael Territory lived Seryu Bael, a female high-class devil that was born into a noble family.

Bodies filled the hallways, however, there wasn't any blood coming from the maids that filled the room. A dark red mark on the back of their next would make one believe that they were forced into unconsciousness with a chop to the back of their neck…

"Ravel Phenex has retired. Lord Phenex has terminated the arranged marriage between Riser Phenex and Rias Gremory, making the rest of this battle null-in-void. Because 'The [King]-less Peerage' has more peerage members in the game, they win by default."

Grayfia's voice coming from the television rang throughout the quiet house. Seryu was in front of the television, watching the battle from her elegant recliner with a wine glass in her hands…

 _'Well… she was doing that…'_

Red wine stained the carpet and the glass cup was cracked from the fall it took. Seryu was slumped over in her seat, unconcicous just like her maids and butlers that filled the house.

A large needle entered her arm. It's target? Her veins…

"Nya, nya, nya!" Kuroka laughed as she placed the needle into the sleeping Bael's arm. "That was easier than I thought, Naruto."

An orange ball floated next to Kuroka and watched as Seryu's blood started to fill the tub connected to a blood bag.

" _You just gotta love a good backup plan, eh, my protégé?_ " Naruto voices said with playfulness as he joined Kuroka in laughter.

 **Finally! Good god, this chapter was hard to type! So many distractions!**

 **However, I'm glad I got it out. Sorry for the wait, but my last two chapters came out to close to each other. I need to space them out some to create some tension and shit, ya dig.**

 **IT'S GETTING SPICY IN THIS JOINT! ooOOOOHHHHH weehhHHHHEEEEEE!**

 **And it all comes from the brilliant mind of NarutoPlug! You should favorite and follow me as our a author because I'm awesome and you agree with that statement.**

 **But yeah, lotta stuff happened, but I ain't gon recap it cause I'm lazy right now. I read over the chapter (kinda) but it's prolly still some words in there that got past my 20/20 vision. I don't know what happened to LaDdraig… I hope he be okay…**

 **Please review, cause yall been killing that shit lately! I swear I mess with yall cause yall so loyal and shit! I swear you all motivate me everyday and I really do appreciate it.**

 **ALSO, WHEN YOU REVIEW, PLEASE CHECK YOUR PMS TO SEE IF I ANSWERED BACK!**

 **Just want to remind you all that I do talk back with you. So check and see if I did.**

 **Anyway, that's it for me.**

 **This is NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	9. HowItDoesn'tFeelToBeAlive

**cAyo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, coolin on the couch after reading these fire reviews from the last chapter.**

 **I swear, you guys won't let up on the reviews. Another chapter with over 100 reviews! Once again, I thank you for everything you guys/gals are doing. It really means a lot to sit down and read everything you all say.**

 **CROWFEAST REVIEWED LAST CHAPTER! Man, I don' know if you all know him, but Crowfeast is an amazing author and when I saw him review last chapter, I felt like Sakura if Sasuke were to ask her out on a date. Bro I went full fanboy mode, cause that's one of my favorite authors, BUT I'M BACK TO MY REAL NIGGA-NESS!**

 **Yeah, yea, gotta keep a serious mindset if I want this story to continue being great. But yall can keep on saying good things about me, it makes me blush.**

 **This is going to be a good one**

 **Let's get back to the story**

 **BreakThrough**

 **HowItDoesn'tFeelToBeAlive**

 **Two Days Later**

 **Occult Research Club**

Rias winced as the needle pierced her skin and entered into one of her veins. While she was the heir of the Gremory Clan, needles always made her feel uncomfortable…

"Good," said Orochimaru as he watched the blood flow from the needle and into the awaiting blood bag. It was after school and Orochimaru had on his usual business suit while Rias' peerage had on their school uniform. The Gremory heir was sitting in her desk chair while clenching a stress ball to force more blood out of her veins "seems like everything is going smoothly."

"This is uncomfortable…" Rias muttered as she looked at the needle protruding from her arm.

"Uncomfortable, but necessary." Orochimaru said as he sipped some tea. "We did our part and now it's your turn. Aren't you glad that you're out your marriage? I thought you'd be more grateful than this."

"I am grateful, truly, but needles will always be one of my many weaknesses." she answered.

"Fufufu, don't worry about it, Buchou. This pain isn't all that bad~" Akeno said with a chuckle "I didn't know you had such weak skin. Maybe Orochimaru was right about you all along~"

"And that's why I like your [Queen] more than I like you, Princess." Orochimaru said with his own laugh. "I feel like Akeno has better qualities of a [King] more than you do…"

"Shut up." Rias said with a depressing cloud over her head.

"What about Sona's blood, Mr. Orochimaru?" asked Kiba.

"I received her blood during our lunch break. With the Princess' blood with me, now we have all the blood we need to realize our goals."

"And just what are those goals?" asked Rias.

"You'll learn soon, kukuku…" he said with a creepy laugh. "I see our friend Hao didn't harm the young Phenex. Are you happy about that?"

"Yes, I am. He really played with my emotions." the red head said with a sigh. "I'm just glad she's okay. I don't know how I could live with myself at the cost of someone innocent."

"Ho, ho, like how you did with Issei?"

Rias winced again, only it wasn't from the pain from the needle in her arm. She looked over to Issei, who once was quietly eating some of the cookies Akeno had made, but now he was staring at her with cold eyes. She clenched her fist and shamefully avoided his eyes on her. While they were doing okay, Issei still held onto his distrust for the girl. He had lost his humanity, freedom, and first love because of her and it was something he'd never forget.

"Stop… saying things like that." she whispered. Orochimaru laughed at her sorrow-ridden face.

"Sure, as long as you're happy, I'm happy, fufufu."

"When will this thing be over with?" she asked.

"Give it 5 minutes and it'll all be over. You'll have paid off your debt and everything will be peachy between us now." said Orochimaru "However, there was something I'd like to talk to you all about."

"Which is?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Kiba" said boy turned his head towards the snake man "how would you feel if you died in a Rating Game."

"Well… I wouldn't be too happy about that, but since I would be dead, I wouldn't be able to feel anything."

"Right. So who would you feel if I were able to save Rias from being killed just because she's a high-class devil and you're just considered a weak, low-class devil?"

Kiba frowned "That wouldn't be nice…"

Orochimaru laughed at the boy's choice of words "And many low-class devils feel the same way. I would ask the little cat girl, but she's not here, nor is the nun."

"Koneko has contract work while Asia is with friends." Rias said with a frown. She didn't like the conversation in which Orochimaru was headed, but she needed to hear this "Continue with what you were going to say, Orochimaru."

"Sure. I should ask your [Queen] the same question. How would you feel if Princess' life was saved during a Rating Game while you were left to die?" he asked.

"I… I don't know, but the feelings would be far from positive." Akeno answered with a frown.

"And you, idiot boy," Orochimaru looked over his shoulder to Issei, who's hair was overshadowing his eyes "how would you feel if-"

"It would only further prove my point." Issei interrupted "Devils… devils really aren't good people… well, most of them, anyway."

"That isn't true, Ise." Rias said, but a quick glare from the Boosted Gear user quickly shut her up.

"Well, a lot of low-class devils agree with your thoughts, myself included." answered Orochimaru "The stunt that your older brother did created a wave of talks in the Underworld. Never in history has it been seen where a devil was saved from death during a Rating Game. While deaths in a Rating Games are rare, the fact that a high-class devil was saved from death during the game has a lot of people questioning the credibility of those over that Rating Game and the favoritism showed for Ravel Phenex."

"While I will never be able to truly understand the life of low-class devils, I understand their thinking." Rias said with a sigh "I heard about what happened in the stands that my brother and Lord Phenex were in. Lord Phenex threatened to stop the production of Phenex Tear's if he allowed Ravel to be killed. Forced into a corner, my brother nullified the arranged marriage, hoping that is was a good excuse, but people saw over their bluff."

"And devils are becoming distrustful now." Orochimaru continued "Those who died in Rating Games? Hardly any of them were high-class devils; most were low-class devils while a small handful were middle-class devils. Seeing Ravel Phenex saved from Hao's wrath was a public display of favoritism for high-class devils and the lower devils don't like that at all."

"That shit is just crazy." Issei said as he stood from his seat "It's like… we're just slaves."

"Issei that isn't true!" Rias yelled in desperation.

"Yes it is." he answered in a defeated tone "If I were to forget about how I was revived, I would probably be love stricken with you because I was accepted into the peerage of Rias Gremory, a girl from a clan known for taking care of its peerage members. But what about other clans or other reincarnated devils? They might be treated like shit while I'm over here walking around with all types of freedom that I don't even notice I have."

"Very wise words for such an oaf," Orochimaru said "but it's true. Low-class devils didn't take that stunt Lucifer-sama pulled off well. What could this mean for the future? Honestly, I don't know, but it won't be anything good."

Rias sighed again and looked towards her peerage "No matter what happens, I want you all to know that I value your lives, no matter how you were reincarnated." She looked to Issei specifically, who was paying attention to every word. "I know I have certain liberties that you don't have because of me being of noble birth, but understand that I'd give up my life for anyone of you. You all are my family and I love you."

"Awww, how nice." Akeno said with a smile. "Your feelings are reciprocated, Buchou, and I thank you for reincarnating me way back."

"I also feel the same. Thank you, Buchou, for everything." said Kiba with a bow.

Rias smiled at Akeno and Kiba, but her uncertainties appeared as a frown when she turned to Issei who seemed to be in deep thought.

"Ise?" she asked quietly, wanting to hear a reply.

Issei ran a hand through is hair before answering the older devil "Those were the words I wanted to hear. It makes me feel… happy, in a way… but…sigh, I don't know…" he shook his head and grabbed his backpack. "I'll see you all tomorrow. I've got a lot to think about." he said as he left the room with a backhanded wave.

"Kukuku, seems the boy is smarter than I thought, actually thinking things through." Orochimaru said with praise "It'd be best for him to learn things like this now rather than later."

"You didn't have to say what you said." Rias glared at the snake man, making him chuckle again. "And why do you find everything I say funny?"

"Such ignorance…" he said with a laugh, causing her to pout "I'm just being me, Princess, and it was the truth. You were a little hypocritical with your words about Ravel, since you were the one who got an innocent person into all this mess."

"I guess… and I don't know how to make it up to him." she said with disappointment.

"I'm sure Issei will turn around soon, Buchou. We just need to make him comfortable around us and he'll accept his predicament soon." Akeno said wisely.

"Maybe, or he'll act rashly and do something stupid." said Orochimaru with a shrug. He checked the blood bag to see that it was almost full. "There is no telling what is going on in that boys mind… well except for woman's private parts, but other than that, he's unpredictable."

Rias nodded in agreement. "I'm sure your master was happy with the results of the Rating Game."

"Very much so." said Orochimaru "He applauded Hao for his stunt and creativity on the battlefield."

"So your master was okay with what that evil man did?" asked Rias with a raised eyebrow.

"Absolutely, because my master's peerage members understand that he wouldn't put us in any situation we couldn't handle. Hao did something to cause a stir in the Underworld, which will make devils, both high and low classed, remember us. Master isn't a selfish man, but a humble beast; a quality a lot of devils lack. You should learn from him. Plus, my master wanted us to stand out in our Rating Games to create a name for ourselves. He is very pleased with how thing are going."

"And when will we be able to meet your master?" asked Kiba.

Orochimaru chuckled gleefully when he noticed that the blood bag was filled. He slowly pulled the needle out of Rias' arm, causing her to wince again in pain, before covering it up in a cotton ball. Everyone in the room shivered at Orochimaru as his evil grin grew as he held the bag in front of his face.

"Oh, you shall meet him soon." he said with a laugh "Very soon, fufufufu."

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"Hold up your defense, Issei!" shouted Lee as he punched at Issei repeatedly.

"I'm… trying..." he said through gritted teeth as he held up his arms, guarding his face from Lee's punches. Lee was helping Issei with his defense, while Issei was Lee's personal punching bag during their training session.

"Eyes open!" Lee yelled as he appeared behind an unsuspecting Issei and kicked him in his back. Issei coughed as he landed on the ground and glared at Lee with cold eyes.

"I'm going to get you." he growled as he struggled to get back on his feet.

"I hope you do, Issei!" said a hyper Lee.

"This is stupid. The pervert can't do anything." said Anna from a lawn chair as she watched Issei try to block and dodged Lee's attacks.

"Eh, he needs to know what pain feels like in order for him to ignore it in a battle." explained Yoh as he handed Anna a glass of tea, which she happily accepted "He has potential, but he has the wrong motivation."

"Like what?"

"I'll continue to get stronger for all the oppai in my future harem!" shouted Issei as he dodged an over-head kick from Lee. He went to attack Lee's other leg that was planted on the ground, but Lee sprouted his wings and flew over Issei, causing Issei to land on the hard earth flat on his face.

"Pervert." she muttered as she sipped the tea through her straw.

"Yup, but he also wants to protect his friends. He's a good person, Anna, just a little confused on his priorities." explained Yoh.

"He'd better get his priorities straight if he wants to be here with us." answered Anna.

"Damn it!" shouted Issei as he was punched again by Lee. This was starting to aggravate him to his limit.

"Hahaha! Again, Issei!" said Lee in his trademark battle stance.

"No! The same thing keeps on happening. Every time I try to hit you…" he looked up to Lee and glared at him in anger "the same thing continues to happen!"

"We'll you'll have to try something else then." answered Lee with a frown. He didn't want to anger his friend; he just wanted to help him get stronger.

"Damn it." Issei said as he punched the ground with his Boosted Gear, making a dent in the earth. "The same thing…every time…"

"Maybe you should give up." Anna said nonchalantly, but the words struck Issei hard. Maybe he couldn't' do it. He was, after all, just a lowly [Pawn]. Nothing special at all…

The memory of him waving off Yuuma as she walked away from him after their first date filled his mind. His heart wretched in pain when the memory of her being killed by Raynare started, and the feeling of sadness he had when he held her dead, bleeding body…

' _Da..damn it..I can't m..move..I'm really.. go-going to die.. I'm sor-sorry.. Yuuma. Sorry.. that I couldn't.. protect you'_

Issei opened his eyes in anger as magic circled around him "NEVER AGAIN!" he shouted as his magic centered on his gauntlet-enhanced arm. His Boosted Gear's green gem gleamed with power as his arm started to convulse. His Boosted Gear started to grow, covering his arm in its red scales. Four additional golden spikes grew from upper part of the gear while two grew on the sides. Finally another green gem appeared in the middle of gear and finished its transformation.

" **Dragon Booster Second Liberation!"** Ddraig voices shouted from the gear. Issei looked at his upgraded gear in awe as he could feel the power flowing from it. Anna, Lee, and Yoh looked on in shock at the new turn of events.

"This feels fucking awesome!" Issei yelled with a fist pump.

"Great job, Issei!" Lee congratulated with his own applause.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Yoh said happily. Issei smiled at his friends. He was glad that they were here to experience this with him. He looked towards Anna, hoping to hear some words of encouragement, however…

"Does it look like I care?" Yoh slumped in defeat and despair "It was luck on your side, pervert. You probably thought about breast and received your perverted power boost."

"Thanks a lot Anna…" he said sadly.

"Anna, be nicer. This is big for him." Yoh said.

Anna rolled her eyes and sipped some of her tea. "Good job, pervert…" she said quietly, but everyone. Issei grinned childishly and raised both of his hands in victory.

"To be praised by the great Anna-sama? What has the world come to?" he laughed. Lee and Yoh laughed with him, while Anna ignored them. She did have a small grin…

"Alright, enough training for the day." said Hao, entering the backyard. The new documentary on the Mayans just came on and I'd like to watch it in peace. All the cried and screams of pain from the pervert is very distracting."

"Look Hao!" said Issei as he pointed towards his upgraded Sacred Gear. "My Boosted Gear transformed! Isn't it cool?"

"Did you grab Anna's breast in order to gain strength?" asked Hao with a laugh. Anna sent Hao her deadliest glare while Yoh just shook his head in disappointment.

"Please refrain from using my fiancée in such jokes…" said Yoh.

"Yeah, well, you all come inside. Again, I want to watch this documentary in peace. I'm sure if you keep this going, Kisame will wake from his slumber. I'd rather it be quiet then deal with him."

They all agreed and headed into the living room. Lee made some popcorn for everyone while Yoh handed everyone some soda and settled down into the many couches in the room. The first few minutes of the documentary went uninterrupted, but that changed when a magic circle appeared in front of the TV, Orochimaru and all his evil glory coming from it.

"Why, isn't this nice." said Orochimaru as the light from the seal faded. "No fighting, the house is quiet, nothing is burning...kukuku, what' the occasion?"

"A Mayan documentary just came on the History Channel. It's very interesting." said Hao.

"Ah, well, I'll leave you all to it. I'll be in my room…..what is that?" said Orochimaru, his senses kicking in. Hao paused the show, also sensing the magic of someone nearby.

"Someone's coming." he muttered as he stood from his seat, everyone except for Issei following his lead.

"Hold up! What's going on?! Who's coming?" he asked frantically.

"If we knew, we wouldn't be so cautious." replied Anna with narrowed eyes. "I can sense that this person is young…female… and I sense…a [Queen] piece?" she said in confusion.

"Do you think that this is our [Queen]!?" Lee asked with stars in his eyes.

"It may possibly be her." stated Anna "I can sense her strength…. she's strong… maybe even stronger than Kisame…"

"Wow." muttered Issei. While he never seen the shark man fight to his fullest, to know that their [Queen] maybe stronger than Kisame was an impressive accomplishment.

"She's on the yard now." said Orochimaru "I guess this was the inevitable. I've wanted to know who this person was anyway and why we haven't met her yet."

"Ohhh, I bet she's amazing! We have to meet her now!" said Lee as he rushed past Orochimaru and opened the door. She saw the approaching women and hearts filled his eyes. He jumped towards her with open arms.

"Welcome to Naruto-sama's Peerage Hou-GAahh!" he shouted in pain when he felt a heavy blow to his stomach. Blood flew out of Lee's out and his ribs creaked from the pressure of the blow. His body flew over the house and into the backyard in a small crater.

"Nya? What was that?" Kuroka asked as she placed her outstretched foot back on the ground.

" _That was Lee._ " an orange orb appeared on her shoulder. " _He's a nice guy_."

"Well, he shouldn't have ran towards me like that, nya." said Kuroka with a huff as she continued her walk towards the front porch. Orochimaru stepped outside to greet Kuroka.

"Greetings. Forgive Lee, please. He was has been very excited to meet you these last few weeks." he said.

"A little too excited if you ask me." she said with a huff. "And you are, nya?"

"My name is Orochimaru, my master's [Pawn] and advisor of his peerage."

"Oh, Naruto has said a lot about you. Thanks for all the help you've done these last few weeks." Kuroka said with a friendly smile.

"Your words are appreciated." Orochimaru said with bow. Kuroka raised an eyebrow at Orochimaru's politeness.

"Ehh, you don't have to bow or anything like that, nya." the girl said with a twitch of her ears. "However… it does make me feel important~" she said with a laugh.

Orochimaru chuckled with her "Of course. Please, come in." he said as he opened the door for her.

Kuroka stepped into the house and felt four pairs of eyes on her. Anna, Issei, Yoh, and Hao were staring at her questionably; weary if she was what they believed she was. The sliding door to the backyard opened and Lee hobbled back into the room.

"That kick…it was…SOO YOUTHFULL!" he shouted with stars in his eyes again, all injuries magically disappearing.

"Uh…nya?"

"What's with all that screaming and shit!" shouted Kisame as he walked down the stairs with Samehade. His eyes landed on Kuroka and his heart dropped.

"Sharky?"

"Oh HELL NO!" he said with wide eyes "What is this bitch doing here!? I thought this was a safe haven?!"

"You know her?" Anna asked.

"I had a run in with her a couple years back in the Underworld." Kisame said with a growl. "Stupid bitch was fishing in my domain and her hook caught me by the ear! I swam above water and we started to fight! This crazy cat idiot almost tore off my arm!" he finished with a yell.

"You wanted to tear my tails off!" she answered back with a yell. The two entered a staring contest with fire in their eyes.

"Seems like you're not the only person who dislikes Kisame." Yoh said to Anna, who nodded in agreement.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Kisame said as he crossed his arms together.

"This is our master's house right?" she said with a hiss "I am his [Queen] so I have even more right to be here than you do!"

"Who cares if you're his [Queen]?! I say you can't stay here, so boom! You can't stay here. There's plenty of hotels for hoes like you downtown."

"I swear if I knew how to cook, I'd throw you in the oven and cover you with seasoning!" she shouted with another hiss.

"Friends, friends! We shouldn't fight." Yoh said with a smile. "We're a team, so no fighting."

"You'll be fighting her by the end of week when you get to know her." Kisame said with a sigh as he made his way downstairs. He made sure to bump into Kuroka while making his way into the living room. "I can't wait to kill you."

"Get in line, because you're not the only one, Sharky. Nya!"

After the fiasco ended, everyone made their way into the dining room and sat around the table. Kuroka sat at one end of the table while Orochimaru sat at the other.

"Even after all that yelling, we still don't have your name yet." he said with curiosity.

"Oh, nya! My mistake. My name is Kuroka and I'm a Nekoshou."

"A Nekoshou?" Orochimaru's head perked up in interest "That's a very rare breed of Nekomata."

"Yup, yup! Which makes me all the more amazing." she said as she kicked her feet up on the table.

"Uh… should I be here?" Issei asked as he raised his hand "I mean… I'm not a part of your peerage soo..."

"I guess you should leave." said Orochimaru "This is a meeting between my master's peerage and our [Queen]. We'll be talking a lot something we don't want to reveal yet."

"Aw, come on Orochiamaru." said Yoh with shrug "I mean our plan is soon to happen, so we might as well let Issei listen. We've gotten used to him being around all the time and it won't be long until our secrets out. I say he stays."

"Are you sure? While we have gotten used to the perverted idiot being here, don't you think we're a little too comfortable around him.

Yoh winked at Orochimaru. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"It'll be fine… plus… you know…"

"Fine. The boy can stay." said Orochimaru with roll of his eyes.

"Really? But, but why?" asked a confused but happy Issei.

"It won't be long for our secret to be out." answered Hao "It doesn't really matter what you see or hear, everyone will know sooner or later."

"I'd say much more 'sooner' than later." Kuroka said with a grin, catching everyone's attention.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Orochimaru.

"I'll explain the situation for our new little friend here." said Kuroka, focusing on Issei. Issei was trying to keep his perverted tendencies to himself, but he couldn't help but notice that Kuroka was very beautiful and her breast were basically spilling from her lose kimono.

"Wh-what situation?" he said with a blush on his face.

"The real reason why we needed blood from different devils of certain clans." Issei perked up at Kuroka's words "Everything I'm about to say is 100% true, so listen well, little boy~"

"Uh, sure! I'm all ears." he said.

" **I'd like to listen in as well."** Ddraig said as Boosted Gear appeared on Issei's arm. **"I've been interested in what this peerage's real goal was."**

"Nya, is that the Red Dragon Emperor?" asked Kuroka.

" **Yes. My name is Ddraig, partner to this idiot."** said the dragon.

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" shouted Issei.

Kuroka giggled cutely at the two before speaking "Well then, to be honest with you, my master's name is Naruto Bael."

"Naruto Bael… so he is a Bael then." Issei said "Rias suspected that he was a Bael when he killed Raynare. She said the way his magic was deteriorating her body was similar to her Power of Destruction."

"Seems Princess picked up on that sooner than I expected." Orochimaru said with a laugh.

"Well, a long time ago, Naruto was imprisoned into a seal because of his relationship with former _'lover', Serafall Sitri._ " everyone except for me felt the animosity Kuroka had when she spoke of the Satan's name "During the centuries he was imprisoned, he's been gaining knowledge and waiting for the right opportunity to break free, nya."

"You mean… he's stuck in a seal? But for how long?" asked the Gremory's [Pawn].

"It's had to be over 500, maybe 600, years." Serafall said sadly.

"500 or 600 years…" Issei whispered in disbelief. "That's crazy."

" **Why would some devils disagree with Naruto's relationship with Serafall? Since he has a peerage, doesn't that make him a high-class devil?"** asked Ddraig.

"He wasn't a high-class devil while he was dating Serafall. He was a low-class devil that was a part of her legion during the civil war between devils. Naruto became a war hero for his efforts in the war, including saving Serfall's life. After that, he secretly became a high-class devil after the war when Lord and Lady Sitri turned on him."

Issei ran his hands through his hair as he took in the information Kuroka told him. "It's like they don't even care that he's a devil… he did all that shit and nobody cares!?"

"It's aggravating, I know, nya." said Kuroka "But it's something he's lived with for so long, by himself, in a seal for centuries. Now it's our job to get him out."

" **The blood."** Ddraig interrupted **"The blood you've been gathering is for your master's revival, I assume."**

"Yup!" the Nekoshou answered "We've been gathering blood of certain clans that sealed Naruto. Gremory, Bael, and Sitri, all had a part in the sealing of Naruto, nya, so we have to have the blood of high-class devils from those clans in order to free him. "

"But that's our problem." Anna entered the conversation "We have all the blood we need, but we don't know if the blood we have will work. Almost all of the blood samples we have are from hybrid devils. Rias is a Gremory and Bael. Sairaorg's blood is half Bael and Vapula. Even Sirzechs Lucifer's blood is half Gremory and Bael. The only pure sample we have is of Sona Sitri's."

"I see. So you'll get more blood from pure-breed devils to be on the safe side?" asked Issei.

"No." Kuroka grew a cocky smirk "I believe we have enough blood as it is. We can go free Naruto- tonight."

"Tonight?" Hao asked with a raised eyebrow. "How?"

Kuroka couldn't hold her growing grin as she made a magic circle and another blood bag appeared in her hand. She set it down on the table and crossed her arms.

"And what is this?" asked Orochimaru.

"That, Snakey, is the blood of Seryu Bael: A born, noble, pure-blooded, Bael."

"WHAT!" shouted Kisame as he jumped out of his seat in disbelief "That's not possible!"

Even the usually stoic Anna couldn't hide her shock as she looked at the bag of blood from a high-class Bael. "This is impossible. How could you retrieve such blood? A Bael from her stature wouldn't just give her blood away unless you promised her something in return."

"Or~" Kuroka winked at Anna "I could have just broke into her house, knocked out her and her maids, and just got the blood myself!~"

"A backup plan…" Orochimaru's body shook as he looked at the bag. This was the plan that his master was talking about!

"YOSH! WE CAN SAVE MASTER TONIGHT! I SAY WE GO OUT AND FREE HIM NOW! WHO'S WITH ME!" shouted Lee.

"Me! Nya!" Kuroka playfully raised her hand with a cute smile.

"I'm in all the way. He's been in that jail of his for too long. I say we ride out tonight." answered Yoh.

"Hell yea! Let's do this shit tonight! I'll go get my robbing ski mask!" said Kisame with a grin.

"We've all assembled under this house together without our [King]. I say it's time to bring him home." said Anna with determination in her eyes.

"I agree. It's time to end Naruto-sama's unjustified imprisonment and thank him for everything he's done for us, face-to-face." answered Hao with clinched fist. The Spirit of Fire as yelled out in approval from within Hao's mind.

Orochimaru smirked at his colleagues. The happiness and joy filling the room even affected him as he heart started to beat faster. He was excited. He was excited for once in his life, and he had people with him achieve to a similar goal. There wasn't any alternative motives, no distrust

' _So this is the feeling you promised, Naruto-sama.'_ Orochimaru said as he closed his eyes _'I guess I can get used to this after all. Having people that genuinely care for you, kukuku… Let's see where this takes us.'_

"While we don't know where he is" everyone stopped talking so they could listen to Orochimaru's words "I'm sure Naruto-sama has a backup plan, just like how he usually does. It's time our master taste his first breath of fresh air for the first time in centuries. We leave tonight."

"That's what I'm talking about!" shouted Kisame, his Samehada shrieking in glee with him. "Finally, I actually agree with your pasty-ass!"

"I'd… I'd like to go as well!" shouted Issei, gaining everyone attention.

"Why?" asked Hao. "Naruto-sama isn't your master. Why do you care?"

"This guy… he's been through some much. I'm sure you haven't told me everything about him, but I know that he's had to go through so many struggles and he's still had his mind intact to bring all these good people together. I'd like to meet him the moment he his freed and get to know him."

"Kukuku, good answer, perverted idiot." said Orochimaru with a laugh "I'm sure everyone's alright with you coming to meet him."

"Just don't do anything stupid." said Anna. Everyone laughed while Issei sulked in a corner by himself.

"You know what!? We should celebrate! I downloaded the new Purge movie from this super-secret website I found and it's got all the high-def quality!" said Kisame.

"The new Purge!? Can I watch!? Nya!" Kuroka asked with stars in her eyes.

"Ya know, I'll forget that I hate you for the next three hours and let you watch. Rookie! Prepare the popcorn! Pervert! Get the drinks!"

"Yes sir!" Lee and Issei said at the same time and saluted at Kisame. The team started to make their way to the living, however, before Hao could sit down, he felt a tug on his robe.

"I need to talk to you." said Anna. Hao raised an eyebrow at her, but he followed out to the back porch. It wasn't many times that Anna wanted to speak, so it had to be something serious.

Closing the sliding door behind her, Anna kicked her left foot on the wall and leaned back, crossing her arms while doing so. "I wanted to talk to about what you did during that Rating Game."

"Come on, Anna. This? Really?" Hao said with disappointment in his voice. He thought that she brought him out here for something important. Now, Kisame was probably going to get the good recliner in the living room…

"Yes, really." she said with all seriousness in her voice. "You did too much in that fight. A lot of the things you did during that fight were unnecessary."

"Unnecessary, maybe, but I had a job to do." Hao countered with a frown "Naruto-sama asked me to do something to gain attention and that stunt worked. Did you not see what happened? A high-class devil's life was saved from the acts inside of a Rating Game. Do you understand the severity of that?"

"I do, but that girl… I saw the look in her eyes. You could have traumatized her."

"And what does that matter, Anna?" Hao snapped. "Truly, what does that even mean to you? I did what I was told and I did it well. Have you heard Naruto-sama go against what I did, hmm? Is Naruto-sama mad that I almost killed that girl or is he happy about the outcry that is currently happening in the Underworld? Please tell me which one it is and I'll listen."

Anna glared at Hao "Well since you want to be a dick about it, I'll be honest with you: what you did to that girl wasn't even thing I was mostly worried about. I don't know her nor do I care for her one bit."

"So what is it that you seem to have a problem with then?" asked Hao.

"Your brother, Yoh Asakura? Surely you haven't forgotten about him, right?"

Hao sighed and placed his hand over his face. "Anna… listen-

"Be quiet." she demanded "I listened to your pointless banter and now you'll listen to mine. Yoh had to go through out during those years of your rebellion. When you were killing anyone for any reason, running away from reality and thinking that you were invincible? Yoh had to sit through all your bullshit. He even tried to help you, but you dismissed him because you were mad at him for not having the same viewpoints on life. You hated him while he loved you even through all your dumb phases. Watching you was like watching an Orc go through puberty."

Hao shook his head but continued to listen "Me and Yoh have seen your handy work to people when you don't like something. We've seen the bodies… or the lack of them. The things you used to do to please Spirit of Fire were despicable."

"And I understand that Anna, but that was the old me." he said as he rolled his eyes "I don't see what your point is now. Are you trying to guilt trip me into something I've already come to terms with?"

"During that battle with Riser, you looked like the old you." Hao narrowed his eyes "I felt it. But most importantly, your brother, Yoh, felt it. While it wasn't as extreme like your past 'work', it felt similar. Your attitude, your coldness, it was all there. He noticed it and was worried for you. So I just want you to understand that you can't go around doing whatever you want anymore. It seems like you don't care about life again and Yoh notices that. You need to stop your homicidal tendencies or I'll handle you myself."

"Ho?" now Hao was really interested "And what do you mean by that? You'd kill me? Your future brother-in-law?"

"In a heartbeat." she answered without any hesitation, surprising the older boy "What you do affects Yoh, and if you even think about going back to your old ways, I'd kill you even if Yoh was watching."

"Strong words you say, but I don't know if you could back them up." Hao said as he walked up to Anna "You're strong, and I still believe that you're hiding your real strength, but do you honestly think you could kill me?"

"No, it wouldn't be easy, but I'd try to make it happen. I don't care if Yoh is mad at me for the remainder of time, I'll do anything to protect him. I love him and his personality and I won't let your selfish actions destroy that." she answered. Their faces' were inches apart and their magic was flaring inside their bodies, but not enough to alert the others inside the house.

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Hao asked.

"I am… I fear Yoh more than I fear you," Hao eyes slightly widened at Anna's words "so your threats don't fear me. You think you were a monster back then? See a pissed off Yoh. You know your brother more than anyone else in this world, so you know how he is when he's angry. It's why he tries to belittle everything to keep his emotions in check. And if you were to attack me…"

Hao smirked at Anna before raising his hands in surrender. "Alright Anna, you win. I won't do anything bad ever again." he said with a chuckle "And if I ever see the young fried chicken girl, I'll apologize nicely. See? Everything's alright." he said with a smile.

Anna rolled her eyes before opening the sliding door. "Good. I'd like this conversation to stay a secret and I hope this doesn't affect our relationship that took so long for us to build."

"It won't. I know that your top priority is Yoh, so I'm impressed that you did something so bold. However, it doesn't surprise me. You are Anna Kyoyama, after all. Your confidence in yourself is one of the many reasons why I approve of you to marry my brother." he said happily.

Anna hid her blush as she entered the house. "Shut up." she muttered. Hao followed behind her with a chuckle.

The two entered the living room and Anna sat beside Yoh and Hao sat beside Orochimaru. There were many bags of popcorn and drinks for everyone to enjoy. The movie started, and even Orochimaru was inversed into the storyline. However, the author of this story can't tell you what happened in the new Purge movie because he HASN'T FUCKING SEENED IT YET! DAMN IT!

"Ahhh! That was great!" said Kisame as he ate the last bit of his popcorn. "When's the next one coming out?"

"Probably in the next two or three years." said Yoh.

"Damn it, that's like 50 years from now… weren't we supposed to do something after this?" asked Kisame.

"We were supposed to free Naruto-sama." said Anna.

"Oh yea. So where the fuck is he?" asked Kisame.

" _I don't know._ " said an orange orb from behind him. Kisame jumped at the voice and turned to see the orb.

"Damn it! Can't you do that somewhere else! Nearly gave me a heart attack!" the shark man yelled.

The orb merely laughed at Kisame's anger and floated towards the coffee table in the middle in the room. _"_ _Soooooo! How's everyone doing?_ _"_

"Hey, Naruto!" Kuroka said with a wave, surprising everyone with how she addressed him. While she didn't say his name with an honorific earlier, her saying his name like nothing was interesting to them. "We wanted to know where your seal is at. We're planning on releasing you from it now."

" _Really? That's so nice… I'd cry if I can, but I haven't drunk anything in so long, so I have to conserve on water, ahahaahahahHhAHAHAHAHAHA! "_

Kuroka giggled at her master's _joke_. "So where is your jail? We'll free you from it tonight."

Naruto was surprisingly quiet, putting everyone on edge.

"Naruto-sama, do you even know where your jail is?" asked Orochimaru.

" _I know where it's at… it's just that I've planned this for so many years… it feels unreal that this is happening right no- Oh ho! Is that Issei?_ _"_ said the orb as he floated towards the boy.

"Uh… hi there, Mr. Naruto." Issei said awkwardly.

"It's Naruto-sama to you." said Hao with a glare.

"Oh yea! Sorry about that. Good to see you again, Naruto-sama." Issei said with a bow.

" _It's good to see you too, Issei! Are you coming with us to free me?_ _"_

"Yes sir. I want to see you in person when you're freed. I want to see the man who has brought this group of people together." answered the boy.

" _That's so nice! When I'm free, we'll all go out to eat pickles!_ _"_ the orb did a happy twirl in the air.

"Uh, sure." said Issei with a sweat drop.

" _Anyway, my protégé, you were asking me a question?_ _"_ asked Naruto.

"I asked where is the seal that is containing you, nya." said Kuroka.

" _Oh…hehe..well, you see…_ _"_

 **Underworld**

 **Gremory Territory – Dragon Mountain**

"A fucking dragon mountain… It had to be a fucking dragon mountain." said Issei as the group walked through the harsh terrain.

" _Yup! Isn't it great?!_ _"_ said Naruto as he led the group to his jail _"_ _I take it as a honor that a dragon would want me to be in its treasure trove, makes me feel like a gem~_ _"_

"Because you are a gem, Naruto, nya!" said Kuroka as she batted her eyes at the orb.

" _Aww, Kuroka! You make me blush!_ " said Naruto. Kuroka giggled while the other shivered, feeling a little uncomfortable around the two.

"So, Kuroka, how long have you known Naruto-sama?" asked Hao.

"I've known Naruto since I was 13 years old, which was six years ago." she said. "I was so young, nya."

"He asked you to be his [Queen] when you where 13? He must have believed in the potential you had."

"He did, nya, but I didn't accept his offer until I was 16." she said with a laugh "I didn't believe he was serious nor did I trust a floating orb flowing me around everywhere I went, even if he did save me from hunters back when we first met, nya."

"So he saved you and followed you all around all that time? Seems like he is persistent with a lot of his members." said Hao with a laugh.

"What made you accept the offer, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Issei as he walked closer to the cat women.

Kuroka smiled a little as she looked up at the sky "Personal reasons, but he had a lot going for him. He trained me, help me out when I was in trouble… he was there for me when I felt lonely. He truly is a wonderful man…"

Everyone, even Lee, noticed how Kuroka was talking about Naruto. She was staring at the orb that floated in the sky, checking the surrounding area for any enemies, so he couldn't hear them. A light blush appeared over Kuroka's face as she thought back on all the times Naruto was there for her.

"So you love him?" asked Orochimaru, but he felt like he knew the answer already.

"Yes." she answered without hesitation "He's done so much for me… even when I didn't ask for it; even when I got angry at him, he still stayed. His loyalty he has for the people he cares about is amazing. I wish I would have accepted his request as his [Queen] earlier, but I was young and stupid. I thought he had alternative intentions for me, but he just wanted me for who I was. It was because of that, and many more reasons, why I love him."

"But you haven't seen him in person." said Anna "Can you really love someone you've never seen?"

"My feelings aren't a lie, so its possible." she answered "All we need to do now is free him and I'll be able to see him for the first time." she said with wonder.

"What's stopped you from telling him how you feel?" Kuroka's smile instantly turned into a frown. Issei felt like he said something he shouldn't have, but Kuroka spoke before he could.

"Because of a certain female… and I'm sure she'll reveal herself soon." Kuroka said with a cat-like hiss. Her attitude did a complete 180 and she was smiling again when Naruto floated back down to the group.

"Find anything, Naruto?" she asked with a peachy grin, acting as if the previous conversation didn't happen.

" _Nope, nope, nope!_ _"_ Naruto sang " _Everything is in the clear! Seems safe from here._ _"_

"Splendid!" said Kuroka with a hand clap, her cat hers perking up in happiness. "Then lead the way!"

 **Same Time**

 **Satan's Throne Room**

Sirzechs was relaxing after a long day at work by sipping some red wine. He hadn't heard word from Orochimaru yet, so he was keeping his emotions in check before the soon-to-be confrontation with the Sitri. However, knowing that the Bael and Gremory, his and Naruto's own clans, were also a part of this whole fiasco put him on edge. Did his father sign off on this? Had they been hiding this from him for centuries, hiding behind fake smiles and loyalty? They knew that he had a great chemistry with the young Bael, so why would they agree to something like this? What could they have gained from sealing Naruto up and forgetting about him?

He sighed and stopped thinking such wild thoughts. He needed some fresh air… that'll at least help him clear his mind…

And so, he teleported from his throne to the outside of his large mansion, which was separated from any other house by a forest of trees and rivers, a perk of being acting Lucifer of the Underworld. He sat down in a bench on his front yard porch and continued to sip his wine in peace, listening to the nature around him. Contentment started to fill his mind as he closed his eyes… he hadn't had such tranquility like this in a long time; since he found out Naruto was in a seal to be exact.

Grayfia opened the front door and stepped outside to see Sirzechs mediating, causing her to slightly break character and raise an eyebrow at her husband. Sirzechs didn't like to ponder too much, but when he did, he'd go outside, away from everyone. He couldn't hide from her, however, so she quietly approached him.

"Lucifer-sama, are you alright?" she asked. She had being asking him that question a lot these past couple of weeks, like there was something troubling him. He didn't break his streak of keeping information from his wife as he smiled at her.

"It's nothing Grayfia." he said, but she felt like the smile was forced "I'm just expecting something that hasn't made it to me yet. But it will come to me in due time."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked again, honestly wanting to help her husband.

"No, no." he said with a wave "You've done enough for the day already, Grayfia. Maybe you should take off early or something, ya' know?"

"I'm quite fine, Lucifer-sama. You don't have to worry about me." she said with a bow.

He nodded towards her and continued his sipping of wine. She stood next to him, wanting to be there for him just in case he needed something.

A butler, donned in a classic black suit, stepped outside holding a bottle of the same wine Sirzechs was drinking. The Lucifer of the Underworld perked up at the man as he walked towards Sirzechs. Both Sirzechs and Grayfia noticed that the butler's arms were twitching a little bit.

"More wine, _Lucifer-sama_?" said the man. Sirzechs raised an eyebrow at him, sensing hostility from the man.

"Yes… thank you." Sirzechs thanked as he held out his glass. The butler popped the cork from the bottle and proceeded to pour wine into the Lucifer's glass.

"Is everything alright?" Sirzechs asked the man, not liking the vibe he was getting from the devil.

"My brother… my brother died in a Rating Game." Sirzechs eyes widened. The butler stopped pouring Sirzechs his wine and twisted the cap back on.

"I'm sorry to hear tha-

"My brother! He died in that retched Rating Game system!"

Grayfia narrowed her eyes at him while Sirzechs stood from his feet. "I'm sorry to hear that sir, but please, don't do anything rash right now."

"And all this time!" tears were pouring from the butler's eyes, but he had a scowl on his face that was directed at his Lucifer "All this time… HE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED!"

In an act that surprised Sirzechs to the fullest, the butler jumped at him, a secret blade out of the sleeve of his suit. Grayfia, with eyes filled with coldness, summoned her powers to create a wall of ice in front of her husband, blocking what would have been a fatal blow to Sirzechs' heart. The butler was shocked at Grayfia's speed, and he couldn't react quickly enough again as ice circled around his body, trapping him.

"Let me go this instance!" shouted the man.

"You shall be taken to trial for trying to kill the Lucifer. Your punishment will surely be death." Grayfia said coldly. Sirzechs, however, couldn't process what was going on. Someone actually tired to attack him? Was what he did truly so bad that it pushed a man far enough to avenge his dead brother.

"I seek justice! Justice for my brother!" shouted the man. Guards quickly filled the scene, surrounding him. Maids stuck their heads outside the opened door or a window, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. "Just like how Ravel Phenex, the high-class devil, was saved, my brother should have been saved the same way! Along with the other devils! You've shown your true colors, Lucifer!"

The guards pulled the screaming man away and Grayfia recalled her wall of ice and checked her husband. "Lucifer-sama, are you okay? Did he hit you in anyway?"

Sirzechs ignored his wife, his focus on the blade that the butler dropped while he was being detained. He walked over to it and picked it up, inspecting the sharp point on it that was lathered in a deadly liquid.

"He tried to poison me…" Sirzechs whispered, but Grayfia heard him and analyzed the blade in Sirzechs hand. Sure enough, the blade was dripping with poison. The man meant to stab Sirzechs, and if he didn't get a good look at him the first time, the poison would have surely finished the job.

Sirzechs gulped as he set the blade down. One of his own servants tried to kill him…

"What have I done?" he said to himself as he grabbed a handful of his hair, gripping it with a lot of force. Grayfia looked towards her husband in worry. She hadn't seen him like this since the war so long ago when he was stressing about battle plans and directing his legion to victory. Those were dark times when devils would kill devils, defending in their beliefs.

While she wanted to say something, Grayfia let her husband have his moment for himself. He had a lot on his mind and he didn't need anything distracting him from achieve his tranquility again.

"Uh-Lucifer-sama?" Grayfia turned around and glared at the maid that called for him. The maid shrunk under the pressure of Grayfia's glare, but Sirzechs saved her by placing a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Its alight." he said, but the usual excitement and childish tone he had in his voice was gone. She nodded and took a step behind her husband. "What is it?" he asked the maid.

"Y-you have a small visitor." said the maid, still affected by Grayfia's **KI**. The maid pointed to her feet and Sirzechs raised an eyebrow once he noticed the small snake beside her feet. He recognized it as one of Orochimaru's snakes and his mode perked up, but only slightly.

"Do you have a message for me, little one?" he asked the snake. The snake regurgitated a scroll from its mouth. Sirzechs shivered. Just how did Orochimaru fit those large things into his poor snake servants?

After the scroll was out of the snake's body, it slithered away into the garden. The maid handed Sirzechs a handkerchief, in which he thanked her for, and picked up the scroll. He opened it and read it content with curiosity.

"Is something the matter, Lucifer-sama?" asked Grayfia.

"I have somewhere to go right now." said Sirzechs as he destroyed the scroll. _'So he's at the Dragon Mountain then… or course a dragon would keep the treasure box to add to its collection.'_ "Hold the fort down while I'm gone. I'll be back soon."

"Or course." she said without question as he disappeared. However, she was curious about where he was going, but it wasn't for her to find out about yet.

 **Dragon Mountain**

The group continued their streak into the mountains, headed towards the resting place of Naruto's seal.

" _We'll be there soon, so be prepared._ _"_ Naruto said.

"Prepared for what, Naruto-sama?" asked Lee. All he got was a chuckle as a reply.

Issei's Boosted Gear appeared on Issei's arm, surprising the boy **"Partner, do you see that fruit on that tree over there?"**

Issei looked around until he saw what Ddraig was talking about. A tree full of purple leaves and green fruit with purple spots entered his sights. "Yeah, what about it?"

" **That's a special fruit that some dragons eat to survive. It should do you good to pack a few of those, seeing as I'm your Sacred Gear. It may help with your training to eat something that sustains dragons."** Ddraig explained.

"Yea, but where could I put them? I don't have my backpack with me." said Issei.

"I'll help you." Anna said quietly. Issei nodded to Anna in thanks as he picked some of the fruit off of the tree while Anna sealed them into her personal magic seal.

After they were done, it was silent for a while, but the sound of a magic circle appearing by Issei's ear caught everyone's attention.

"Issei!" the voice of Rias Gremory came from the seal "Where are you? It's past midnight and mother is worried sick!"

"Oh! Rias! Heyyyyy…" Issei dragged out the 'hey', not knowing what else to say.

"Let's put this on loud speaker, shall we?" said Kisame as he pointed his finger towards the magic seal. His own magic floated towards the seal and enhanced the volume of it.

"Who was that?" asked Rias. The seal was loud enough for everyone to hear now.

"Uhh… that was the television." he lied hesitantly. Orochimaru rolled his eyes at the lack of Issei's lying skills. Even Lee could have come up with something on the fly.

"The television? So… so you're at 'their' house again?" everyone raised an eyebrow at how she referred to them.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Kisame whispered to Hao, only getting a shrug in response.

"Yea. Hao has on this documentary about the Mayan people and stuff. You know he's a real history junky." Issei answered.

"That's nice, but you need to come home now. We have school in the morning and Asia and your parents are worried." Rias said sternly.

"You just gonna let her walk all over you like that?" Kisame whispered into Issei's ear, causing him to twitch in annoyance.

"Tell them I'm alright. I'll be back at the house tomorrow." he said as he pushed Kisame away, but Rias sensed his annoyance in his voice and thought it was for her.

"Do you want to talk to me?" she asked dangerously "I mean, you're always with them all the time, I guess you just like them more than us, huh?"

"Buchou, that isn't what I meant!" Issei shouted. Kisame snickered a little bit, his job done.

"That's how I feel, Ise. You're always with them and… and I've been trying to get closer with you, but it's like you don't even want to anymore!"

"This is better than Love and Hip-Hop." Yoh said with Anna nodding.

"Buchou, like I just said, that isn't what I meant. Stop taking this so seriously! I like hanging out with them because I like hanging out with them! That's it! What's so bad about that!?"

"Everything! You train with them more, spend more time with them, talk to them more! It's like you don't even care that the rest of us are trying our hardest to welcome you and Asia into the group! It's like you don't even want to be with us!"

"I never asked to be with you all!" he shouted. Rias tired to retort, but Issei continued speaking "It's like you never even knew me before all this shit happened! If you were so fucking interested in me, why didn't you try to get to know me before waiting on me to die!? Huh!? Answer me that!"

"Ise… you know that I regret what I did to you, but you have to understand!" she shouted.

"I understand everything, and that's the problem! If Lee would have found me before Raynare would have, I would have never died and Yuuma would still be alive! But you waited for me and Yuuma to die so I didn't have a choice in joining you! I was FORCED INTO THIS SHIT!"

"Wow." Kuroka whispered, genially impressed at Issei. It seemed like the boy hand everything handled now. He was maturing from what she had learned of him through Naruto. _'He's coming along quite nicely, nya~"_

Issei took a few deep breaths to calm him down, but he was glad about what he said. He understood everything. The way he was revived was fucked up and she had to realize that she couldn't just do whatever she wanted with him. He had a heart and a soul… he wasn't a slave.

"That's… that's really how you feel…" Rias muttered and everyone could hear the sadness in her voice. Issei could have sworn he heard her hick like she was holding back tears.

"Sigh… listen, _Rias_ ," everyone heard Rias gasped in shock at hearing him say her name "I'll see you tomorrow. Tell everyone not to wait up for me." and he stopped his magic output to the seal and cut the call. He sighed in stress, feeling a headache slowly approaching, but he lifted his head when the sound of clapping filled the area.

"I have to say, idiot pervert, you did well for yourself." said Orochimaru as he applauded the boy. "Maybe you aren't a big of an idiot as I thought."

"Really?" said Issei, a smile slowly creeping its way on his face.

"You grew some backbone right there, pervert!" said Kisame as he slapped his back. Issei flinched at Kisame's strength, but he knew he did it for good reason "I'm impressed, and I'm sure everyone else here agrees!"

"Nya, a strong man shouldn't be scared to set his foot down and lay down the law." said Kuroka, placing a hand on her hip. "Very impressive, nya~"

"Uh, thanks everybody!" he said with a cheeky grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

" _Good job, Issei, but we'll have to continue to congratulate you on a later date. We're here. "_said the orb impersonating Naruto. The team stopped in front of a large cave. An eerie felling was coming from it and everyone was put on edge.

"Is a dragon in there?" asked Issei, pointing towards the cave entrance.

"It sure is." the voice of Sirzechs entered everyone's ears as he appeared from a magic circle. "And not just any dragon either."

"Ah, Lucifer-sama. So good to see that you got my message, and just in time too." said Orochimaru as he shook the man's hand.

"Glad you sent it. You all were about to enter the cave of Tannin, a dragon that is also an ultimate class devil. If you interrupted him in his sleep, he may have killed you." Sirzechs said with a laugh.

" _Oh, I have a feeling my peerage would have been able to put up a fight._ _"_ said the orb. Sirzechs stopped laughing and inspected the orb just like he did the blade not too long ago.

"So this was you all along, huh… Naruto." the Satan said.

" _Yup, yup, yup!_ _"_ said Naruto as he danced around Sirzechs _"_ _It's been so long! How's the family, Sirzechs?_ _"_

Sirzechs raised an eyebrow at Naruto's friendly tone, but thought little of it "There good, but they won't be when I confront them about what's happening. You shouldn't have gone through this Naruto. I'm sorry for not finding out sooner."

" _Oh, it's alright!_ _"_ Naruto sang out as he danced around Sirzechs _"_ _Nothing I didn't plan for, anyway!_ _"_

"And this is your [Queen], the legendary Kuroka the Nekoshou, killer of her previous master?" he asked as he took in Kuroka face. She hissed at the man and scooted behind Naruto.

" _Yup, yup! But that story isn't what you thought! We'll talk later about it. Say hello to Issei too!_ _"_

"Issei? My Ria-tan's [Pawn]? What are you doing here?" asked the Lucifer.

"I'm close with Naruto-sama's peerage. I just wanted to be there when he was revived." answered Issei truthfully.

Sirzechs nodded at Issei, but felt a bit of suspension. He ignored it for now, hopping that he wasn't over thinking the situation…

"Well, I think I should be the one to handle this." said Sirzechs as he stepped in front of the peerage. He took in a deep breath and….

"TANNIN! YOU'VE GOT VISITORS!"

A large yawn came from deep within the cave. Heave footsteps shook the ground as Taninn, the ultimate devil-dragon hybrid, stepped out of his cave.

"He's as tall as Spirit of Fire…" Hao muttered as he took in the sight of the legendary dragon.

"Eh, Sirzechs? What do you want?" asked the purple dragon as he bent down to the smaller devils.

"Inside of your cave, you have a small treasure box that we need. It means more than it looks." answered Sirzechs.

"Oh, I know actually what you're talking about!" the dragon said with a laugh "I've tried opening that box for 15 years, but the only thing I did to it was dent it up. I put it in a specific spot just in case I felt like trying to open it again. Wait here." said the dragon as he retreated back into his cave.

"Well, that was easy." said Issei. He thought they were going to have to fight a dragon and then dig through all of its treasure it collected over the years.

"Tannin's a nice dragon. I'm glad he was the one that picked it up, or we may have needed to fight a dragon before they let us borrow his or her treasure." said Sirzechs.

"Maybe we should take some of his stuff while he isn't looking, nya!" said Kuroka with dollar signs in her eyes.

" _Ho,ho, call down, my protégé. It won't be wise to fight a dragon at the moment. However, make sure to write that down in our planner. "_ Naruto said with an ominous laugh, Kuroka following suit.

It took a while, but Tannin came stomping back with his palm held open. In the middle of it was a small treasure box; the same box that sealed Naruto centuries ago.

"Thanks a lot!" Kuroka said with a smile as she climbed into Tannin's palm and got the box. Issei made sure to burn the image of Kuroka's ass into memory.

"No problem. Tell me what's in there when you open it, will ya'?" asked the dragon.

"Oh, my future husband is in here!" said Kuroka with a smile.

"Eh?" said Tannin, the only one hearing Kuroka's decree

"Alright, time to go!" said Kuroka hurriedly and she jumped out of Tannin's palm."Naruto, where to next?"

" _Well… we need a place big enough so we can make a lot of seals… "_ said the orb in wonder.

"The school gym should be big enough for that." said Orochimaru.

"Then I guess that's our next landing spot." said Yoh as he made a magic seal. "Thanks a lot for the box, Tannin!" he said with a wave.

"Uh… sure." he said as he watched the group disappear.

 **Kuoh Academy Gym**

The group arrived in the middle of the gym with their master's jail in hand. "So what now, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru.

" _Heheheheh! I've got it! "_said the orb. It surprised everyone when the orb spit into ten individual orbs. 9 of the orbs entered everyone's body, filling them with the knowledge of how to free him.

"That's… a lot of seals…" Hao muttered as his mind pictured all the seals they would have to make.

"And we have to do all of this with the blood we got?" asked Lee.

" _Yup, yup, yup! "_laughed Naruto. _"_ _Now get to it! The sooner I'm out, the sooner I'll be able to eat pickles!_ _"_

They all rolled their eyes at his demand. Kuroka summoned all the bags of blood they had and poured them all into individual bowls.

"Hey, where did you get this other Bael bloo-

" _Somebody lent it to us! "_ shouted Naruto with an awkward laugh " _Yup, yup, yup! Heheheh… What a nice person they were… "_

Sirzechs rolled his eyes again before following the mental instructions that Naruto gave everyone. Everyone was given a small paintbrush to make the correct seals with. Kisame and Orochiamru were in charge of Sona's blood, Anna and Hao was in charge of Rias' blood, Sirzechs and Yoh was over Sairaorg's blood, and Kuroka and Issei was over Sirzechs' blood. Naruto's orb grew small arms and picked up a paintbrush to make the seals with the blood of Seryu Bael. He wanted to make sure that Sirzechs didn't have anything to do with this blood…

After a long hour of painting the basketball court of seals, everything was done. The treasure box was in the middle of the court, surrounded by thousands of seals perfectly painted by everyone. The seals circled around the box in a large arc, with 7 smaller circles around the perimeter of it all.

"What are the small circles for, Naruto-sama?" asked Lee.

" _Those, my [Rook] is for my peerage members._ _"_ answered Naruto without his usual, playful tone. _"_ _Seven devils sealed me in that box all those centuries ago, so Seven People shall free me. Those who free me must have a direct correlation with me, so concentrate on your Evil Pieces inside of you while freeing me. "_

"So that's why you waited all this time to free yourself." muttered Orochimaru in amazement. "You had to match all of conditions you were put under during the sealing, so you waited for the right people."

" _Correct. I had to wait until Seven People, who I deemed strong, who's ideals co-align with my ideals. You all have your past… your own struggles you hid from everyone. You've told me them and I relate to you all so much. I once had to hide my true emotions._

" _I once didn't believe in my own race. I once, and still, hate the society that I was born in. I once felt like everything in this world was a lie. I've had to let someone I loved go so that they could prosper, even if they betrayed me. All these things you all went through… I went through the same thing. I relate with you all so much… there's a reason why I chose you all as my peerage members. "_

"That…that was deep." muttered Yoh, remembering his own demons that he hid from everyone. While he went through his own troubles, Naruto had gone through so much as well. So much, in fact, that he could relate to everyone's pain in some type of way.

"It's beautiful, in a way," said Orochimaru "But it's a dark beauty. Pain and suffering…drawing people together… It's like a evil story that could have been a lost chapter of the Bible, but there is much to learn from it."

"You guys are really trying to make me cry with all this sentimental shit…" said Kisame with a couple of hicks. Samehada wined with its master in sadness.

Naruto snickered _"_ _It's alright to cry, Kisame. I wish I could cry, but I can't. I had to preserve the water that was already inside of me while I was sealed._ _"_

"Wait…" Kuroka stepped close to the small orb "You always told me that you were asleep for most of your time in the seal…only waking up a few times every century… were you conscious the whole time?"

" _I was."_

Kuroka didn't even try to hide the tears that started to flood her eyes. "You told me that… just so we wouldn't worry about you, didn't you…" he ears sulked down in sadness as a tear went down her cheek.

"That's insane…" Anna closed her eyes. She hadn't felt this type of sadness in a long time. "To be alone like that… I thought I….had it bad…" Yoh wrapped an arm around her. She snuggled into the hug and placed her face into his shoulder. If she was going to cry, she didn't want everyone to see it.

"Damn it…" Hao was sad, but also angry. The devils that sealed his master would pay with their lives, no matter who they were. They were going to die.

Lee was outright crying, holding nothing back. "For you… to do something..hick..like this… its incredible, Naruto-sama!" he shouted in despair.

Issei had to look away from the scene, the sadness starting to seep into his own tear ducts. Sirzechs shook his head while taking a deep breath. His friend was subjugated to a punishment that didn't even make sense. He was going cause hell once Naruto was freed and gave him the okay.

" _In order for you all to free me, you must step in your own, individual circle and send your magic into the seals. Concentrate on your Evil Pieces, and it'll register with my [King] Piece… "_

"You have a [King] Piece?" Sirzechs asked with curiosity.

" _You must remember, Sirzechs, that the Evil Piece system wasn't as solid as it is today. I received a [King] piece with my peerage, but it didn't increase my power or anything like that, so you won't have to worry._ _"_ Naruto said with a laugh.

"No, I understand. Forgive me for interrupting. You've spend enough time in that box. I say it's time for you to be free." said Sirzechs with a smile.

The orb nodded at Sirzechs before focusing back on his peerage. _"_ _I thank you all for everything. You've done a lot for me, hehehe… More than you know. Let's continue to do fun things when I'm out, alright! "_ Naruto's usual voice was back and everyone smiled at it. They all nodded at the orb as they made their way into the smaller circles.

" _This technique isn't hard. Just focus… You all..can.d..do it.. "_ the orb made its way towards the box, before fazing back into it.

Orochimaru shook his head, focusing back on the task at hand. "Alright, everyone. This is simple. We can do this. Keep your emotions in check until after he's out. Then you can do whatever you want."

They all agreed before sitting on the floor and concentrating on their magic. Their aura's surrounded them as they focused in on their Evil Pieces inside of them.

" _Just let it flow… "_

The blood on the court started to glow white as their magic made it to the box. The seals started to recede towards the box, creating cracks in with every set of seals that made contact with the box. Wind started to pick up in the gym, but that didn't stop the concentrating devils as they kept pumping their magic into the seals.

"What's going on!" shouted Issei as the winds started to really pick up. He had to cover his face with his arms and placed his right foot behind him to keep from falling over.

"He's being released! The seals are countering the original as we speak!" shouted Sirzechs over the winds.

"Just let it flow…" Lee took another deep breath as his small reserves of magic were stretched more than it ever was before. The seals' white light glowed even stronger as they made their way into the box… cracks started form on the box… white light was bursting from it as the magic of Naruto's peerage members started to dismantle it from the outside. The seals flowed into the box until the last seat of seals fazed into the box.

The box opened.

A huge, blinding while light mixed with a little red shot out of the open box. The light beam hit the ceiling and started to crack it from the pressure it gave off. All of Naruto's followers stepped back as they watched the beam grow in strength.

In the middle of the beam, the body of a young man started to form. The light was stopping them from seeing him clearly, but overtime, the light beam seemed to shot around him, but the force of the beam kept the man suspended in the air. His eyes were closed, his blonde locks flowing in the wind. Wearing black shoes, black cargo shorts, and plain red shirt, Naruto was finally revealed to the world.

"Hell yea!" shouted Kisame as he watched the spectacle in front of him.

"Seems it worked." said Orochimaru with a smile.

Everyone was shouting praises that they revived there master, but Kuroka was silent as she took in the form of Naruto Bael.

"He's… beautiful…" she whispered to herself. The front of his body was turned in her direction, so when his eyes opened to see his soft, blue eyes, her heart jumped as a full blush grew across her face. Her body shook as the two stared each other in the eyes. Even through all the light, Kuroka could have sworn she saw him smile.

However, her keen eyesight also picked up on something… something bad…

Her face went from one of awe to one of confusion as she watched what was happening to his body. "Hey.." she said, but no one heard her. "Hey...! HEY! SOMETHING'S WRONG!"

That got everyone's attention as they looked back at Naruto's body. Their eyes piercing through the light beam, everyone's heart sunk when they noticed that wrinkles started to grow all over Naruto's body. His face seemed lose moisture by the second as cracks appeared over his skin. His blonde hair started to fade, far from the golden blonde it once was.

"What's happening…?" Yoh muttered as he watched Naruto's body transform from a healthy young man into an older man. As time kept going on, the lack of nutrition in Naruto's body kept growing. His bones were more pronounced in his arms. His legs were super skin. His jaw line was filled with cracked skin and dark marks.

The light beam finally died out… and Naruto's body started to fall from the sky…

Thinking quickly, Lee jumped up and saved Naruto from hitting the hard, wooden ground. Everyone ran up to Naruto to see that he was unresponsive at all. His eyes were closed and they couldn't tell if he was breathing.

"MOVE!" shouted Orochimaru as he pushed his way through everyone. He summoned a small blade of wind and cut Naruto's shit off, revealing his deadly skinny chest. His ribs were about to burst from the dry skin that clung to it. His stomach was small like he hasn't eating ages… in which in hasn't…

"Malnutrition…" that one word hit everyone like a brick to the face. "He hasn't eaten in so that his body is weak. We need to feed him now!"

"He doesn't have enough energy to eat! He can barely open his mouth to breath!" shouted Anna with a worried face, fully breaking her character as usually stoic to everything. Her face was flooded with tears as she took in the sight of her near-dead master.

"He needs to go home now! Orochimaru, don't you have some medical equipment left at the house?!" shouted Kuroka with her own tears as she hugged her [King].

"I do… but I don't know if it'll be enough…he needs food, water, and blood. The weakened seal had its own consequences. His body wasn't properly preserved over the years! We can't even use magic to heal him! Immortals can die from malnutrition! You think t-

Kuroka slapped the sputtering Orochimaru hard "GET HIM TO THE HOUSE NOW AND SAVE MY KING!"

A large magic circle appeared below the desperate peerage. Issei, thinking quickly, jumped in before they all disappeared… headed back to the house, leaving a shock Sirzechs.

 **The Next Day – Noon**

Issei made his way done the stairs and into the living room. He was the last person to see Naruto before being kicked out by Kuroka, just like how she did everyone else. He was hooked up with many wires and tubes entering his body. She was doing whatever she could with her chakra, but it wasn't clear yet if he would survive…

Issei made his way to one of the available spots on the couch. Everyone was sitting in the living room, distraught that their [King] was in such a state…

Nobody dared to say a word. Even Kisame, who would usually use this opportunity to take the tv remote for himself, didn't dare to. Everyone was depressed. The man that saved them from their past was struggling to stay alive from his time in the seal. If they would have waited any sooner... the idea of it was a hard pill to swallow.

So when, Issei reached for the remote, nobody stopped him. They were surprised, yes. It even brought some of them out of their dark thoughts. Issei gripped the remote in hand before turning it on.

" _Sometimes it makes me sad, though…"_ said Red _"Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."_

 _-Red(Morgan Freeman), The Shawshank Redemption_

… **.. damn…this shit is sad…..**

 **Like… I was going to come on here all hype and say some shit like 'hahahah! Bet you didn't expect that shit to happen!' But now I'm kinda sad. Like, for real for real sad. Good thing that 22 Jump Street is on…**

 **AHAHAHAHA! FUCK IT! I DID THAT SHIT! I niggas prolly crying ya eyes out! Bro, I planned out this scene a few days ago, but damn, I didn't think it'll be this heavy! Cause a lot of my writing is kinda planned, but most of it is off the top of my head. BUT THIS SHIT WAS FUCKING AMAZING!**

 **This chapter had a softer tone to it, until the end of course, and I hope you see what I'm going for. But also expect the unexpected with me, the NarutoPlug, HAHAHAHAHAHAH!**

 _ **I'll be answering your reviews throughout the weekend. I want those reviews to pass 1000 with this chapter tho! I know it will if when we get to chapter 9, but if we do it now, it'll be crazy! So you can cry in your reviews, be angry, tell me to kill myself, I don't fucking care, just review! You guys are such a big help in writing these stories, I swear! I love all the motivation and just reading your thoughts its starting to get addicting. Every time I update, I look back at the chapter just to read your amazing reviews, and I can only say thank you and I promise to keep pushing out chapters before the end of August. College is approaching for me, so I hope I can post a lot before that happens. My typing time will be limited when I get there…**_

 **But yea, you should be done crying by now. I know, I know, I'm such a evil person. Well, I'll have to correct you on that, cause I'm a evil genius for what I did to Naruto. You thought that having a weak seal had its perks but no bad consequences? Shame on you! I'm playing, but you should have saw it coming.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	10. RiasVersusGremory

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug-**

 **AND WE DID IT! 1000 REVIEWSSS! SPRAY THE CHAMPAGNE!**

 **Bro, this is amazing! I didn't think that this story would be so successful when I first made it. I can't thank y'all enough man! BreakThrough has more reviews than Corrupted Mind, and this story has been up for almost two months! Corrupted Mind has been up for three years!**

 **My mind is blown! In only 9 chapters, I have 1,036 reviews, 1,599 favorites, and 1,922 follows. That's amazing and I thank you all for the love and support. I'll continue pushing out these chapters weekly for everyone to enjoy, just keep on spreading the word of BreakThrough and the awesome author who made it**

 **Like, this is freaking amazing… and you know what else happened this weekend while I got to 1000 reviews?**

 **G Herbo and Soutside dropped Swervo! Bro, if you like rap, listen to that shit! And if you tryna get into rap, listen to that shit! That whole album hard, and he got my boy 21 Savage on there roasting niggas with the fire he spitting, ya digggg?**

 **Wheeww…. a thousand reviews…. that's amazing…**

 **NEXT CHALLENGE! 2000 REVIEWS BEFORE CHAPTER 20!**

 **I swear we can do it, so please review every chapter and run them numbers up, YA DIGGGG!**

 **Do it for NarutoPlug…. do it for the children… do it before I won't be able to post a lot because I'm headed to college soon… the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to typing up this amazing story, so get to it, ya diggggg?**

 **Anyway, here's the next chapter**

 **BreakThrough**

 **RiasVersusGremory**

 **Two Days Later**

 **Kuoh Academy**

"Cardio! Cardio! Everyone loves cardio!" sang Yoh. He was taking a job around town, orders from Anna, with small weights around his wrist and ankles.

"Whew!" said Yoh as he stopped for a second and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Halfway there." he muttered to himself. He looked up to see Kuoh Academy and sensed Orochimaru's magic in the school.

"Eh… I hope he's having a good day." Yoh said as he started to jog again.

Inside the school, Orochimaru was sitting at his desk, lost in space. He had handed out a quick quiz for his students to finish at the beginning of class before entering in the land of daydreams.

"Uh… Mr. Tsuki?" said one of his female students. Orochimaru's head perked up as he regained focus.

"Yes?" he asked.

"We're finished…. we finished a couple of minutes ago and tried to get your attention, but you weren't listening to us."

"Oh, forgive me." said Orochimaru as he stood up from his desk and went around the classroom to pick up the papers. Rias, from her spot of the classroom, raised an eyebrow at the man as he silently went around the room. He didn't even give her any type of cocky smile when he came to her desk to collect her paper. Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki also noticed something was wrong with Orochimaru.

"Mr. Tsuki, is something wrong?" asked Sona.

Orochimaru, at first, didn't say anything. He placed the papers down on his desk and sighed. Everyone in the room looked at his back in worry for the man. They never have seen him act like this…

"Does anyone here believe in the supernatural?"

Rias, Akeno, Tsubaki, and Sona's heads snapped up as they looked at the man in surprise. He couldn't be doing what they thought he was going to do…

"The supernatural? You mean ghost and spirits?" said a boy.

"Yes. Anything along those lines." said Orochimaru as he turned back to the class. His face, while he usually had a frown on his face, had a sad frown that made everyone wonder even more what was wrong.

"Come on, Mr. Tsuki. Aren't scientists in denial of the supernatural? Do you believe in the supernatural?"

"That wasn't the question." Orochimaru answered, but it was filled with seriousness that shut his student's month close in fear.

"I have my thoughts about it." everyone in the room looked to Tsubaki with curiosity. "I'm curious about where you are taking this, sensei."

"So you believe in it?" asked Orochimaru, following her ploy.

"Somewhat, but for this conversation, let's say that I do believe in the supernatural." said Tsubaki as she laced her fingers together.

"So if you believe in the supernatural… like you believe in a deity… what's the point in science?"

Rias' jaw was slightly ajar as she looked at Orochimaru, along with many other students. Was this the same man that preached about the wonders of science and its findings every day?

"I don't understand." said Tsubaki with a head tilt.

Orochimaru chuckled to himself. "Alright, maybe I should explain a little." he sat back down in his chair and pushed the quiz papers to the side "Why do we go through the things that we go through; both good and bad?"

"I-I don't know." answered Tsubaki.

"Exactly. 'I don't know' is the answer and also a problem I once had trouble accepting." he said.

"What do you mean by that? Aren't things just bound to happen?" asked another student "We can't control the world."

"But shouldn't the deity that you pray to at night be able to control what happens in your life?" he asked. The student lowered her head as she couldn't answer back "I understand that we grow from certain situations in life, situations that are different for us all, but why do they happen and how do they happen?"

"Cause and effect is the most human definition for that." said Sona.

"True, but every cause has a beginning. What was the first cause, and therefore, the first effect? What started it all? And why must we suffer or benefit from them?" he asked.

"I don't think that's something for us to find out about, Sensei." said a male student "That's above us. Even though we don't know these things… I think we should just live."

"Your outlook on the process of life is interesting, but your words will only be an opinion until proven, which will never happen. Science can never pinpoint why I like eating eggs. Science won't ever answer why I love science. Science will never explain to us why we were born. So what is the purpose of continuing a subject that only makes us continue to ask more questions?"

His words were felt in every soul listening to his words. A heavy silence filled the room as Orochimaru's question raged inside of everyone's mind, even to the point of questioning why they were in this class.

"So what is your point, Mr. Tsuki?" asked Rias, finally breaking the tension with her voice.

Orochimaru sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I've never told you all the real reason why I wanted to become a scientist. And, depending on your morals, you would either agree that my goal would have helped or hurt the world."

"And your goal was?" asked Rias.

"How to gain immortality."

"Immortality? Why would you want that?" asked Sona.

"Life is short. I won't be able to understand everything I want during this short life and I won't be able to finish life with the people I started it with." he muttered. "My parents both died when I was young. Double homicide in the lab we had at our house. I found the bodies and all I felt was sadness. After that, I felt hatred towards life itself because of how easy it was for it to be taken away, but people still valued it more than anything in the world. I hated my skin, for it was too weak to handle the puncture of the smallest of needles. I hated my mind because it was easily succumbed in sadness when I saw my parent's body. And ultimately, I hated my soul because I didn't know where it would go when I would die. Is there such thing as heaven? Hell? Is there even such thing as nothing?"

"Th-that's… very deep." said another student.

"It was, and for my young mind, it was a realization that was too deep for me. So I studied the body for decades, understanding its weakness and strengths. I went insane while trying to find out what life meant. What did it mean for the boy whose life changed after a car wreck? For the girl who was alone all her life? What is the life of an atheist, believer, or anything? It was a very dark time for me."

"So did you find an answer?" asked Sona.

"No, because my answer isn't even an answer; it's an opinion. My belief is that humans live on through knowledge we learn from our surroundings. Our bodies can never be immortal, but our knowledge of the world will carry on. Even if it is twisted and manipulated from the original, it can still out live us." he explained.

"But that doesn't answer the question as to why do things happen the way they do." said a student.

"Because there isn't an answer. Maybe you've been manipulated by someone all your life, maybe your god has blessed you or the devil has cursed you, or maybe the only reason why you found that large amount of money on the ground is because a child went though their mother's purse and dropped the only money they had; the money she would use to pay their bills and finally be free from debt. You can say that cause and effect runs the world, but I also believe that coincidences, blessing, being at the right place at the right time, and more, runs this world."

The bell rang, signaling everyone that class was over. Orochimaru leaned back into his chair with a smile "I'm glad I had this conversation with you all. Just because of that, everyone will get a one hundred on your quiz, regardless of what you put as your answers."

The class cheered in happiness, glad that they got a free hundred. "Thank god, because I didn't study at all!" shouted a student.

"Expect for you, Dan." Orochimaru destroyed the boy's happiness as he sulked out of the room. Orochimaru chuckled evilly as he watched him leave the room.

Rias stepped in front of his desk, causing him to turn to her. He noticed her face was filled with curiosity and felt like she was going to ask a question he didn't want to hear.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Aww, isn't this a surprise. The Princess is worried about me." he said with his usual grin "I must remember this moment."

"You should." she said as she reached into her backpack. She grabbed something and threw the object at him. He caught it easily and inspected the object in his hands, noticing that it was the same pill bottle he gave her weeks ago. "Those will help you sleep better. You look like you need it with those bags under your eyes."

Orochimaru's grin grew at the Gremory heiress, who was countering it with her own cocky grin. "Ho, ho, ho! Seems the Princess has learned some! That was a nice move."

"Thanks." she said, but her smirk twisted into a frown "But are you really okay? That wasn't like the usual you today."

"I'll be alright." he said with a wave "Head to your next class, Gremory. Everything will work out." he finished, stealing Yoh's motto.

"If you say so." she gave her teacher one last glance, burning the image of his troubled face into her mind, before leaving the room.

She was walking with Akeno down the hall to their next class when they heard all the mummers. It happened all the time, of course, so they both ignored it. Everyone eyed whispered at them, the two queens of the school, as they casually walked down the hallways. They all thought that they were the perfect people with perfect lives. Rias silently chuckled at the thought. They didn't know anything…

"Buchou." Rias looked towards her best friend, whose usual smile was replaced with a frown as she looked in front of them. Rias followed her eyes and tensed when she saw Issei headed their way. He was with a couple of guys and was talking nonchalantly. However, Rias' heart started to beat faster as they were about to cross paths. Issei's eyes were darting around while talking with his group, but they stopped once they found her eyes. Awkwardness filled her stomach as they entered a staring contest, but she couldn't turn away, even if she wanted to. Akeno frowned at Rias' troubled face as they both stopped their walking and waited to be confronted by the boy.

The group that Issei was with admired the two beauties, hearts filling their eyes as they slowly made their way around them. She smiled at the group and waved, but the smile was obviously fake… or at least, the real smile she was hiding was only meant for a certain brown-haired [Pawn].

Issei was the last person in the group to pass by Rias. In a desperate act to talk to her [Pawn], Rias put a hand on Issei's shoulder. "Ise, can we talk?"

"Not right now." and shrugged her hand off of his shoulder. He ignored the shocked faces of his friends and continued his walk. Rias watched him walk away with worry.

"I'm not getting anywhere like this. That was the first time he's spoken to me ever since we had our argument." she muttered sadly.

"He'll come around, Buchou. All he needs is time." said Akeno, placing a hand of concern on her [King]'s shoulder "Just leave him be."

"I don't know, Akeno. I've let him had so much time alone. I think that maybe what's making it easier for him to push away from us." Rias answered "I… I need an idea to compete." she said as she continued her walking.

"Compete for what? And against who?" asked Akeno as she followed her best friend.

Rias growled as an image of peerage of the mysterious [King] entered her mind. "Against those guys on the outskirts of town; I need to find away to get his attention."

"Well, the only thing I can think about is seduction, but Issei has changed in his perverted ways since being a part of your peerage." stated Akeno.

"True, but even if he was still a pervert, I wouldn't want to do that. It may cause more harm than good." Rias said as she rubbed her chin in thought "I'm sure something will pop up in my mind. For now, however, we'll leave him alone."

 **After School**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Orochimaru quietly knocked on a closed door. After hearing a small "Enter, nya", he opened the door and closed it as silently as possible. He sighed as he took in the sight before him. Naruto, his master, was in a bed hooked up to many machines to sustain his health. Kuroko was pressed against Naruto, under the covers with him. She had Naruto's head lying on her stomach, allowing her easy access to his hair in which she played with to pass the time.

"Still unconscious?" asked Orochimaru as he set his briefcase on the floor.

"Yes. I haven't gotten a response from him yet… his breathing is getting better, though. That's a good thing, nya." she muttered sadly.

"Alright, let me check up on everything now." he said as he walked to the right side of the bed where all the machines were.

"Alright… the left over blood of Seryu and Sairoarg is still flowing properly."

"Yup, nya, and the blood the Lee donated is flowing into his left arm while the rest is in his right."

"Good. Oxygen mask?"

"Fully functional, but I had to reposition it when it was rubbing the side of his cheeks. He started to bleed a lot but I healed it with my charka. His skin is easy to break, apparently…"

"..sigh….His daily nutrient injections?"

"I handled that before you came here, nya. It went smoothly."

"His food tube?"

"Also working, but I hate the smell of that disgusting paste food, nya!"

"Water pump?"

"There were a few complications early on today with that, too. I kindaaaaaa-it wasn't on purpose!- pressed the wrong button so he was injected with more water in his stomach, hehe…Sorry? I used my chakra to get some of it out, so he doesn't need any more water for the rest of the day."

"But you didn't expose him too much to your chakra, right? His body can't handle that right now."

"I didn't, nya. I know that he's fragile."

"Alright. What about his waste?"

"He hasn't gone poo-poo yet, nya!"

Orochimaru sighed while Kuroka giggled softly. It seemed like everything was working fine for their master at the moment. Now, all they needed was for Naruto to wake up and explain everything to him. "Well then I'll continue to leave him in your care. I'll be downstairs with everyone else for the time being."

"Thanks, Snakey, nya!"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and picked up his briefcase, leaving the cat girl with their master. He entered his own room and changed his clothes, back in his usual tunic and long purple rope tied around his waist. He made his way downstairs to the common room to see Anna enjoying her control over the tv while Kisame was sitting in his recliner grumbling.

"This show is fucking stupid. I don't get why you like watching housewives! Most of these hoes ain't even married!" the blue man shouted.

"Shut up. I have the remote. You be quiet." Anna countered quietly.

"Ooohhhh, just wait until my night with the remote." Kisame said with a growl "We'll be watching Animal Planet all day!"

"Well, until that day comes, shut up." she said again and turned the volume up.

"Seems you two are getting along." said Orochimaru as he sat down on one of the couches.

"Your eyes deceive you, Orochimaru. I thought you were smarter than that." said Anna.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on in that fucked up mind of yours, because I'll never be friends with this housewife watching, always frowning, super-boring, little girl." Kisame said while crossing his arms "I honestly don't see how Yoh can put up with you."

Orochimaru kept his curiosity to himself when he saw Anna flinch slightly at Kisame's words. Kisame had his eyes close, so he didn't see it, but Orochimaru saw it and smirked. _'So the girl does have some weak points within herself.'_

"Where is everyone else, if you two don't mind me asking?" Orochimaru said, making sure to store his new information on Anna in his head.

"Lee and Yoh went running or some shit. Hoe went to the store." Kisame laughed at how he referred to Hao "Is the blonde still unconscious?"

"Yeah… but, it seems like his recovery is going smoothly. He should wake up one of these days; all we need to be is patient with him."

"Well, he needs to wake up sooner rather than later. I've always wanted to fight him." Samehada shrieked in agreement "Seems like your down with the idea as well, hehehe!"

"You can't fight a cripple, dumb ass." said Anna as she sipped some of her soda from a glass "He can't move. How do you think that he can fight?"

"It's Naruto! He'll figure some shit out! He's always has! I mean, look at what he's done now. He probably has one of those 'back-up' plans." Kisame put air quotes around 'back-up' with a grin.

"In your defense, Kisame, I hope you're right, because he doesn't look good. He's gotten some of his color back, but I don't know how long he'll be like this honestly."

"He looked so weak…" Anna muttered, remembering how Naruto's bone almost seemed to break out of the skin containing them "I hope he gets better soon."

The door opened and Hao entered the house with a few bags in hand. He went to kitchen and set them down, but not before nodding his head to everyone as his own way of saying hello.

"Is he still asleep?" asked Hao.

"Yes. Kuroka's watching him." Orochimaru answered.

"Hn… I'll go up now then." he said as he climbed up the stairs and walked to Naruto's room. He opened the door to see Kuroka clutching onto Naruto's body, humming soft tunes while playing with his hair. Her ears perked up and she smiled at Hao.

"Hello, nya. Came to talk to Naruto?" she asked.

"I didn't come to talk to a man that won't answer me. I just came to check up on him, that's all." he said as he walked to the left side of Naruto's bed.

"Well, I'm about to go get something to eat. You wouldn't mind staying here for a while, nya?" asked Naruto's protégé.

"Sure." he answered plainly. Kuroka nodded and slowly got out of the bed, making an effort not to disturb Naruto's body. After she was free, she quietly made her way out of the room and headed downstairs.

Hao took a seat in one of the chairs that were against the wall. They had all used them to watch over Naruto the night he was freed. He wasn't responding at all to their calls and couldn't move an inch. They all assisted Orochimaru, helping him inject Naruto with the nutrients he needed as well as hooking him up to all the machines that kept Naruto alive until he could support himself.

Hao glared at all the machine filling the room. The periodic noises they made were starting to irritate him. He looked down at the tubes that were planted into Naruto's body with disdain. Lee's blood, which matched with Naruto's own blood type, was currently entering Naruto's body, which would help with the recovery process. He looked better than how he did a few days ago, but to Hao…

"Why…" Hao clinched his fist as stared at Naruto "Why are you so weak?"

He could hear the Spirit of Fire growling from within him in agreement. Hao glared at his 'master'. He was unconscious, so he couldn't feel the **KI** that was imitating from Hao, which was starting to grow second by second. "This isn't the man I imagined. You aren't the man I thought you were… My expectations for you were so high… "Hao sighed and covered his face with his hand "And now all I see is trash…"

Naruto's body took in a sharp intake of air, startling Hao, but he went back to taking his slowly, periodic breaths. Hao shook his head as he continued his one-sided conversation. "You taught me more than my parents did. You've done so much for me. Teaching me how to control myself and changing my thoughts on the world. But now that I see you, it's like a majority of that knowledge is steadily going down the drain. You said you were strong…. a war hero… this isn't what that looks like."

Naruto's heart monitor continued to beep slowly. Hao glared at the machine with hatred "You've succumbed to living off the inventions of lowly humans. You're depending on them! While I understand that you were trapped in that seal for a long time, you could have found other people to help you sooner! Am I supposed to feel bad for you even though you purposely put yourself through such torture?!"

Hao's hand moved closer and closer to Naruto's neck as he spoke. Suddenly, the door to the Naruto's room bust opened and Kuroka, followed by Kisame, Orochimaru, and Anna, entered the room with their magic ready and at hand. "What the hell are you doing!" shouted Kuroka, glaring daggers at the older Asakura. "I swear, Hao, I will kill you if you make one more move!"

Hao glared at the cat girl, summoning his magic as well. The head of the Spirit of Fire appeared over Hao and it growled out at the group. "You don't understand…"

"I understand that you're trying to kill him just because he isn't what you thought he would be. Now move away from him! NOW!" Kuroka's magic started to pour from her body rapidly and it surprised Hao at how much she had.

He looked back at Naruto, taking in his sick form, before glaring at the group near the entrance again. "Do you not see what this man is?! He's preached to use about being strong! About being able to take care of ourselves, but humbling ourselves enough to be a part of a team! To make smart decisions! He could have found some other people to be in his peerage way sooner than us! Why did he wait?!"

"Because…"

Hao looked down in disbelief at the hand the now covered is own. Naruto's eyes were opened and looked up to Hao's with kindness. Even though he had a mask on his face with a tube entering his mouth, Naruto smiled as his [Bishop], even though it looked strained.

"I had… to take care of you…"

Shock and a little bit of fear was evident on Hao's face as he snatched his hand away from Naruto "You're awake?"

Naruto slightly giggled to himself, but it didn't sound as happy as it would while in his orb form. Kuroka ran to the other side of his bed to make sure he was ok. "Naruto. You're finally awake." tears started to form as she smiled at her [King] with all the love she could muster.

"You think I'm… weak?" Naruto coughed out. Hao growled and took a step back from Naruto's bed.

"I do. I think you put yourself in this predicament. I don't feel bad for you one bit!" he yelled.

Naruto started to laugh, but he couldn't continue as he coughed again. Kuroka looked at him in worry, but he didn't pay attention to her. All his attention was on Hao. "True, I put mys..myself in this predicament, but for good… reason…" he wheezed out "But my [Bishop] thinks I'm weak… eh heheheh…. what a joke."

"Excuse me?" Hao said with a glare at his [King]. Naruto continued to weakly laugh like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Come back in four days…" the room started to noticeably get colder and the pressure increased slightly. Naruto's magic was building up inside of him at a surprising rate "and I'll show you… who's weak."

The glare that Naruto was shooting at Hao made him shiver. Even the Spirit of Fire, a being of fire, lightly groaned at the feeling overcoming his partner. The coldness in those eyes was something neither of them was expecting. Even in his sicken-state, Naruto's glare put fear in Hao's heart, but he hid his fear well with a glare of his own. Hao took a few steps back before disappearing in his own magic circle.

When Hao left, the invisible pressure in the room disappeared. Naruto sighed as he tried to sit up, but Kuroka pushed him back down. His body was still very weak, so it didn't take a lot of force to overpower him.

"Naruto, you must stay still...Your still healing, nya." Kuroka said in his ear quietly. His other peerage members surrounded the bed, making sure that their master was okay.

He grinned at his [Queen]. "Well, if the doctor… said I can't move, I'll stay still." he said with a grin that made Kuroka's heart pump faster. "However, I have such a good feeling… welling up inside of my chest. This is the first time I get to see you all…with my own eyes."

"We're just glad you're okay from that idiot." Orochimaru said with his own rare, serene smile "We'll make sure that you are well guarded until your fully healed, Naruto-sama."

"Thanks, but it won't be needed. I'm okay with Kuroka staying here with me. She can handle the job, isn't that right, my p… protégé?" Naruto ended with a gasp. He still felt weak, but he was happy that he could finally talk to his family members in person.

"Nya, I'll take care of you, Naruto. Just go back to sleep…" a magic seal appeared over Kuroka's hand and she held it over Naruto's face. Purple stardust that glittered from the sunlight entering the room from the window fell from the seal and on Naruto's face. He took in a deep breath, inhaling some of the dust, before slowly fall back to sleep.

"Sleeping powder, I assume." Anna said. Kuroka nodded and placed Naruto's head on her breast.

"Yes. It won't harm him. He needs to rest." she said quietly "You all can leave if you want. I can handle things from here."

"If that is your wish…" Orochimaru muttered as he slowly made his way out of the room, followed by Anna and Kisame.

"Damn, who knew that Hao was so fucked up?" were Kisame's final words as he closed the door behind him.

 **Occult Research Club**

Rias was by herself in the building. She was meditating on her situation with her [Pawn], Issei.

' _I honestly don't know what to do.'_ she thought to herself in worry. _'Everything I try, I mess up. I don't have any ideas and he won't even give me his time of day.'_

Rias sighed as she ran her hands through her hair in stress. "Damn it, I need help with this. If only-"

"Ria-taannnnnnn!"

Rias groaned as she heard the familiar voice of her brother. "Why are you here?"

Appearing suddenly out of nowhere, Sirzechs launched himself at his sister, hugging her tightly. Rias blushed in embarrassment as she tried to push Sirzechs off. "Big brother! Get off of me!"

"Oh, I haven't seen my little, itty-bitty, sister in so long! How have you been! You look well! Did you brush your teeth!?"

It took a while, but Sirzechs finally calmed down after a few more minutes of agony. He sat down in one of the couches and smiled at his younger sister. "You do look well, but I'm feeling the sense that you're troubled in some way. Can I help somehow?"

Rias sighed and contemplated her decision on speaking with her brother. _'Even though I've already asked for ideas from Yuuto, I guess I'd be good if to ask for help from another man.'_ she internally decided that talking to her brother would be the right move after all.

"I do have a problem and I guess I could use some advice. But I don't want you to take this like it's a game! I want you to be fully co-operative and serious!" she said with a pout.

"Anything for my little sister." he said with a smile. Rias smiled slightly at his statement, but quickly went back to her business-like attitude.

"My [Pawn], Issei Hyoudou. Do you know of him?" she asked.

"Yea, I actually do. We met a few days ago." he answered, surprising the younger Gremory.

"Y-you did? Why didn't he say anything?"

Sirzechs frowned as he thought back to the night of Naruto's revival. He felt as if it wasn't his right to reveal what they were up to, so he quickly came up with a lie. "I don't know why, but we were watching TV." he didn't like lying to his little sister, but it wasn't his place to tell her everything going on.

"Where were you at and why didn't you tell me you were in town?" she asked with a frown.

"We'll, you might as well know this now, the [Queen] of that peerage is Kuroka the Nekomata, Koneko's older sister." Rias' eyes widened in shock "There was another deal with your marriage with Riser. If they were to break your contract with Riser through Rating Game, I'd disable Kuroka's statues as an SS-class stray devil."

"But why?!" shouted Rias in confusion and anger. She knew what that woman did and it was disgusting. "Why would you free her of her status as a stray-devil?"

"It's hard to explain, but know that she's innocent and I was told that through a reliable source." he answered plainly.

"But what if they were lying? What if-

"They weren't lying." he said with all seriousness. Rias didn't like the answer, however.

"Onii-sama, you have to understand-

"I understand quite enough, Rias." he said sternly, shutting her up "It's just things that you don't understand yet. You'll learn soon enough."

"I… I guess, but what were you doing over there anyway?" she quickly wanted continue with the subject at hand. A serious Sirzechs was a scary Sirzechs, after all.

"Me and Orochimaru are friends." he said with a shoulder shrug. "We meet up at his house and Issei was there at the time."

"Oh… that makes sense." Rias muttered sadly, causing Sirzechs to raise an eyebrow.

"Is something the matter?" he asked his sister, in which she went into full detail of everything happening with her and her [Pawn]. Sirzechs listened quietly, making sure to fully understand the situation his little sister was in before giving her his answer.

"So that's basically it." she finished with a sigh. Truly, she has never been more stressed out over something… well, other than her arranged marriage, but that's over now.

"Mmhmmm, seems like you have a real problem at hand. Young Issei is finding out for himself how the world works and he doesn't like it one bit." said Sirzechs, rubbing his chin in thought.

"It is and I've tried getting him to understand that I'm not like that, but he won't listen." she said sadly. "I've ran out of ideas and I don't know what to do."

Sirzechs sighed in stress "I've got a boat load of problems of my own and it's similar to your problem, Rias."

She raised an eyebrow at her brother in interest "How so?"

"There's been a growing distrust of high-class devils from the lower classes." he explained "My stunt to save the young Phenex wasn't taken so well. People are starting to see things in a different way…. and while I don't support this growing movement, I can't say that I feel guilty for how it is."

"You're a good hearted person, Onii-sama." Rias said confidently "They'll understand that it won't be a big problem for long."

"No, Rias… no, it will be a problem; a problem that may last for a while. Just the other day, one of my butlers tried to assassinate me."

The younger Gremory couldn't even form words as her mouth was slightly ajar in shock. Someone tried him? One of his own servants wanted to kill the leader of the Underworld?

"Things are changing. I should have done something else with the Raval Phenex. Maybe I should have left her alone, even if it came with the cost of losing the support of the Phenex Clan. And before you yell in disagreement, know that what I did could start another civil war. I hope that it doesn't, but it may start another if things continue with how it is. While the Gremory are nice to their servants, there are clans that treat their servants however they want. The lower classes are sick of the favoritism that we high-class devils have and want things to change."

"That's a lot to process. I didn't know things were getting that bad." she muttered quietly.

"They are… but I'll handle it the right way. I want to avoid war. Low-class devils make the majority of our species, so it wouldn't make sense not to listen to their demands. I'll make sure everything will go as smooth as possible." he said with a smile.

"And that's what makes you a great leader, Onii-sama." Rias said with a genuine smile.

"Thanks for that, Ria-tan, but you have your own problem that needs handling, right?" she nodded in agreement "Well then, I think I have a solution."

"Which is?" she said with child-like curiosity, leaning towards her brother in excitement.

"Fight him."

Rias slapped her forehead and groaned "Fight him? Do you honestly think that will work?"

"I don't see anything else you've come up work yet." Rias growled at Sirzechs' shot which was filled with truth "Listen, I know more about boys than you do. There isn't nothing like a good ole' tussle when things turn sour."

"I know, but why would that work?" she asked.

"Whenever Ajuka and I would disagree during our younger days, we would fight it out. While it wasn't the safest things to do, fighting helped us understand one another. That same thing could happen with you and Issei." he said with a shrug.

"Really? I'm not too excited at the idea of fighting my own servant." she said, displeased with Sirzechs' answer to her problem.

"I promise you; sometimes you need to use your fist to solve your problems. It's the best way for you to understand him and for him to understand you. You have to do something different if you want to show him you're serious of gaining his trust, Ria-tan. It's just how things work."

"If you say so…" she said with a sigh "Seriously, I will never understand boys…"

"You never will, either." he said with a laugh "I have to go now, but I hope you find success with your [Pawn]. I'd hate it if you two didn't get along, which would cause him to rebel against you, which would then make him into a stray devil, which would make me put a bounty on his head."

"Uh..y-yea.." Rias said with uncertainty "Well, I guess this is good bye."

"Yup! Make sure to keep doing well in school! You are the heiress of the Gremory Clan after all!" he said with a wave as he disappeared.

Rias frowned once her brother was gone. While it was always good to see her brother, his idea did put her on edge. "Fight him? That doesn't sound logical. I'm sure something will pop up soon."

Rias straightened her desk for the night before teleporting herself to the Hyoudou Residence for the night.

 **Hyoudou Residence**

Rias sat down on the couch with Asia, who was watching some cartoon. They all, excluding Issei, had dinner not too long ago and the elder Hyoudou's retired to their room for the night. Issei hadn't returned home yet so his dinner was in the fridge, waiting for him.

"How was your day, Buchou?" asked Asia politely.

"It went well." she said with a smile "Nothing was a burden; however, I'm still trying to find a way to prove myself to Issei."

"He told me about the fight you two had." she mumbled "I don't like that you two aren't getting along. It's very hard seeing two friends fight."

"I know, Asia, but it's just something I have to deal with. A lot of the things I've done these past few weeks have been unfair and I'm just now learning that. I guess I'm not fit out to be [King]…"

"N-no! Buchou is a great [King]! You just have a lot to learn! I couldn't have the job you had, Buchou! But you take all the stress with pride a-and I really admire that about you!" Asia squeaked out.

Rias smiled at the younger girl "Thank you for that, Asia. I really appreciate you being here with me at this time."

"No problem, Buchou." she answered back with a smile of her own "I just hope-

The front door suddenly opened, cutting the conversation between [King] and [Bishop]. Issei entered the house drenched in sweat, probably from his training session with Lee. Both Rias and Asia stood up and greeted Issei happily. He waved at the two, but he was too tired to say anything as he headed upstairs.

"Where are you going, Issei?" Asia asked cutely.

"Shower." he said simply as he continued his walk. He seemed to almost struggle going up the stairs to the bathroom from the fatigue he was feeling. The two watched him march up the stairs with worry until he was gone from sight.

"He's really trying hard to get stronger." Asia said.

"He is, but I don't want him to run himself to the ground. Too much training could be bad for his health." Rias said.

"Yes, but I think he needs this." said Asia as she sat back down. Rias followed her [Bishop] to the couch and sat with her.

"Why do you say that?" Rias asked with curiosity.

"I watched the fight that the other peerage had for us along with the battle that the guy who wears that green jump suit. Issei seemed a little scared when we watched it over and over together. I guess he was putting himself in their situation and judging what he could do."

"And his results?" Rias asked, but she knew the answer.

"He wouldn't survive: I'm sure that's what he was thinking. That's why, even though he's immersing himself into his training, I'm glad that he is doing this for himself. He has a drive, and if he's happy, then I'm happy for him. It's what makes Issei- Issei." the blonde concluded.

"It's what makes Issei- Issei…" Rias rubbed her chin in thought "What do you think I do to represent myself, Asia?"

"You, Buchou?" she asked with confusion "Well… you run the Occult Research Club! You are a top student at Kuoh and you have people adoring you everywhere you go."

"I know that," Rias said with a hair flip "but forget about my image. What do you think my goals are? What drives me to do the things I do? What makes Rias Gremory… just Rias?"

Asia was silent, contemplating on her answer, before saying her thoughts out loud.

"I don't know."

Rias stared at Asia with no expression on her face. Asia looked at her friend in worry, thinking that she said something wrong. She didn't know of Rias' goals or anything, but that didn't mean that she didn't like Rias Gremory as a person. "I-I mean, that i-isn't a b-bad thing! Many people haven't f-found themselves, even in old age!"

"I get that…" Rias sighed and sat back into the couch "It's just that I've grown up to believe that I'm so special! That I'm this and that! I've had everything I wanted handed to me on a silver platter, but did that come at the cost of not even developing myself as a person? Or course, I'll grow with age, but that's just my mentality and my body. But me… as just Rias… I don't even know if I have an identity…"

"Well… have you ever done something to find yourself?" Asia asked, genially concerned "Have you let anyone else know about your… identity issue?"

"I…I haven't. Well, maybe Akeno… but I haven't fully expressed myself to anyone… ever."

"Well, maybe you should one day- whenever you're ready to do so." said Asia as she stood up "I'm sleepy now. I have a test tomorrow that I must be rest for so I can perform well. Good night." Asia said with a happy smile and a wave.

"Good night, Asia." Rias said with a kind hearted smile "I think I'll stay up for a little while longer before going to sleep. Thanks for this conversation. I needed it."

Asia nodded at her [King] before headed upstairs for bed. Rias sat there for while, contemplating on her conversations with both Asia and Sirzechs. She wasn't going to fight Issei, that's for certain, but what other option did she have? He wouldn't talk to her- he wouldn't even look in her direction!

She sat on the couch for a while, not even noticing time flying by. When it was almost midnight, Rias was finally aware of the time and quickly headed to bed. However, she usually slept with Issei and Asia in Issei's room, so she wasn't looking forward to the awkwardness awaiting her.

Entering and closing the door behind her, it was dark in the room and she could her Asia's snoozing. She was hugging onto Issei's left arm and using as a pillow. She smiled at the cute scene and walked over to the right side of the bed. She stripped from all of her clothing, revealing her amazing figure, but her peerage members were too deep in their sleep to notice. She slid into bed and pulled the covers over her, sighing in content at the softness that rubbed against her nude body. Rias bit the bottom of her lip when she saw Issei's other arm on his side. Asia, surprisingly, didn't try to hog it like how she would try to.

' _Should I?'_ she thought to herself. While the bed felt good, the heat that Issei would radiate would always feel amazing. But she didn't want to intrude. They were on bad terms anyway…

' _Well, we are sleeping in the same bed…and he is asleep. Maybe he won't notice?'_ she said with a small blush as she scooted next to Issei and grabbed his arm-

"What are you doing?" Issei's voice surprised the Gremory. She flinched at his voice, but couldn't see his face since he was cuddled up with Asia.

"I-I just wanted to… you know…" Rias' blush continued to grow along with her embarrassment at being caught.

Issei turned his head enough to see Rias' red face, but he didn't react to it. "You know… before all of this mess between us happened, I would have loved to be in this same position."

Rias' blush started to fade away as the pressure of the room started to increase. "I know that." she muttered.

"Then you understand why I don't want to be close to you. You being in the same bed with me are already pushing my limits."

"Listen, Ise, I understand that you're mad at me and I'm sorry for the argument we had a few days ago… I've… I've been jealous of the attention you've been giving them." the Gremory admitted.

"You mean Lee, Yoh, and Orochimaru?" he asked.

"All of them. You tend to get along with them so well… I look at that peerage and compare them to my own… while they are stronger than us, for sure, I don't see much of a difference. Both peerages see all the members as family." she explained.

"No, they don't consider each other as family members." Rias raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Issei continued "That peerage was first formed a few weeks ago. They all met each other at the same time, excluding Orochimaru who said he met everyone other than their [Queen]. They're not a family yet because they hardly know each other, but they're taking the time to do so… and they're doing it the right way."

"I see you, Kiba, Akeno, Koneko, and Asia smile and talk with each other after school in the clubhouse. You all have a connection, but I don't feel that when I'm with you. I feel that sense of friendship when I'm hanging out with Lee and Yoh. When I fight against Anna and Kisame for the TV remote, I feel happy. Even when I mediate with Orochimaru and Hao, they're nice to me. And now that their [Queen] is back, I can already tell that she's an amazing person. I just… fit in more with them…" he finished.

"But if Asia can accept us, why can't you?" Rias grabbed his arm and held it to her chest "I want you to see us in the same light. I don't want you thinking that we're against you. I know a lot of my past mistakes with you have been selfish, but I'm willing to start over now. I truly want you to see us as your family."

"I'm sorry, Buchou, but I don't know if that is possible." Rias' eyes widened with hurt. Tears started to form around the edges of her eyes. "I see you all laughing and smiling… enjoying each other's company….. And Yuuma's face just pops up all the time in my head. I'm haunted by it. Whenever I'm around you, her image appears in my mind and it stops me from getting closer to you. She's a reminder."

"I'm sorry, Ise, but I feel like they're trying to steal you away from me." she whispered. Her body was shaking while she tried to hold back tears. "I try to understand you, but don't give me the opportunity to do so."

Issei stared at Rias' face for a while. Her teal-blue eyes were filled with tears and she was gripping his arm like it was her lifeline. Her body was lightly shaking and he could tell that she was trying to stop herself before becoming an emotional wreck.

Another girl appeared over Rias' shaking body. Issei's breath hitched as Yuuma appeared smiling down at him. Her eyes were the same, along with her hair, skin tone…. Issei swore he could smell the scent of apples, the same scent that he burnt into memory while on his date with her.

" _Are you going to join the girl that had a part of my doom?"_ Yuuma's mouth didn't move, but Issei heard her voice clear as day.

"No." he said out loud. Rias didn't know that Issei was seeing things and couldn't hold back the tears. She muffled her mouth with her hand as she cried, not even knowing of Issei's own internal struggles.

Yuuma's face suddenly turned viscous, mirroring the smile of Raynare. Yuuma's smile, hair, and over all attitude changed into the fallen angel that killed him to what seemed like months ago.

" _She'll just do you like how I did!"_ Yuuma turned Rayare laughed evilly _"Just watch! She's the heiress of the Gremory! You think she has time to really appreciate you!? Everything coming out of her mouth is lies! LIES!"_

Issei rolled over, back to his position he was in with Asia before Rias entered the room. While Rias was silently sobbing, Issei had his own tears running down his cheeks. He pulled his arm out of Rias' grasp and used it to wrap around Asia. He gritted his teeth and forced his eyes shut, but the echoes of Raynare's laughter reverberated in his mind.

A crying Gremory…

A crying servant…

Asia unconsciously smiled and cuddled up to the extra warmth that hugged her body…

The orange orb disappeared…

 **The next morning**

"40..41…42…43..44….45"

" **Are you alright, partner?"** a green light flashed from Issei's right hand as Ddraig spoke out loud.

"Perfect….46..47…48.."

" **I listened to the conversation you had with the Gremory last night. While I understand that you are feeling a world of hurt, it isn't all her fault. I say you put this behind you."**

"49….50…." Issei looked at the bar and another shot of Yuuma's face flashed in his mind "51….52…53…"

" **Are you ignoring me, partner?"** Ddraig asked with a little edge in his voice.

"I'm not ignoring you." Issei said, keeping a mental count of his reps in his head "I just don't want to talk about her."

" **Then when are you going to recognize your problem that you've had? I've held onto your secret, but this problem isn't something that I can help you with. You need outside help. You're haunted by that girl and the fallen angel and you're holding all of it in. It's not healthy at all."**

"I know, Ddraig, but I don't want to tell anyone yet. I don't want to be a burden anymore." Issei answered.

" **Alright, but when I believe this problem of yours is too much for you to handle, I'll step in."** the dragon finished as he went back into his slumber.

"Thanks." said Issei as he continued to lift his weights. He thought back to the day Rias had helped him with his reps that day. He could barely get to 40, but he had somehow got past that. He made it to 50 with her help, but he needed to be stronger so that he didn't have to depend on anyone because the time where he has to defend himself and anyone around him would come back around. He had to be ready.

Issei racked up the bar and sighed in content. He stood up from his bench and started to walk out the basement. He grinned when he flexed, flashing his muscles at the mirror in the room.

"70 reps with 200 pounds? I'm getting better." he said to himself with a genuine smile as he turned the lights off and closed the door behind him.

After taking a quick shower, he put on his uniform and headed downstairs to see his parents and Asia finishing up breakfast.

"Mornin'." Issei said with a wave.

"Hello, dear." Mrs. Hyoudou said with a smile "I have your food ready for you. I saw your plate from last night was still in the fridge. Did you not like it?"

"No, I just wasn't hungry last night, but now I am!" he said as he devoured the eggs his mother made. She smiled at her son while Asia giggled at how he ate his food.

"Something seemed the matter with Rias today." Mr. Hyoudou said after he took a sip of his coffee "Do you know any reason why?"

"No, I don't." Issei internally cursed at himself. He was lying way to easily now. _'I've been around Orochimaru to much lately. I'm picking up his antics.'_ "Did she already leave?"

"Yeah, she left not too long ago." Asia said with a frown "She really did seem upset."

Issei hummed in thought, thinking back to their conversation last night. He didn't regret what he said, but he didn't like it either. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating his breakfast. _'She's Rias Gremory, after all. Nothing will bother her for too long. She'll find a way.'_

 **Later that day**

Students stepped out of the Gremory's way as she strutted down the hallways. It was unusual to see her frowning, but today was the first time the students of Kuoh Academy actually saw Rias Gremory angry. For what reason, nobody knew, but the atmosphere around her screamed at everyone to take a few steps back.

As for Rias herself, her expression on the outside matched her thoughts on the inside. She was angry. Really angry. The conversation between Issei and her last night made her cry for sure…. but now it made her angry. She had tried so many things! So many opportunities she's given her [Pawn] and he just brushed her aside when she was at her weakest. Sure, her thoughts were very selfish, but she deserved to be angry right now, right!?

Akeno followed her friend down the hall with a worried look. The last time Rias looked this mad, it was when she was told that she was in an arranged marriage. It was a rare sight indeed and Akeno felt sorry for whatever got her friend this mad, for they won't be around to talk about it for long.

The two entered Orochimaru's room silently and made their way to their seats. Rias sat down and crossed her hands together. She looked at the clock in the room. They had three more minutes until class started. Orochimaru wasn't in the room yet, but a few students were. She started to tap her foot on the ground with impatience. It was like everything was trying to piss her off today! Even time wouldn't speed up to sate her anger! This was-

Rias felt a hand on her shoulder and she jerked her head to the owner. Akeno's worried face stopped her from striking out and calmed her down a little. "What's wrong? Please don't tell me nothing because everyone in school can feel something is wrong. You know you can tell me anything and it'll stay in-between us."

Rias smiled and nodded at her friend, telling her every little detail of what happened last night. Akeno listened to Rias' story, internalizing it fully to understand her situation with her [Pawn].

"Now that he did that, I don't even feel sad anymore. I feel angry at him. I've tried and tried and tried and nothing works."

"So you're giving up on him?" Akeno asked with a frown.

"I don't know. I…"

"Good evening, class." Orochimaru entered the room at the same time the bell rang "Glad to see everyone safe and sound."

Rias raised an eyebrow at Orochimaru. He didn't have the same attitude that he had yesterday. He almost seemed happier than how he usually was.

"Do you feel better from yesterday, Mr. Tsuki?" asked one of his students.

"Very much so." he said with a smile that made some of the girls swoon at him with hearts in their eyes "Something happened to me yesterday and it boosted my spirits quite a bit."

"What was it, if you don't mind us asking?" a male student asked.

Orochiamru's grin grew even bigger, if that was even possible "A friend of mine returned."

For a while, she didn't understand what he meant, but then it clicked. Rias' eyes met Orochimaru's own and the two entered their usual staring contest of wits. Orochimaru grin just confirmed it for her. While she didn't know the underlining meaning of what Orochimaru said.

"Here's another lesson that doesn't have anything to do with chemistry, class." Orochimaru walked to his board and wrote 'risk' in its kanji form. "Sometimes in life, you must do what others believe is unordinary in order to discover something new. Many chemists of the past were considered crazy for their ideas, but were later praised as geniuses for their findings later on in their career. You have to take risk in life that will make you stand out from others, or to accomplish your goals."

She took a deep breath. "You're talking to me, aren't you?" she whispered, but she knew Orochimaru heard her with his keen hearing.

"I sure am." he answered without looking at her. He was more focused on pulling out his lesson book for the day. Some of the students looked at him in confusion, not picking up on the secret conversation their teacher and classmate were having.

Rias stood from her seat, catching everyone's attention. "Mr. Tsuki, may Akeno and I please be dismissed? We have important club business that needs urgent attention."

"Knock yourself out." he said nonchalantly. Rias rolled her eyes at Orochimaru before picking up her bags and leaving the room. Akeno had to take in what was happening for a few seconds before picking up her things and following her best friend out the door. Sona and Tsubaki looked on in interest, but didn't do anything to stop them.

"Buchou, what are we doing?" asked Akeno as they walked down the halls.

"Akeno, go pick up Issei from his class. Tell their teacher that its important." it was all Rias gave her [Queen] before disappearing in a magic seal. Her mind was made up.

 **Occult Research Club**

"Eh, Akeno, do you know what's going on?" Issei asked with his hands behind his head. The two were inside the ORC and headed to the main room where Rias was waiting for them.

"I honestly don't know what Buchou is doing either." said Akeno as she opened the door for the both of them.

Inside of the room was Rias, sitting at her desk with her hands laced together. Issei raised an eyebrow at her but made his way to in front of her desk. Akeno looked on from the sidelines, wondering where Rias was taking things.

"Hello, Issei." Rias said in a business-like manner. Issei gave her a quick wave before speaking his own thoughts.

"Buchou, why am I here?" he asked plainly.

"I'm going to be honest with you Issei, I've done almost everything I can think of to convince you that you belong in this group with us. Our conversation we had last night crushed me, but this morning I woke up angry at you… along with myself."

"You were angry with me and yourself?" he asked, highly confused on what was going on.

"Yes. I was angry at my own incompetence," she shot her [Pawn] a deadly glare that made him flinch "but I was angrier at you for dismissing my family like we mean nothing to you."

"N-no, that isn't what I meant!" he said in worry "I just feel like this peerage was forced upon me and I hate that! I didn't have any say-so about my own life! I'm tired of explaining this to you!"

"And I've accepted that, but you clearly haven't." she said, not even affected at his outburst. She was through feeling like she had to please him any longer.

"And I don't think I will! You stole my life from me!" he said with a pointed index finger at the Gremory "You didn't ask me if I wanted to be revived! You waited until I died! Who in the fuck would do something so sick!?"

"You would!" she shouted and slammed her hand on her desk for adding effect. Issei took a step back from Rias, generally surprised at her new outburst.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" he said with a little hesitation.

"Please forgive me if I'm wrong, but weren't you crying to me asking if I could revive Asia when she was dead?" Issei's eyes widened in both fear and shock as he thought back to that day "She was dead and on her way to heaven. I admit that I didn't want to revive her while she didn't have her Sacred Gear. However, YOU wanted her back for your own selfish desires! I wanted her power but I also revived Asia so you can trust me! You knew what you were doing and you ignored the consequences! Asia can no longer go to heaven now, true, but the decision of her being a devil isn't fully my fault!"

A scowl grew on Issei's face as he glared at Rias "What's the point of this fucking conversation anyway? What's the real reason why you called me here?"

"I want you to understand that under pressure, you would make the same selfish decisions that I would." she said as she walked in front of Issei with her arms crossed over her bountiful breast "I'm forcing you to see that your decision to save Asia was similar to my own! Did you ask her if she wanted to become a devil? Do you know why she still keeps her bible under the bed, even though she knows that she can't pray to God anymore? Did you factor what could happen to her when she died, or did you want her back because you believed that it wasn't her time to go yet?!"

Issei was quiet, gritting his teeth in anger because he couldn't answer back. She was right. She was right about everything. Asia was in the same position that he was, but he helped in decision of turning Asia into a devil. He never thought of it that way, but now that Rias presented the evidence in front of him, he felt like the world's biggest hypocrite.

He looked down in shame, but Rias wasn't finished. "Now you understand what I did. I needed you to help combat my arranged marriage and I felt like what I did was right at the time. I see the error in my ways now, but I will no longer let you continue to act like I'm some evil demon!"

Issei wanted to say something but Rias beat him to it. "And since you don't like my peerage so much, I'll give you the opportunity to leave it now!"

"What?" he looked up at his [King], shock and confusion evident on his face. What could she mean by that?

"You like that other peerage so much, huh? Well I'm here to propose a deal with you. Issei Hyoudou, defeat me and I'll request a trade with the [King] of Orochimaru! You can be a part of their peerage and I'll get the equivalent amount of pieces I spent on you! However, if you lose, you shall continue to be a part of this peerage and actually try to get to know everyone!"

"You can't be serious…" he muttered. He had really made her angry if she was pulling off something like this.

"Rias, this is too much! You proved your point!" shouted Akeno from the sidelines.

Rias ignored Akeno and gave Issei her final remarks "You want to be a Harem King? Or you want to protect those you love, right? Whatever your fucking dream is, you have a better chance at accomplishing that with THEM! They are stronger than us, something you keep reminding me of every other damn day! So I'm giving you the opportunity to leave and be with who you want to be with! I've prepared a barrier on the outside of town so we can battle it out until our heart's desires. You shall come at me with the intent to kill since you are fighting for your 'freedom', right?" she mocked.

"Buchou…" Issei looked at Rias in disbelief.

"Akeno will take you there." a magic circle appeared under Rias "If you're a man, you'd come." and she disappeared.

Akeno couldn't believe what she saw. He had never seen Rias that angry before. "We-well, what do you want to do?" she asked.

"I didn't want it to be like this..." Issei mumbled as he sat down and ran his hands through his hair "This is crazy."

"Crazy, yes, but she feels like you've back her into a corner." said Akeno as she walked up to the younger devil "You haven't given her many opportunities, Issei. While I do feel like this is a bit much, I understand why she's doing this."

"What do you think I should do then?" he asked her.

"Well, I am a little biased, so I'd say go fight her and lose, fufufufu." he said with a laugh. Issei smiled too, but confusion was easily recognizable on his face. "But, being honest with you, whatever you choose, I'll support. Even if you fight so you can be traded, it's your decision. I just want to let you know that I've enjoyed your time here with us and I hope you'll stay, regardless of what happens out there with Rias."

"Thanks… thanks for that, Akeno. It means more than you know." he said as he stood up with a sigh.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked.

"Even though I don't like this, she did challenge my manhood with her last statement. Sorry if I hit your best friend a couple times, Akeno, but I gotta do it." he said with a smirk.

"Just don't do anything to crazy." she said as she summoned a magic circle and disappeared with Issei.

 **Outskirts of Kuoh**

Akeno and Issei appeared in the middle of a cleared out field. They were on the opposite side of the barrier that Rias set up. Rias herself was on the other side with her arms crossed, waiting on the two. She glared at Issei when their eyes met.

"So you decided to fight for your freedom?" she said with a little anger in her tone.

"Yes, Buchou, I'll fight you, but I'll decide on what I want to do with myself during this fight." he said confidently as he marched towards the middle of the field.

Rias laughed mockingly "It must be nice being able to decide what you want..."

"What?" asked Issei in confusion.

"Never mind it." she said with a growl "You came here for one thing and that's it. Conversation isn't necessary at this point. The only thing that matters now is the fight."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Buchou? I think you need to calm down and think about this more."

"I've already thought enough." Rias' body was surrounded by a red veil of power "It's time to show you that I'm not everything you think I am. I can make decisions for myself…I'll show you who I really am!"

"Well let's get to it then!" shouted Issei as he summoned his Boosted Gear. "No holding back..."

 **Rias Gremory, full-blooded high-class devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Issei Hyoudou, low-class devil, [Pawn]**

" **Be careful partner. We know what your [King]'s Power of Destruction is capable of. We need to get in close and make this fight physical!"** shouted Ddraig.

"Right! Let's go!" shouted Issei as he summoned his wings and flew towards Rias.

"Not so fast!" Rias summoned multiple magical circles and a shower of bolts of PoD rained down on Issei.

" **Use your swiftness!"**

"I know!" shouted Issei to his dragon partner as he swirled in and out of the rain of bolts of destruction. He flew in the sky and continued to avoid the bolts while trying to find a blind spot on Rias.

"You're not the only one who can fly, Issei!" shouted Rias as she summoned her own devil wings and flew up towards Issei while releasing a torrent of bolts in his direction.

' _There!'_ Issei mentally shouted as he nosedived to Rias. He was still dodging her attacks, but now that she was flying towards him, she was subtracting the distance between them. All he had to do was keep on dodging her attacks until he was close enough to fight her hand-to-hand.

"Shit." Rias muttered when Issei was getting closer to her. Her anger was clouding her judgment so early in the fight. She quickly switched from offense to defense and summoned another magic circle, only it was for blocking attacks.

Issei was right in front of Rias now and was going to use the power of gravity from his fall into his first attack. He reared his fist back as he neared towards Rias and her shield.

" **Boost!"** his gauntlet shouted, and at the perfect time. An extra wave of energy filled Issei's being as he punched and broke through Rias' shield.

"Ahh!" she shouted Issei's fist met her stomach. While the shield took the brute of the punch, it still hurt her somewhat. She was falling back down on the ground, but she caught herself by flexing her wings outwards, stopping her decent. She was rather close to the ground, however. Something that Issei was going to exploit.

"Too slow!" Issei shouted as he landed on the ground, quicker than what Rias had anticipated. He grabbed Rias' leg and tossed her towards one of the nearby trees.

Rias quickly gathered herself and made another defensive seal to block herself from the tree. She gritted her teeth in anger and flashed a glare at the grinning Issei.

"Too quick for ya', eh Buchou? Maybe sitting at that desk for so long stopped you from doing what really matters: training!" he shouted with a cocky smirk that reminded Rias of Orochimaru's own.

"I'll show you! I can handle myself!" Rias concentrated her magic into many small orbs of destruction and sent them flying at Issei.

" **Boost!"** another surge of power filled Issei's being as he flew over the small orbs. He smirked at Rias at her failed attack, but the smile on her face sent a wave a dread through his body. His instincts were screaming for him to move from his current position, and when he did, the same orbs of destruction flew around where he once was. They were back on the offensive and followed Issei around in the air.

"Guided missiles?!" Issei said as he moved left and right, dodging the orbs but they kept following him. "I've never seen something like this before…" he mumbled.

"Look alive, Ise!" his eyes widened when Rias entered his field of vision. She was right in front of him, in the air and sending a blast of PoD his way. He was already moving to quick in her direction to dodge the incoming blast, so he crossed his arms over his chest and tanked the blast.

"AHH!" he shouted as he was blasted back from the force of the attack. It was stronger than he expected, but it wasn't as strong as Lee's punches. Not by a long shot. _'I can keep moving, even if-_

The orbs that were following Issei exploded once they made contact with Issei's back. A large smokescreen filled the air and Rias watched it all with a smirk as she floated back down to the ground.

"You underestimate me, Ise. I am a [King] for a reason. I am a battle tactician by studying many Rating Games for years. I know when to make up a good plan." she said confidently as she waited for the smoke to clear.

" **Boost! Boost! Boost!"** she heard from the smokescreen. Issei flew out of the smoke with a deadly rage in his eyes. She quickly reacted by send a large blast of her power at Issei.

"You want to fight seriously huh!?" he shouted in rage. That last attack damaged his back a lot and it stung to move. However, with his endurance training with Lee, he could keep on moving without focusing on the pain.

" **Explosion!"** shouted Booster Gear as a mixture of green and red energy surrounded Issei. Acting quickly to the approaching energy blast headed his way, he made a small ball of energy and then punching it with all his might.

"Dragon Shot!" he shouted. Rias' eyes widened at the magnitude of Issei's blast. It easily overpowered her own attack and the remaining energy was headed in her direction. She sent a beam of destruction at Issei's Dragon shot and entered a beam struggle with it. The ground underneath her shift from the pressure and her feet started to dig into it. Sweet poured from Rias' forehead as she continued to pour in magic to support her beam, but her arms started to buckle from the pressure that was exerted from it.

To her surprise, Issei landed in front of her again, only this time, his palm was firmly planted on the ground and his right leg was outstretched. _'Is he going to?'_

"Leaf Hurricane!" Issei copied one of his best friend's moves, but it lacked the wind magic behind it. Even if it did, it Issei's base strength was enough to swipe at Rias' feet and she lost her balance.

' _If he's using that, then his next attack-'_ thinking quickly and using her last battle against Lee as her source of information, Rias anticipated Issei, who ran towards her falling body intending to land a menacing punch to her mid-section. Summoning a large portion of her remaining power, she outstretched her hand at Issei's gauntlet-enhanced arm with sent a powerful bolt of her Power of Destruction at him.

The two entered a struggle of power as Issei's Boosted Gear was blocking the bolt of death. The force of the struggle pushed Rias' back onto the ground, but she kept focusing on her power into her magic outage.

"GrrRR!" Rias growled as she tried to keep the pressure on her side of things, but she wasn't in a favorable position. Her being on her back was uncomfortable and rocks were starting to dig into her skin as the pressure of their struggle continued to climb.

She flinched at she noticed that Issei was inching closer and closer to her. It was like he was even affected by the power struggle as his only goal was to knock the living shit out of her.

" **Boost!"** Rias eyes widened when she heard Issei's power double again. Issei's hand was now totally passing through her magic easily and was quickly gaining ground on her. Thinking quickly, Rias pushed off on the ground with her other hand and rolled over, instantly summoning her wings and flew away from her [Pawn].

"She's running." Issei said with a frown. "This shit is stupid. I don't see the purpose of-" Issei took another step on the ground and red magic circle appeared out of nowhere, catching him off guard. He wasn't quick enough o move out of the way as lightning coursed through his body, causing him to shout in pain.

Rias smirked a little, glad she planted the small mine down when she flipped over, but her focused glare grew back on her face once she saw Issei fly into the air with her. While he was the one taking the most damage out of the two, her magic reserves were getting close to its end. The next shot was going to have to do it for her.

"You seemed pretty banged up." she said with crossed arms. His shirt was basically destroyed, only hanging on by a few threads, and his pants had a few holes in them. "While you do have raw strength on your side, you're not planning your attacks at all. I guess they didn't teach you that, huh?"

"Shut up." Issei said with a growl "I've learned a lot with them and I'm not going to let you disrespect them. Lee, Yoh, Orochimaru- they are all good people."

"I don't care if they're good people, I care that you like them more than you like us." she said with a frown.

"Fuck all of this talking." Issei flashed Rias his Boosted Gear that con shouted **"Boost!"** and multiplied Issei's power "If I want to win, I'm going to have to take a different approach. But… whatever happens…I've gained a respect for you…. Rias."

"W-what?" she said with shock. He didn't say the usual 'Buchou' like how everyone else would. It was like when he said her name when they were arguing, only this time, he didn't hold disdain with her name.

"This was a bold move you did. I can't say that I was expecting to fight my [King] today, but I'm enjoying this, even if my back hurts like hell."

Rias giggled to herself when an image of her brother flashed in her mind _'Boys…. I guess he was right.'_

"But you did challenge my manhood, so I can't look at you as my Buchou for now. As of now, you're an enemy after my head."

"If that's what you want." she said with a smile.

The cocky grin that grew on Issei's face unnerved Rias a little. "Alright, Ddraig, let's get it going!"

" **Right!"** shouted the dragon in agreement.

" **Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!"**

Green energy exploded from Issei as he flew towards Rias in shocking speeds. She hardly had enough time to block his punch, which was followed by a barrage of blows to her body. She gritted her teeth at the bone-shatter strength he had, and her magic shield broke many times over. She kept repairing it the instant it was broken, but it was running her reserves out.

' _This needs to stop!'_ she mentally shouted to herself as she flew away, but Issei was right behind her with a dangerous glint in her eyes. She gritted her teeth as she tried to come up with a plan. _'If I can just hit his back! He sustained a lot of damage from my orbs back there , but I need a good vantage point to get a clear shot!'_

Rias noticed the forestry up ahead and took a nosedive into it. Rias entered the trees, ignoring all the leaves brushing her face and landed and on the ground. She quickly hid amongst the trees when she heard Issei land on the ground as well.

She calmed her breathing as she watched him from her hiding spot, which was on a branch that was covered by the leaves from other trees. Rias watched him look around the area to find where she was.

"I can't tell where she's at." he muttered quietly to his partner "Any ideas?"

" **I'd say that she took to the trees. You have the advantage when it comes to fighting on the ground and I believe she knows this. She probably took a high up hiding spot to have a good look at the area as well as being close to the sky as an escape route."** explained Ddraig.

"Alright, make sense. She's keeping quiet, so I should listen for anything weird." he said as he started to walk around quietly. While the forest was already filled with sounds, he was looking for anything distinctive that could help locate Rias.

"Tch…I don't hear shit…" he whispered to himself as he checked his surroundings, making sure to keep special attention to the trees above.

Rias was watching Issei closely, but he wasn't giving her any type of openings. _'I need a distraction…'_ she said, planning what she would hope to be her last attack.

Issei's head twitched when he heard a sound, but sighed when he noticed that it was only a bird. "Damn it, my nerves are really high right now…"

" **Just calm down, partner. Even if you are nervous, keep up the appearance that you're still in control. Anything helps in these types of situation."** Ddraig said.

"Right." he said as he kept his awareness up.

It was quiet for a while, but the sound of lightning gained Issei's attention. He ran over to where he heard the lightning to see a tree burnt to a crisp… but Rias wasn't around.

"What happened here?" said Issei as he looked at the tree in confusion.

A couple of trees behind him, Rias smirked as she outstretched her arm towards Issei's back. She had summoned her familiar to place and activate a spell trap on one of the trees so that she could get a clean look at his back. It worked perfected as Issei was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Checkmate." she whispered and blasted the remaining magic she had into a large ball of destruction at Issei's exposed back. The ball flew towards Issei at quick speeds and he didn't even notice it until the last second.

" **Partner! Behind you!"**

"Nani?"

The ball of destruction exploded on contact. Issei's howls of pain were enough for Rias to confirm that she landed a clean hit on him. She dropped to the ground, taking a few deep breaths as she watched the explosion fade and was replaced with a large smokescreen.

Her eyes widened when she saw that he was still standing but heavily damaged as well.

"GAhh! This shit hurts!" he yelled as he slowly made his way out of his crater "I swear I've got a Dragon Shot with Rias' name on!"

"No!" shouted Rias. She wouldn't be able to handle anything else after his last move. She had no more energy spare, so she was going to have to do something desperate. She surprised herself when she flew at Issei with a clenched fist. She wasn't one for hand-to-hand combat, but she had to if she wanted to win.

"Damn it." Issei muttered when he saw her coming his way. He couldn't move fast enough because of the damage he suffered from the last attack, so all he could was suffer Rias' last punishment.

With all the strength she had, she reared her hand back and directly punched Issei on his cheek. She heard a bone in her hand snap and she yelped in pain, but the sound of Issei's body falling on the ground indefinitely was better.

She landed harshly on the ground, not being able to sustain her weight any longer. Rias gasped and held her right hand with care. Her index finger was broken from her punch and it didn't feel good at all.

"Fuck…" Rias' eyes widened when she heard her [Pawn]'s voice. He was still conscious?!

"You can still move?" she said with awe and worry. If he could still move, there wasn't anything she could do if he wanted to walk over to her and chop her on the back of the neck, ending the fight in his favor.

"No..I can't.." Issei said with a groan "Seriously, though? That punch was a little extra." Issei spit up a glob of blood "That hurt… I didn't think you can punch that hard."

Rias gave a stained laugh "I can't. I just backed the force of my flight into the punch. To sum it up, I was actually falling; I just made sure that my fist is what landed on you."

"Hehe… you sure made me feel stupid today… How did you do the lightning thing?" he asked.

"I summoned my familiar to activate a magic trap, similar to one I used earlier." she explained.

"What! You had help!? That's cheating!" he yelled childishly with an accusing finger pointed at Rias.

She laughed whole heartedly "I didn't cheat, Issei, I used all of my options to beat you. I can't have my [Pawn] beat me. Who do you think I am?" she said with a laugh.

"Suuureeee…" said Issei with a roll of his eyes, but he couldn't stop the smiling growing on his face. Rias saw his smile and she grew one as well. "So, I guess I lost… damn it, now I don't have any manhood."

"You have manhood, Ise. It's just that the proud woman that I am wouldn't let you one-up me. Just to end on a good note, I knew that you would be a challenge, but I didn't think that it the victor would be decided at the very end. You did surprisingly well."

"Thanks, Rias…" she beamed at him in happiness. It just felt right to hear her name from his mouth "But to be honest with you, I wasn't going to leave in the first place."

"You weren't?" she asked with a surprised look.

"Nope, because I didn't even know devils could trade pieces between one another." he said with a shoulder shrug. He winced when he felt pain surge through his arm. "Ugghhh… I need to sleep."

Both looked up when they heard wings flapping. Akeno landed in between them and looked at them with smile. "You two really did a number on yourselves, fufufufu…" she laughed "So who won?"

"I did, or course." Rias said proudly "What did you expect?"

"I was expecting you to lose."

The three turned their head to see Yoh leaning on a tree with an orange orb sitting on his shoulder "I won't deny it would have been fun if Issei could have joined the group."

"I don't want him there." said Anna, perched up in a tree branch "He's annoying."

"Yoh!" shouted Issei in happiness "What's going on bro! What are doing here?"

"Your fight wasn't exactly the quietest. Master told me to go with him to see it, so here I am." he said with a smile as he walked up to the three. Rias and Akeno frowned at him, but didn't sense any negative emotion from Yoh, so they didn't act out. "I've got to say that it was very entertaining. You're getting stronger."

" _He sure is._ _"_ said the orb _"_ _Too bad all of that training went to waste. I thought you could have beaten her and came with us._ _"_

Rias glared at the orb "So you did want Issei? You made sure for your peerage to spend a lot of time with Issei so he could get comfortable and then swoop in when you saw the chance, huh?"

" _Yup, yup, yup!_ _"_ said the orb happily, like he didn't care that he was found out _"But… I think I'm alright with Issei staying with you… I'll just have to plan some new things out. I've been doing that for centuries anyway, ehehehehahahahahaha!_ _"_

"Should you be using any magic, Naruto-sama? You should be resting." said Issei in concern. Rias picked up on how he called the orb 'Naruto-sama'.

" _I'll be fine… but you should come by the house real quick. There's something I want to do..._ _"_ Naruto ended mysteriously before vanishing away.

"Guess you all are coming to the house. Anna?" said Yoh as he looked back to his fiancée.

Anna sighed before jumping off her branch and walked over to the two damaged devils "Get better." she said as a red hue covered her hands. She placed them both on Rias and Issei and the two felt their injuries heal a little bit, the pain also numbing with it. "That should help you move around. We'll meet you there." she said as she disappeared in a magic circle.

The two devils groaned as they stood up from the ground. "So we're going to their house now?" asked Rias.

"Sure are! You should come while Kisame is asleep. It's quieter in the house." said Yoh as he disappeared as well.

Akeno, Rias, and Issei all nodded at each other before following after Yoh.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

The group appeared outside Naruto's house. Yoh was holding the door open for them with a smile. They appreciated him with a bow and entered their house.

"It feels homey." said Akeno with a laugh as she looked around.

"It is." said Yoh as he closed the door "Well, it is when it's quiet. When Kisame is awake…. that's when it feels like a warzone here. Just keep it quiet until we get to master's room."

"Is it this 'Naruto' person?" asked Rias.

"Naruto '-sama'." Yoh corrected with a rare glare of his. The three younger devils gulped before nodding their heads at Yoh. While he seemed nice, Yoh could be scary when he wanted to.

The group walked up the stairs and was walking down a long hallway until Lee walked out of one of the many rooms in the house. His eyes brightened at the sight of his friends and ran up to them.

"YOSH! Issei, Rias, Akeno, and Yoh are all here!" he shouted loudly "This is a moment we must take advantage of and train in the backyard! It would be a glorious fight and-

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GO TO SLEEP!" Kisame yelled from one of the rooms.

"YOSH! Mr. Kisame is awake so now we can all go train together! What happy day it is!"

One of the doors was forcefully opened and Kisame stepped into the hallway, only wearing some purple boxers. He was about to yell at Lee, but then noticed that Akeno and Rias were present. "Ehh? I didn't know we ordered prostitutes."

Fire surrounded Rias and Akeno as they gave Kisame their deadliest glares, but he ignored them fully. "What are they doing here?"

"Naruto-sama wanted to talk to them." Yoh said.

"Well he better do it quietly, damn it! I've got a lot to do tomorrow and I want my sleep." Kisame slammed the door behind him.

"Alright then, let's continue." said Yoh as he continued his track to Naruto's room.

The finally made it to the last room in the hallway and Yoh opened it up for the three. Surprise filled Rias and Akeno as they finally got a good look at Naruto, who was hooked up to many machines and looked very weak. "What happened to him?" Akeno whispered.

"He was sealed for a very long time, nya." Kuroka walked out of the bathroom the room had and looked towards the shocked teenagers. Rias narrowed her eyes at Kuroka, but she recalled her brother's words about the cat girl.

"What are you doing here?" she asked professionally.

"Taking care of my [King] of course." Kuroka answered back with a little bit of sass. She held a wet rag and placed it over Naruto's head. "He has a fever."

"So this is him." said Akeno as she took in the sight of Naruto's sickly body "You said he was sealed. What do you mean by that?"

"Issei will explain to you two at a later date." all eyes were on Naruto as he slowly opened his own blue eyes "It's good to see you two after watching you through my orbs."

"Naruto-sama." Issei walked over to one side of the bed. Kuroka didn't put up any fight, but she made sure to watch him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am." Naruto wheezed out "I'm sorry… I've been manipulating you to liking my peerage. I thought it would make the transition easier for you to… to become one of us."

"It's alright, Naruto-sama. Just focus on getting better." Issei replied, not even mad that Naruto was manipulating him over the past few weeks.

"I will, but first… bring your head closer to me."

Everyone was confused at Naruto's claim, but Issei complied. He lowered his head close enough to that Naruto could place his hand on his head. Naruto hummed to himself for a while with a troubled look on his.

"She put a curse on you…. didn't she?"

A blue magic seal appeared on the back of Issei's neck. Rias and Akeno were shocked, but kept themselves collected. Issei couldn't even mold words as he looked Naruto in the eyes.

" **The fallen angel did."** a green glow from Issei's hand appeared as Ddraig spoke **"He didn't want anyone to worry about him so he kept it to himself. Very foolish if you ask me."**

"Traitor…" Issei muttered, but he continued to keep eye contact with Naruto.

"Issei…. are you happy with yourself?"

" _No, you are not!"_ Yuuma appeared next to him with an angry face _"Don't trust him! He tried to manipulate you into his peerage! They'll always try to use you! I never did that! I just wanted you for you! Please, Ise! Don't leave me!"_

Issei sighed and turned back to Naruto, ignoring Yuuma's cries. They were fake anyway, so there wasn't a need to pay attention to her any longer.

"I am…Even though I need to work on a few things with Rias…but I am happy with myself."

Naruto smiled as his hand grew red. It surrounded Issei's head and he felt warm from the energy. It was comforting him… calming him down…

"You're a good boy, Issei…. With good goals… You don't need to punish yourself for something you weren't in control of. I'll make those nightmares….disappear…"

Naruto's aura surrounded the seal. The blue seal started to faze away, slowly being eaten by Naruto's magic, until it was gone.

Issei took in a deep breath, feeling like a huge weight was released from his shoulders. "Thank you."

"No problem." Naruto said with a smile as he removed his hand from Issei's head "Rias… come here."

Rias slowly made her way next to Issei at Naruto's bedside. She winced at all the tube's coming from Naruto's body. He looked like he was in pain…

"I'm fine…you don't have to worry about me." he said with a laugh "What's your name again?"

Rias sweat dropped "I am Rias Gre-

"What is the name you want to be known for?"

"Ri… Just Rias…." she said with a smile.

Naruto smiled back "We'll be in touch… Rias…. I'm sorry for manipulating your [Pawn]. I did like his attitude and he was funny."

"It's alright.. This all wouldn't have happened if I was a better [King]. I thank you for allowing him to be trained by your members."

"Ehh, they were bored anyway.." Kuroka giggled along with her master "But I'm glad that everything is peaceful now. I actually want Issei to stay with you now… It'll make for an interesting future."

Naruto laughed as his eyes started to slowly close.

"Today was a funny day…"

 **SWEET MARY POPPINS THAT WAS A HARD CHAPTER TO TYPE!**

 **Sorry about the late update, but this chapter was extremely hard for me to type for some reason. Like, the ideas were taking forever to flow and it was PISSING ME OFF! It was probably cuz I was so caught up into listening to Travis Scott's new album 'Astroworld'….. that's make a good chapter name.**

 **But yeah, a lot of shit happened in this chapter! I made sure to make it extra long for the wait I gave you all. The next chapter will be up either Thursday or Friday to keep things on track.**

 **UPDATE! The story now had 1,054 reviews, 1,666 favs, and 1,994 follows. I can't thank you all enough! This is incredible! We are only at chapter ten! I expect this story to have over 25+ chapters, so you all are in store for a long ride, but it will be enjoyable.**

 **ANOTHER UPDATE! Naruto has a Rook and 5 Pawns left, so I'll be accepting new peerage members in the reviews. I'll be watching thoroughly, so list some good names! Also, make them characters that we haven't seen in peerages before, like how I did my peerage members. It makes the story more interesting.**

 **Next chapter is coming soon, so make sure you follow and favorite the story (cough, and me, cough)!**

 **To all the ladies, I check my Pms everyday *wink wink* get at me.**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

 **P.S.- this is the second longest chapter, with the Prologue being the longest. I'm getting up there!**

 **and the Nekoshou massacre that everyone thinks happen? That never happened in Dxd. Never. Yup, you thought you knew something about Dxd, lol! These other fanfictions have been lying to youuuuu!**

 **Good thing NarutoPlug here to clean that up. You're welcome.**

 **Ite, I'm gone forreal now.**

 **Trust in the Plug...**

 **Like a real nigga should...**


	11. IfYourReadingThis

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, just out here being a real nigga, ya know? In a real way too.**

 **The last chapter was different for me. Keeping it a buck with y'all, cause I mess with y'all, I didn't like Chapter 10 a lot. Like, I feel like that was my worst chapter to date. It's not that I really hated what I did in it, I just that I felt that if I were to type up a chapter with 15k words, I'd rather it be about the interesting Orochimaru or Anna than Rias and Issei. I mean, the last chapter had to happen so that Rias and Issei can find a common ground, but I promise you that I didn't enjoy typing that chapter as much as my other chapters.**

 **My favorite part of Chapter 10 was Orochimaru's beginning scene, which was a masterpiece made by yours truly, with Hao's scene coming second. See, Naruto's peerage is just… more interesting to read and type. While my Issei and Rias are different from the anime/mange, just seeing how the other characters are developed is way more enjoyable.**

 **Alas, a lot of you like the last chapter, so I have to say thank you for continuing to support my story to the fullest, even when I feel like I didn't deliver. I swear I have the best fanbase in Fanfiction and I love reading everyone's reviews about how BreakThrough is legendary and all that great stuff. It makes me happy.**

 **Also, I'm leaning towards adding more female characters in Naruto's peerage than males. Females can whoop ass too, ya know?**

 **But fuck all that sentimental shit, I'm back on my Kisame attitude to everything.**

 **Let's continue the story**

 **BreakThrough**

… **IfYourReadingThis…**

 **Two Days Later**

 **Kuoh Academy**

"Whew! Finally finished!" shouted Yoh as he took in a few deep breaths. He finished his route that Anna forced him to run every day and was taking a break right in front of Kuoh Academy's school gate. "Sigh… now I've gotta deliver that message… I hope the school won't mind me walking on campus with my tracksuit on…"

A light bulb went off in Yoh's head. "Oh yea… I can just do that…." he said as he walked into a secluded alleyway…

Yoh walked back on campus with Kuoh boy's uniform, only he had his uniform shirt open, similar to how Issei has his open, with an orange shirt beneath it. It was the end of the day and students were filling the school grounds, so he tried not to bring any attention to himself. However, that didn't work at all as his headphones and orange shirt stood out in the big crowd of people and a lot of people were looking at him.

"Is he a new student?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him around before…"

"He's cute."

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend."

"He's wearing sandals. That's weird."

"Maybe I should introduce myself~"

' _I've got to get out of here.'_ Yoh said with a panicked face as he started to pick up his paste. If Anna were to find out that one of the girls here approached him, he wouldn't hear the end of it.

The pathway to the Old School House was clear once he was out of the main school yard, but he made sure to check his surroundings before entering the building, hoping that there weren't any crazy girls following him.

"Sigh... I'm glad I don't go to school anymore." said Yoh as he closed the door behind him. He remembered the layout of the Old School Building from the last time when his master's peerage had to come here for the Rating Game against Riser Phenex.

Forgetting any proper way of entrance, Yoh opened the big doors which led to the Occult Research Club's room of gathering "Ehhh, anyone home?" he asked as he stepped inside."

"Yoh?" Issei said from his position the couch. All eyes went to the Asakura as he scratched his head awkwardly.

"Uh, yup! What's going on, Issei?" he said as he made his way in.

"Great, but what are you doing here?" asked Issei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, and why did you barge in here without telling us you were coming?" Rias said with her eyebrow twitching. It was like everyone from that peerage didn't respect her and Sona's territory at all.

"Uhh… hold on." said Yoh as he reached inside of his pocket and pulled out some note cards. "Alrighty here… ehem… Rias Gremory, a.k.a. the Princess, a.k.a. Mrs. HIV-"

"Mrs. HIV!?" shouted Rias as she slammed her hand on her desk "Is this some type of joke!?"

"Ah! I see… Kisame wrote that on the note card, see?" said Yoh as he pointed to the note card "When he called you and Akeno 'prostitutes', he came up with the nicknames 'Mrs. HIV and Mrs. STD'."

Lightning crackled around Akeno as she started laugh evilly "Fufufufu, maybe we should pay Mr. Kisame a visit~"

"We should." Rias growled.

"Well you can, because you two are invited for the fight tomorrow." said Yoh.

"The fight?" Kiba asked with curiosity.

"Yea, let me keep reading… okay, 'Rias Gremory, a.k.a The Princess…. I'll just skip over the other name…. has been invited to the fight between Naruto Bael and Hao Asakura. We shall have it at the same place where you fought Issei Hyoudou two days ago. Bring your peerage with you. We will also be inviting Sona Sitri and her peerage as well." Yoh finished.

"Naruto-sama and Hao are having a fight?!" Issei yelled "What's going on?"

"There was a… misunderstanding a couple of days ago. Hao left. Naruto-sama told him to come back in four days so they could settle it." answered Yoh.

"And what was this misunderstanding?" asked Kiba.

"Hao tried to kill Naruto-sama." Yoh said regretfully.

"Wha..why would he do that? You said that Hao had respect for Naruto-sama?! Why would he try and do something like that!?" shouted Issei in anger. He remembered when Yoh told Issei Hao's history with Naruto and that Hao viewed Naruto as his true parent. So why would he do something like that?

"Hao is stupid." Yoh shook his head in disappointment "He doesn't like weak things and seeing Naruto-sama in the state he's in… it was like the image Hao had built up for Naruto-sama came crashing down."

"And how does your master feel about Hao?" Rias asked with interest.

"He's smiling about it, like Hao's betrayal didn't affect him at all. It doesn't surprise me, Naruto-sama has gone through a lot himself… more than most people."

"Well, how can your master fight if he is bedridden?" asked Rias.

"I don't know. We still don't know a lot about Naruto-sama as it is. I'm still surprised that Naruto-sama's a blonde. You don't find that a lot around here." said Yoh "Nevertheless, you all are invited to the fight. Bring your own snacks. I'll inform the Student Council now. See you there!" Yoh said with a wave as he disappeared.

 **Student Council Room**

"Oooh, this room is different."

Sona swirled her chair around the instant she heard someone behind her. Summoning her magic on instinct, a barrage of water needles lodged themselves at her assailant.

"Eh? Why'd ya do that?" the voice was coming from the middle of the room now. She heard a few gasp from her peerage members, causing her to turn around to see that their intruder wasn't hit by her needles at all.

"What…" she growled out as she took in the boy's image "Hao?"

"Uh, no. That's my brother. You've got a good aim, by the way." Yoh said with a cheeky grin. Sona's peerage surrounded Yoh, protecting their [King]. "Eh, why are you all surrounding me? I didn't do anything." he said nonchalantly.

"But I thought-" Sona looked behind her, where Yoh once was, to see that her water needles had pierced the group picture of the Student Council that hung behind her. _'How did he move so fast?!'_

"Aren't you the guy that Issei talks about? Yoh, right?" Saji asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, that's me…. and I come in peace." Yoh said with a yawn "I can't wait to take a shower and get a nap in…"

"Why are you here!?" Tsubaki asked/demanded an answer. It was very disrespectful for someone to enter their territory unannounced, especially by sneaking up on their [King].

"I came to deliver a message from my master. I didn't mean to spook you guys." Yoh said with a frown "You guys are so uptight…"

"President, I believe that Yoh isn't a threat. Issei talks highly of him and he shouldn't be a problem." Saji said while lowering his stance. Yoh smiled at Saji in agreement.

"I like you now. You should hang out with me, Lee, and Issei sometime." Yoh said as he put a hand on Saji's shoulder.

"See, I like you already." Yoh said with a laugh. Everyone started to ease out of their stances as Yoh seemed less of a threat by the second.

"Well then… Yoh... what are you doing here, unannounced, I may add." said Sona as she pushed up her glasses.

"I have a message for you." said Yoh as he reached into his pocket for another note card "Ehm…'I heard you and Hao got beef. Wanna see him get his ass kicked?- No, no…no, I think Kisame wrote this, as well."

"Hao? I haven't seen him in a while." Sona said with a frown. Things were still rocky between the two after she found out about that he and Orochimaru were manipulating her and Rias.

"Yea, here's the real note card. 'You, Sona Sitri, along with your peerage, are invited for the fight between Naruto Bael and Hao Asakura tomorrow on the outskirts of the city west of here. Bring your own snacks. Rias Gremory and her peerage are also invited.'" he finished.

"Who is Naruto Bael?" asked Tsubaki.

"My master." Yoh said like it was sweat drop "Weren't you informed about what's going on?"

"I was, but I haven't informed my peerage yet." said Sona "Rias just told me everything today during a quick meeting at lunch."

"Oh, well you can tell you peerage members what's going on then. I'll see you all tomorrow!" he said with a wave and disappeared in a magic circle.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"I don't want grapes! I want pickles!" shouted Naruto.

"Naruto-sama, pickles won't help you get better. At least grapes are good for you and taste decent." said Orochimaru with a sigh as he held out a bowl of grapes, but Naruto was turning his head away from it with a childish pout.

"Nya, Snakey! If he doesn't want the grapes, then get them outta here!" Kuroka said with a hiss. She was beside Naruto, lying next to him in his bed.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes while setting the bowl down. "Honestly, master, I don't see how you plan to fight Hao when you can hardly even move."

"Don't worry about that, Orochi. Everything will work out fine. Did you get my wheelchair I asked for?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. It's sitting downstairs for you." Orochimaru confirmed.

"Great! Man, I can't wait to fight tomorrow! It's been a while since I've stretched these limbs of mine." said Naruto.

"Do you have a plan on fighting Hao, nya?" Kuroka asked with cute head tilt.

"Not really. I'll just respond accordingly. I've gotta show my peerage members that I'm strong too!" Naruto said as he tried, and failed, to flex his muscles.

"You shouldn't even be moving now. You need to conserve your energy, Naruto-sama. We still need to give you your daily doses of nutrients so your body can get better." said Orochimaru as he opened up the top drawer of Naruto's nightstand, which had his shots for insulin, iron, etc.

Naruto groaned "Can't we do that tomorrow? I hate feeling like I can't take care of myself…"

"It's only for now, Naruto. You'll be better soon, nya." Kuroka said with a smile.

"I guess." the Bael said with a sigh "I need to get out of this bed soon, but I can hardly move my legs… this is maddening."

"You were in a seal for over 500 years, Naruto-sama. I'm sure yo-

"Don't remind me of that fucking seal."

Both Kuroka and Orochimaru were a little surprise at the sudden change of Naruto's attitude. Naruto wasn't glaring at Orochimaru, but he was staring at Orochimaru with intense eyes. Orochimaru's stomach churned as a wave of insecurity move thorough his body.

"Y-yes, master. Forgive me." Orochimaru said with a bow. _'What is the pressure I'm feeling? All he's doing is staring at me and this unsettling feeling is taking over my body…'_

"Naruto." Kuroka placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, causing him to turn to her. He gave her the same stare he gave Orochimaru, but was weakened when he saw that her eyes were filled with concern and worry. He sighed and gave his [Queen] a small smile.

"Sorry about that, my protégé. I'm fine." he said calmly.

"I just wanna make sure…nya…" she whispered.

"Sorry Orochimaru, but I hated that seal and I don't like being reminded of it. It isn't your fault because you didn't know how I felt about it. Forgive me." Naruto said to Orochimaru.

"It's understandable, Naruto-sama. We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."

"But I feel like I should… go gather everyone. I'm sure they have their own questions."

"Are you sure, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru.

"Yeah, I am. This was long overdue." he said with a smile. Orochimaru nodded and left the room. After a couple of minutes later, all of Naruto's peerage members surrounded his bed at attention.

"Are you feeling better, Naruto-sama?" asked Lee with worry evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I am. I'm taking it day by day, ya' know? Though, I can't wait to get out of this bed." he said with a laugh.

"Do you need something from us, because I was in the middle of this good dream…"

"Stop being disrespectful, you illogical idiot." Orochimaru said with a glare aimed at Kisame.

"It's alright. I'm not mad at Kisame for being himself. It's one of the main reasons why I reincarnated him aft-" Naruto was cut off by a massive cough fit. Everyone jumped out of their seats and surrounded Naruto, like they did when they brought him in the night of his revival.

"Naruto-sama, are you okay!" shouted Lee. Kuroka hugged on to Naruto and chakra surrounded them both. Naruto's coughing fit lessened overtime, before it finally stopped.

"I'm…I'm alright…" he wheezed out "Don't worry about me."

"I really think that you need to rest, Naruto-sama." Yoh said with concern "You don't look good."

"I don't feel like sleeping. I want to talk with my family." everyone nodded and slowly made their way back to their seats "I know you all have questions… questions that I can now answer."

"What the fuck is up with you and pickles?" Kisame asked instantly. Anna and Orochimaru glared at Kisame for his tone and language, but they were also interested in his obsession with pickles as well.

"Oh, that?" said Naruto with a weak laugh "It'll take a while for me to answer it, but it'll be worth the wait."

Naruto sighed before continuing "While I was sealed, there were two places where my awareness could be. One was me having a conscious body, similar to how we are all are now, but instead of being able to move around, there were shackles around my feet and hands with chains that outstretched into darkness. I never knew where they ended, but I couldn't even get up to see where because my body felt so dizzy…. and I was lying on my side… like how a child sleeps, my body was crouched together… there was nothing all around me. I couldn't move, but I always felt dizzy while conscious… like I was about to throw up but couldn't. "

"That's disturbing." Anna muttered stoically, but she was truly worried about her [King] "Where was the second place your conscious could be?"

"In my sub-conscious, of course." he said with a smile "I was inside of my mind and that place wasn't any fun either. Sure, I could move around in there, but I couldn't do anything else. It was a white space…there was also a state where I just slept for long periods of time… and I'm talking decades a piece, and I didn't have to sit for time to past, but yea… those were my options: darkness, nothingness, or slumber.

"The only thing I could do was think, but the isolation started to get to me over the years. I desperately tried to find a way out, but couldn't, which brings us to the pickles!"

"Uh huh.." said Kuroka, fully focused with Naruto's story.

"See, I was sitting in my sub-conscious… and I thought back to my war days. Devils came up with pickles wayyyy before humans did. I remember some of my friends would eat pickles, but I never had one before. I heard that they were good, but I never had the chance to eat one. So, I imagined what it would be like eating one, and poof, a pickle appeared in front of me."

"A pickle… really." Kisame said, slightly disappointed that this was the answer he had been waiting so long for.

"But that's not it!" said Naruto with a laugh "See, I grabbed the pickle and took a bite of it, and guess what happened!?"

"What, master?" asked Lee.

"Nothing! hehehe…heheheh!"

"Nothing?" asked Kuroka.

"Exactly! heheh… Nothing! Because I didn't know how pickles taste, I couldn't imagine what they actually tasted like! Isn't that incredible? heheHAHhehehahahaha! That's torture, HAHAHA!"

"Naruto-sama, I think you need to calm down." Yoh said as they watched their master laugh for no reason.

"AND THAT'S WHEN IT HAPPENED! I FINALLY REALIZED WHAT THEY DID TO ME! hehehHEHAhhehehahahahah! THEY LOCKED ME UP WITH MY OWN THOUGHTS! MY MEMORIES HAUNTED ME FOR CENTURIES! MY MOTHER! MY FATHER! hehehehahaHAHAHA! Oh, how Serafall would LAUGH at this!"

"Naruto-sama, calm down!" shouted Orochimaru, but Naruto continued laughing.

"Oh the times I had in there! Going crazy! OVER A PICKLE? HILAROUS! AAAHAHAHAHHAH!"

"Naruto…" Kuroka placed her forehead against his as her chakra surrounded the both of them.

"HAHAHAHAH! WHAT A JOkE! HEheheHAHAHhaahahah..HEHEhheheeehhehe….heheh…."Naruto's eyes started to close until he fully succumbed to the peace that Kuroka's chakra provided.

"Whoever did this to him…. I'm going to kill them slowly." Kisame said with a clenched fist "He went crazy…"

"That's what isolation does to people." Orochimaru said with a sigh "He's gone through something that no one can relate too."

Kuroka could only look down upon the man that she loved _'He was going through all of this? How did he even find the patience to take care of me? Especially after what I put him through…'_

"They are going to die when I see them…" Anna growled out uncharacteristically "The Sitri… Serafall Leviathan."

"Hold on now, Anna." everyone in the room jumped when Naruto spoke. His eyes were clearly closed, but he was still talking. "Let's not rush things now."

"How are you still talking? I put you to sleep, nya?" Kuroka asked with confusion.

"It's something I learned while inside the seal." Naruto said, his eyes still closed "Technically, I'm still asleep, but I have supreme control over my body. My body is resting, but my mind will forever be active. I meditated in that seal, learning about myself, about how my body works. With literally no distractions, nothing to see, nothing to hear, I became one with myself, allowing me to do things like this, along with other abilities."

"Like what?" asked Orochimaru, very interested in learning about the body.

"You see my heart monitor over there?" said Naruto, pointing to his monitor. Everyone nodded and also kept their surprise to themselves. His eyes were closed, but he pointed out the heart monitor amongst all the other machines in the room.

"Beep….. beep…..beeep…"

"Now, one of the abilities granted with supreme control... is that I can do things likeeeeee…. stop my heart!"

"Beep…. be-….."

"What the fuck!" shouted Orochimaru as he jumped out of his seat and ran towards the machine "What is happening!" he yelled, ignoring that he wasn't acting like himself.

"Calm down, Orochimaru. I did it." Naruto smiled at the snake man "See, watch this."

"….beep….beep..beep, beep, beep, beep, beepbeepbeepbeepbeep"

"This is incredible…" Orochimaru muttered as he listened to Naruto change the pace of his heart beat.

"And it's all true." said Naruto as he opened his yes, revealing that they were bloodshot "I can control where I want to add my blood as well. I can literally control my adrenaline if you think about it. Now this ability isn't safe, but it'll come in handy when I want to add some more strength to my body parts during a specific situation."

"You shouldn't do that, Naruto. You look freaky." Kuroka said with a frown.

"Sure thing, my protégé." he said with a smile. Naruto's heart monitor started to 'beep' at a fast pace again, but the blood was draining from Naruto's eyes. His heart rate calmed down when all the blood was gone. "See? Nice and blue, hehhehe!"

"Uh, Naruto-sama! I have a question as well!" Lee yelled.

"And what could that be?" asked Naruto with a head tilt, which Kuroka mentally swoon over at how cute he looked.

"How did your orbs come out of the seal?" the beast asked with interest.

"That is a good question, Lee. While I was inside, the most amazing thing happened! I found a hole!"

"A hole?" Lee asked with interest.

"Yes, a hole. One day in the darkness where I my body was conscious, my body flipped, like something was moving me around. I came to find out that this was Tannin's fault. He found my seal and picked me up. Then, he tried to open the seal with his magic, but it didn't work. However, I already weakened the seal before I was locked up, so his magic messed with the atmosphere around me… it's still hard to explain, but I'm glad he was there. Anyway, I'm staring at this hole and it was like looking out at space. So I concentrated my magic for like… a week or something. Time wasn't really something I could keep up with in there… then I came up with my astral form. Using that, I sent my conscious into it and my orb went through the hole. Next thing I know, I'm on top of a perch in Tannin's cave. It was the first time I saw actual color in years."

"Incredible. So what did you do then?" asked Yoh.

"I went and gained knowledge." the Bael answered "I read up on everything I could, using my orbs to travel the world and Underworld, learning about almost everything. My main focus was on magic and the body, since I wanted to better myself while locked up. I couldn't really train inside of my sub-conscious because everything would have gone the way I wanted to."

"May you explain how that works?" Orochimaru asked.

"Sure thing. See, if I were to train inside of my mind, it wouldn't really be affective because real world applications wouldn't fit in there. For example, if I were to read up on a spell I wanted to learn. I read about it and try it out in my sub-conscious; however, since it is my sub-conscious, I would've imagined me actually mastering the technique when I really didn't. It's kinda hard to explain… it's like… like if a kid were to dream that he could lift one thousand pounds. He can't do it in real life, but in his dreams, he can do anything." he explained.

"Ahh, I see. So, in a sense, it's like you couldn't even trust your mind because the training you would have done in it would have been manipulated in your favor." said Orochimaru.

"Yup, yup, yup! That's why I used my orbs to train. I'd travel to secluded area on Earth or the Underworld and train my abilities. It was harder than you think, because I had to push out a lot of magic out of that tinnnnyyyy little hole, but it worked!" Naruto said with a laugh.

"You're a genius, nya!" said Kuroka as she hugged Naruto closer to her "No wonder you said those thing that didn't make sense a lot! You were just being smarter than me, nya!"

"Yup, yup, yup! Naruto is very smart." he said with cheeky grin "Anymore questions?"

"What do you plan on doing with Hao?" asked Anna stoically. Naruto gave his [Bishop] a closed eye grin.

"Something exciting! HehehhhHAHAHAHHAH- I'm hungry."

"Uh… well, you still have these grapes here…"

"Ugghhhhh! Can I try something that used to be alive?" Naruto said with a groan "I need some meat… I need…" his eyes lit up with stars "RAMEN!"

 **Night**

Kuroka was smiling as she made her way back upstairs. Anna had made Naruto some ramen after the conversation they had with each other, before letting him rest early for the day. He spent a lot of energy talking, so he was sleepy by the time he was finished eating. Kuroka enjoyed feeding Naruto his ramen because it made her feel like a wife taking care of her sick husband. She blushed at the thought, but her happy face quickly turned sour when she thought back on the outburst he had during their conversation.

' _He didn't tell me of his struggles that he had while inside of that seal. He would always say that 'he was okay', but he was really suffering! I don't know what I'll do when I see that stupid, ugly, bitch! I don't even know how I'll react when I see the younger sister tomorrow!'_ she yelled in her mind, talking about Serafall and Sona.

She shook her head and rid herself of those thoughts. She didn't want to be around Naruto while she was mad. He needed someone to support him while he was weak, so she had to keep her emotions in check. She opened the door to his room and stretched her arms out with a yawn.

"Are you sleeping yet, Naruto?" she said after her yawn. She opened her eyes….

Naruto wasn't there.

Panic filled Kuroka's being as she looked around the room in a rush. The covers and pillow from the bed were gone and none of his machines were missing.

"Naruto!" she shouted as she opened the bathroom door, but he wasn't there as well. Her ears twitched when she heard a noise coming from the closet.

Moving at blinding speeds, Kuroka ran to and opened the closet door. Inside of it was Naruto, the comforter covering his body while his head was resting on his pillows. He was staring at her with the same blue eyes that she had came to love in only a few days.

"Naruto?" she asked with confusion "What are you doing in here, nya?"

"Sleeping…" he muttered silently, but she heard him.

"But why in here? You have a perfectly good bed in there, nya." she said as she pointed to the bed in his room.

"…. the walls are closer in here…" he whispered.

"I don't understand…" she said back.

"While I was in the seal… even though I didn't know where the darkness stopped… I always felt like I was in a tight space. It's what I'm used to."

Kuroka's ears slouched as sadness overwhelmed her. Being in that seal did more damage than she thought. "Naruto, you aren't in that seal anymore. You're free. Please, let me help you back into your bed. I'm worried about you."

He saw the concern in her eyes before sighing. "Alright, but it took all the energy I had to drag myself in here. I can't move."

"I've got it, nya." she said as she dropped down to her knees and put her hands under his arms. Slowly, she lifted him off the ground and placed him back in bed. She returned the pillows and his cover back to the bed, before climbing in with him.

"You're going to be okay, Naruto. I'm here for you." she muttered into his hair as she held him close. Her chakra surrounded him again, soothing him. In a matter of seconds, Naruto was sleeping soundly.

"I won't put the machines back into you for a while, nya…" she whispered with tears running down her eyes "I know you don't like them."

Her body started to shake as her emotions got the better of her. Her tears were like a small river, falling down her cheeks and into her hair. She gripped him tighter, using him as her own teddy bear as he crying increased.

"Th..they won't….hick…they won't hurt you….anymore…" she whispered to him one last time before crying herself to sleep.

Naruto smiled in his sleep and unconsciously leaned into the Nekomata's touch.

 **Morning**

Naruto moaned when sunlight hit his closed eyes. Turning away from the strong beams, he slowly opened his eyes to see his machines were turned off. Nothing was making any noises and he didn't have any tubes in his arm or his chest. He also didn't sleep with his breathing machine, which was a good sign for his recovery.

"Kuroka…" he whispered. Kuroka, who was still asleep and hugging his body, ears twitched at the new noise but didn't wake up.

"Kuroka." he said a little louder, but she still didn't hear him. He sighed and tried to move, but Kuroka's weight was making that an impossible task. She was hugging the left side of his body, with his left arm trapped between her thighs. He tried to get lose, but she was clamped down onto him.

"Kuroka, I need to go to the bathroom." he said when he tried to shake out of her grip. Kuroka's ears perched up at the noise and her eyes slowly opened as well, revealing her yellow orbs of beauty. She lowered herself down to Naruto, now eye level with each other, and cuffed his chin. She smiled at him weakly.

"Good morning, nya." she whispered "Did you say something?"

"Mornin' and I said I need to go the bathroom. "

"The bathroom? You mean you have to poop now?" she asked with a little bit of excitement.

"Uh… yea.." he said wary of her excitement "I didn't think that pooping was a good thing."

"No, it means that your body is getting better, silly." she said with a laugh "I'll help you up." she made her way off the bed before walking to the other side to pick him up.

"What time is it?" he asked. Kuroka checked his digital clock on the wall.

"7:24,nya. You're up earlier than usual." she moved the cover from over his body, revealing his bare chest and orange gym shorts. She picked him up bridal style and slowly marched her way into the bathroom.

"You've been crying."

"Nya?" she said as she looked down at him with confusion.

"There are dry tear marks on your eyes. You've been crying recently." he said again.

Kuroka looked at herself in the mirror to see that there were two dried tear marks coming from her eyes. "Oh, nya! I don't know how that got there. Maybe I was having a bad dream last night.. I don't remember it too well, nya." she lied hastily. She didn't need him to be worried for her right now. He needed all his energy focused on getting better.

She sat Naruto down on the toilet bowl before a blush filled her cheeks "You… you don't need any help, do you?" she leaned down a bit in front of him, flashing her bountiful chest at him "I can help you, nya~"

Naruto answered her with a closed-eye smile "Nope, it's alright! I got it."

"Oh… well I'll be outside then!" she quickly ran back into his room and shut the door behind her, confusing the blonde Bael.

' _Stupid, stupid, stupid kitty!'_ Kuroka bereted herself mentally a few times while clawing at her hair. _'Why were you trying to play seductress now? He's crippled! He needs help living, not trying to get off! Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_

A knock on Naruto's bedroom door brought her out of her thoughts. She opened it see Orochimaru, dressed in his usual brown tunic and weird purple rope. "Good morning. Is he awake?"

"Uh, yea." she said as she entered the hallway with him and closed the door behind her "I need to talk with you real quick, nya."

Orochimaru nodded at her, giving her the signal to continue "Last night when I was about to go to bed, I found Naruto inside of his closet. He crawled out of his bed and wanted to sleep in there."

"Why did he do that?" asked the snake man.

"He said that the walls were closer in there… he felt like he was trapped again." that put Orochimaru on edge "He's worse than I thought he was. Would it be possible for him to be outside more? He can't stay huddled up in this house. He needs to be outside." she said with all seriousness in her voice.

"Agreed. Staying inside won't help his mental state. He'll have his fight with Hao today, but we'll keep him outside for as long as possible. I assume that if he crawled into the closet, he cut his food and water tube, along with his blood tubes off, right?"

"Yes, nya. When I saw them, they were covered with bandages. It must've hurt, but he hasn't complained. He's currently in the bathroom."

Orochimaru sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Alright. I'll change his bandages before the fight. For now, I'll get his wheelchair, you make sure he finishes in the bathroom and bring him out here." said Orochimaru as he walked back down the hallway.

The Nekoshou sighed as she closed the door behind her "Why is my life so stressful, nya..." she said to herself.

"Kuroka, I'm finished." she heard Naruto say through the bathroom door. She entered it quietly and walked over to him. He had his shorts already pulled up. "Everything went okay?" she asked nicely.

"Yup, but it took me a while to figure out how to poop again, hehe!" he said with a cheeky grin. "Been a while, ya know?"

"I don't know, nya." she said with a giggle before picking him up bridal style again "Can you reach the sink to wash your hands like this?"

"Yup, yup, yup!" he said as he stretched over the sink and turned the water on. He applied soap to his hands and washed them thoroughly. "Eh, been a while since I did that too. So that's what water feels like…"

Kuroka rolled her eyes and smiled at Naruto's rambling. He finished washing and drying his hands, and Kuroka brought him back into the bed room and laid him back down. "Snakey is coming with your wheelchair for you; you're getting out of this room today, nya!"

"Oh yea! I forgot about the fight with Hao! I can't wait for that!"

A wave of uncertainty entered Kuroka's body "Uhmm, are you sure that you should be fighting so early into your recovery, nya? You can hardly move in the first place."

"Don't you trust me, my protégé?" Naruto's eyes met Kuroka. She tensed up a little as the blue eyes seemed to be dissecting her without any problem. "After everything we've been through?"

Her tenseness slowly loosened up as she returned the smile Naruto was giving her. "I do."

"Good, then you should know that everything is going to work out, just like they usually do." he replied "I need to change clothes though."

Another knock came from the door. Kuroka opened it and Orochimaru entered with a wheelchair. "Good to see you up, master. I hope you slumber was well."

"It was. I was very comfy." he said with a smile "Thanks for the wheelchair, but I need to put on some real clothes before I get in it."

"Understood." Orochimaru said with a bow before opening up one of the drawers with clothes Yoh and Lee went out to buy for Naruto "I'm not the best when it comes to color co-ordination or fashion, but I believe this should be reasonable." the pale man pulled out a pair of black sweat pants along with an orange shirt with a red fire symbol in the middle.

"Oh, that's perfect! hehehe!" Naruto laughed. Kuroka frowned at him but she made sure that he didn't see it.

"Well I leave you boys to it. I'll start breakfast." Kuroka said before leaving the room. She walked down the hallway until she made it to a specific door. She knocked on it loudly three times and waited for an answer.

The door opened three seconds later and Lee jumped out with nothing but his boxers on "Hello! Ahh! Kuroka-sama! Is there something I can do for you?"

"Why yes there is, nya." Kuroka's face shifted into a troubled look and her eyes started to water "I wanted to make Naruto and everyone in the house breakfast, but then I remembered that I can't cook…I'm so useless, nya…"

"I CAN DO IT FOR YOU!" Lee shouted with hearts in his eyes "I'll change real quickly!" he shut the door and not even a second later, he opened again, dressed in his usual green jumpsuit. "I shall make a delicious meal for everyone!" he shouted as he ran downstairs.

Kuroka laughed to herself, glad her plan worked "Sucker…" she muttered while she followed Lee downstairs to claim the television for herself.

 **Noon**

"What the fuck is this?" Kisame grumbled from his recliner.

"Catfish, nya." Kuroka responded. She claimed a while couch for herself and used it as a bed. "At first I thought the show was actually about catfish, and catfish taste good, nya, but then I found out it's about people dating people they don't know."

"Who the fuck would do that? And how does that even work?" Kisame said louder.

"People on the internet do it." said Yoh. Anna was cuddled up to him on a different couch while he had his arm around her "It's great for people to talk with each other if there is a long distance separating the two partners."

" _Are you ready to find out if your online girlfriend is who she says she is?" asked one of the men in charge of the show. The group was behind a door to a house where their online love was waiting._

" _I am. Let's do it." another guy replied as they entered the house._

"So their trying to find out if the other person is real or sum shit like that?" asked Kisame as he munched on the popcorn that Lee handed to him "Okay, okay, I can dig it."

 _The group walked into the house to see an ugly girl with most of her teeth missing from her mouth "Heyyyyy Chad!"_

" _OH HELL NO!" shouted the man as he walked out of the house "I don't know who she is!"_

" _But Chad!" the girl followed him outside "You promised to take care of my eight kids!"_

"Woah!" shouted Kisame as he laughed out loud "That bitch looks like that bottom of my ass, hahahah! And my ass is blue!"

"Nya, nya, nya! I'll never understand people." Kuroka laughed.

"Well that's interesting." Naruto said from his wheelchair. He was parked right beside Kuroka's couch and had a direct spot in front of the television. "Did she say 'eight' children?"

"She did." Orochimaru said with a disgusted face "I'm glad I'm not human anymore. This show is outrageous. These people could be spending their time learning about science and trying to benefit society. Such stupidity all bunched into an hour and thirty minutes."

"I pray that the shark idiot lands on this show one day." Anna said as she snuggled closer to Yoh.

"And I hope you die by being eaten by tigers, but we can't have everything in life, right?" Kisame countered.

"Now, now, let's say nice things about each other, hehe?" Yoh said with an awkward laugh.

"I'm still trying to understand what cable is…" muttered Naruto as he scratched his head in thought.

"What else is on, Kuroka?" Anna asked.

"Let's see, nya." the Nekoshou as she pressed the guide button "The Jerry Springer Show?"

"No." everyone but the confused Naruto replied.

"The Parent Trap?"

"No."

"Shaman King?"

"No."

"Hold on," said Yoh "That sounds pretty goo-

"The Notebook, nya?"

"Hell naw!" shouted Kisame.

"Hmm… Avatar?"

"Which one?" asked Anna.

"The Legend of Korra?"

"No." everyone said instantly.

"Hmmm… Rush Hour?"

Everyone, even Orochimaru, grinned at each other.

"What's Rush Hour?" Naruto said with a head tilt.

 **Twenty Minutes Later**

"AAAhahahahahaAahaha!" laughed Naruto from his wheel chair "This movie is amazing!"

"And there are two more of them after this!" Lee said excitedly.

"This might be better than The Purge!" Kisame laughed hilariously.

There was a knock on the door, but only Orochimaru and Anna heard. Orochimaru stood up from his seat and walked to the front the door. He opened it as his usual neutral face was instantly changed into a frown.

"You're here early."

"I was told to be here in four days. He didn't give me a time to be here. I guess it was just another one of his slip ups."

"Who's at the door, Orochimaru?" Naruto's voice rang out.

"It's Hao, your [Bishop]." he answered plainly. Hao had really pushed his buttons with his stunt with Naruto. The amount of respect Orochimaru had for Hao previously transformed into a hatred for the older Asakura. He didn't want this boy anywhere near his master.

"Ah! Tell him to come in! Come in!" Naruto said excitedly, like it wasn't four days ago that he could have lost his life to Hao.

Orochimaru hissed slightly at Hao and let him in. Hao entered the house, donned in his usual brown tunic that covered his body, and walked into the living room. He was met with a barrage of **KI** from everyone except Naruto and Yoh. Naruto looked at his [Bishop] with happiness, while Yoh stared at Hao in worry.

"Hello, Hao." Naruto said with a smile.

"You're in a wheelchair." Hao muttered with disinterest "How do you expect to fight me while in a wheelchair?"

"Don't worry about it, Hao! Why so grumpy-wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" asked Naruto.

"At least I can get out of the bed." Hao answered back.

Kuroka hissed at Hao in anger "I'm really close to tearing you to shreds."

"That's my line, cat bitch." Kisame said, stroking Samehada slowly. The sword was shrieking at Hao lowly, just waiting for the right opportunity to attack.

"Nooooo! I don't you all to fight! Let's leave that for later. Hao, take a seat please. We were watching this amazing movie called Rush Hour. You'll enjoy it." Naruto said with kindness.

Hao rolled his eyes before sitting next to his brother. Anna released Yoh and stared at Hao with annoyance and disdain, not liking his presence so close to her… but especially Yoh.

"Hello, brother." Hao said to his younger twin. Yoh's body started to twitch a little. He looked away from Hao and paid his attention to the paused tv.

"Hi." was Yoh's response. Hao narrowed his eyes somewhat at his brother, before leaning back into his seat.

"Alright, that's what I'm talking about! My protégé, may you please play the movie now?" said Naruto.

"Sure…" Kuroka's eyes were still set on Hao, but she grabbed the remote and pressed play, continuing the movie.

Naruto was the only person to laugh as the movie continued to go on.

 **A few hours later…**

 **West Kuoh Outskirts**

Rias and her peerage appeared at the soon to be battlefield. Rias' eyes perked up when she saw that Sona and her peerage were already there.

"Seems like you took your time getting here." Sona said while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Forgive us, but Koneko wanted to buy a few snacks before arriving." she answered. Meanwhile, Koneko was silently munching on a king sized chocolate bar.

"While I'm not going to lie and say that this fight hasn't interested me, I don't know it's smart for a [King] to fight one of their members. Who would do such an idiotic thing? Don't you think that'll cause more harm than good?" asked the Sitri.

"Uh… I don't know." Rias said with a sweat drop. Issei overheard Sona and sweat dropped as well. "Maybe that's how they operate. You know how boys are~" she sang sweet fully while rubbing back of her neck with an awkward smile.

Sona raised an eyebrow at Rias demeanor, but didn't say anything else. Issei walked over to Saji, who was sitting on top of a cooler chest with a soda in his hand. "Yo, Saji!"

"Hey, Issei! What's going on?" he asked. The two boys shook hands and Issei joined Saji on top of the cooler chest.

"Nothing really. Everything has been going smoothly ever since Buchou and I had our 'spat'." he said with a shrug "And I'm not too sure about this fight. I'm friends with both guys, but I can't help and get angry at Hao for doing what he did."

"Sounds crazy to me- all of it. A [Bishop] trying to kill his [King]? Sounds like stray-devil behavior. You sure that this guy 'Hao' is who you thought he was?" asked Saji, taking a sip of his soda.

"I don't know anymore. I know one thing for sure though… Yoh must be hurting from all of this bullshit. His brother tried to kill his master. I know he's torn on about this whole thing." said Issei sadly.

The two continued to talk between each other for a while before a magic circle appeared. From it came Hao Asakura with a glare centered on his face. Some of the younger devils flinched at the power rolling off of the older Asakura, but Rias approached him. She was starting to get used to being hit with a lot of KI from members of Naruto's peerage, so she was handling the pressure better than she used to.

"Hao." she said, crossing her arms and putting more weight on one of her legs "It's been a while."

"It has. I wasn't told that we'd have an audience, but I should have suspected that he'd do something like this." he said with a grunt. His frown slowly changed into a smirk as he spoke. "You still pissed off that we used you for so long? It seems like his plan to trade for Issei has failed since he's still with you."

"Yes, I am pissed off, but I've come to accept it." she said with a hair flip "I can just use the fact that Issei decided to stay with me against you and Orochimaru in any of our future arguments."

Hao chuckled at the Gremory heiress "Seems like your learning how to counter-argue. I'm sure Orochimaru has already complemented you on this."

"He has." she said with a small smile "But what is going on with you and your master? Why would you try to kill him?"

"Yes. Please explain to me as well, Hao." said Sona, approaching the two with Tsubaki in tow.

"Sona…" he muttered "It really has been a while. I see you still hold distrust for me as well."

"I do. A lot of it." she said easily, her glasses gleaming in the sun "You manipulate me and Rias, and now I hear that your trying to kill your master. If you were in my peerage, I would have labeled you a stray-devil without hesitation."

"I'm sure you would," he said with a smirk "but that's not how my [King] works. He'd want to reach with the good inside of person and all of that mess. He believes in people more than he should."

"So what do you plan on doing here? What will this fight accomplish for you?" asked Sona with a glare.

"The remainder of my life, actually." he said with a shrug "If he beats me, I'll stay, but I'm going to fight him like he is an enemy. I'm going to enter this battle with the intent to kill him."

"You can't do that!" shouted Rias in shock "He's hurt! Cripple! How can he even fight in the first place!?"

"He's in the wheelchair now, if that makes you feel any more comfortable." he said with a laugh.

"You think that's funny?" growled Rias. In her opinion, Hao was starting to look a lot like Riser…

"Sorry, little girl, but you don't know my master." said Hao with all seriousness "He'll find away to fight. He always has a plan. This fight was probably his plan." he turned away from the two and walked towards the middle of the field "It's just that this time… I'll be the one to finish it."

"He's insane." said Sona, glaring at Hao's retreating form "I don't understand why his [King] hasn't labeled him a stray yet."

"When I met their [King] a few days ago, he seemed so nice. He tried to talk to me and Issei even though it was potentially harmful for him. I guess… I guess he just believes in the people that he revived." said Rias.

Not too long after Rias said her finishing remarks, Naruto and the rest of peerage appeared. Naruto was looking around fervently with the face of a kid in the candy store.

"Man, look at all these colors! Stupendous, heheeh!" he giggled. Orochimaru sighed and pushed Naruto to the waving red-head.

"Hello, Naruto-sama." she said with a bow "It's nice to meet you."

"Ah! The Childish Gremory!" he giggled. Rias smile flipped into a frown "hehehe! Sorry, I'm just kidding. Nice to see you again, Rias. How was school today?"

"It was quite boring, to be honest." she answered "I was anticipating this fight all day. It really had me distracted."

"I can atone for that." said Orochimaru with his raspy voice "She wasn't paying attention in class at all. You're lucky that I didn't hand out any work today."

"Ewww… school work nasty, nya!" said Kuroka, stepping up to Naruto's side.

Alarms went off instantly in Sona's head "Your Kuroka the SS-Class stray devil…"

"The Ex SS-Class stray devil, nya!" she said with a wink "I'm a good girl now!" Kuroka's eyes darted around the field until they landed onto the similar eyes of her little sister "Nya! Shirone!"

Koneko jumped up from her seat on the ground and hide behind a surprised Kiba "She's here…" she muttered without emotion, but her body was shaking in fear.

"Now, now, Kuroka." said Naruto, grabbing Kuroka's hand before she could run off for her sister "Give her some space. She seems frightened of your sudden presence."

"Nya?" she could sense that Koneko was shaking a little just by being so close to her. Her eyes went back to her [King], who was smiling at her with compassion. "Okay. Shirone! I'll talk with you later, nyaa!"

' _What?'_ thought Koneko as she peeked from behind Kiba's back. Kuroka was holding conversation with Naruto, Sona, and Rias as if she was uninterested in talking to her. She heard what the blonde boy in the wheelchair had said, but it surprised Koneko that she actually listened to him. _'Who is he?'_

Naruto was being wheeled by Orochimaru around the lawn, talking and shaking hands with everyone present. He even had a brief conversation with Issei and Saji before focusing back on the reason why he was here.

"I guess I've pushed this fight far too long." he said with a sigh "Mh, Hao! Are you ready?!"

"I was ready 10 minutes ago." Hao said with a twitching eyebrow.

"Alrighty then. Orochimaru, you can let me go now. I can do the rest by myself." he said as he started wheeling himself toward the middle of the field.

"Are you sure, Naruto-sama?" Orochimaru asked with concern.

"Yup, yup, yup! Just sit back…" he looked back at his peerage as a wicked grin grew on his face "And watch the MAGIC HAPPEN! heheheHEHEHEHEH!"

Kuroka's ears deflated as she heard the tone in his voice. It was similar to his outburst he had yesterday. "Nya…. be careful…" she muttered. Naruto gave her a thumbs up before continuing to push himself closer to Hao.

"Whew… my arms are tired." he said as he stopped pushing himself "I guess now's the time to set up the barrier."

Hao looked on in interested when Naruto summoned what seemed like small pieces of paper. "Man, I haven't seen my spell tags in a while! They seem alright… no smudges or anything on them."

"Spell tags?" Hao said out loud "Like the ones that Anna uses?"

"Who do you think taught her how to use them?" Naruto asked.

Hao rolled his eyes and didn't answer back. He wasn't there to look like a fool…

"Alrighty… and there!" he threw his spell tags in the air, confusing everyone who was watching. Suddenly, the spell tags all flew in different directions of each other until they were far from the middle. They planted themselves into the ground and a blue dome started to grow over Naruto and Hao, large enough for the two to fly around even in the air.

"Impressive." said Hao as he studied the dome. It seemed sturdy enough to keep the others safe from their battle.

"Damn it!" shouted Naruto. One of his wheels got stuck in some mud that was on the ground. He tried to push through it, but his wheel only snuck further into the mud blob. "Now whose idea was it to put this right here? This world is filled with idiots I swear. Just like those Catfish people wh-

"Enough!" shouted Hao, sick and tired of hearing Naruto's meaningless banter "Are you here to fight or are you here to complain!?"

Naruto laughed at Hao "Alright, Hao. Since you're so worried, we can begin." he said. Naruto took a deep breath of air before concentrating.

"I still don't see how you're going to fight me in a wheelchair." the older Asakura said.

"See? You're still worrying about something that doesn't pertain to you, hehehe!" Naruto said as he continuing pushing up "You underestimate me… just because I was in a box for so long!" a red hue surrounded Naruto's body before quickly disappearing. The blonde Bael grinned as his arms straighten and he planted his feet on the ground.

Naruto was now standing.

"How is this possible?" Hao said with a scowl, hiding his internal shock "You were faking your injury this whole time?"

Naruto popped his neck a few times "No… injuries are real. Let's not worry about how I'm moving and let's get straight to it, shall we?" said Naruto with a closed eye grin.

Hao unfolded his arms and the Spirit of Fire fazed behind him, towering over the two devils "I won't be going easy on you."

"Sadly for you.." Naruto's devious smirk continued to grow "neither will I."

 **Naruto Bael, High-Class Full-Blooded Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Hao Asakura, Mid-Class Full-Blooded Devil, [Bishop]**

"You can have the first move, my [Bishop]." Naruto said without is usual eagerness.

Hao stretched out his arm shot a flaming ball of fire at Naruto. It didn't have any real power in it, he just wanted to use it as a testing grounds on Naruto's abilities.

Naruto responded by conjuring up some of his Power of Destruction, which caught Rias' interest, and countered with his own ball of power. The two orbs met in the middle of the field, causing a huge explosion to occur. Dust flew everywhere covered the whole battleground. Hao's cloak swayed in the wind as he waited for Naruto to show himself from within the smokescreen.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw Naruto running at him. He wasn't very fast, but it still surprised Hao, nevertheless. "So you can run?" said Hao as he prepared to confront Naruto.

"I have legs, duh!" Naruto laughed "Let me use them! I haven't moved in centuries! I want this fight to be fast paste!" he yelled.

Naruto sent a barrage of punches and kicks at Hao, in which he dodged and blocked them all. _'These hits don't even have any real power behind them.."_ he thought in disappointment as he caught Naruto's fist. "You really are weak. You have no real strength behind your attacks."

"Your just saying that." with a sudden burst of strength that surprised Hao, Naruto pulled his fist back aimed another one at his face. Sidestepping the attack, Hao pushed Naruto's arm out of the way and kicked upwards, intended to hit Naruto's chin.

Using his other available hand, Naruto caught Hao's leg and lifted Hao's body from the ground, over Naruto's body, and back down onto the ground behind him. Hao coughed out blood from the force of the blow to his stomach.

"Woah…" Rias muttered as she watched from beyond the barrier. For such a weak looking man, Naruto packed a punch.

Naruto grinned before quickly jumping away as the Spirit of Fire stomped his foot where he once was. The monstrosity screeched and summoned a barrage of flaming meteors at the retreating Bael. Hao growled out as fire surrounded his arms before sending a massive steam of fire at Naruto.

"HahahahaHHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed as he dodged the twin assault from the Spirit of Fire and Hao. Quickly jumping to the left to move out of the way from another flaming rock, Naruto sent a concentrated bolt of Power of Destruction at another meteor, cracking it down the middle and turning it to dust. Jumping through the middle of the dust storm, he was met with another blast of fire from Hao, in which he blocked all of it with a magic seal.

"Fucking bug." Hao muttered as he amped up the pressure of his flamethrowers. He wasn't visible to Naruto any longer as the flames were overtaking the both of them.

Spirit of Fire screeched before stomping his way to where he sensed Naruto. He was in the middle of a field of flames, surrounding him in all angles. The Spirit of Fire dropped both its palms down on Naruto, but he used his swiftness to move out of the way. The fire beast's mouth opened wide and blasts another wave of flames at Naruto.

"Damn it's hot in here!" shouted Naruto with a grin. He countered the flames with his Power of Destruction, which ate through the flames easily.

What Naruto didn't suspect to happen was for the flames to mold together into Hao, who was smirking evilly at seeing Naruto's shocked face. Hao dropped the heel of his foot on Naruto's head, connecting with a large boom.

"That's new..." whispered Naruto as he fell from the sky. Spirit of Fire jetted from the flaming purgatory happening on the ground and snapped its mouth around Naruto, engulfing him complete.

"NARUTO!" Kuroka shouted in fear. It felt like her heart dropped when she saw that the fire beast ate her [King].

"He's still alive… I can feel it." said Hao as he narrowed his eyes at the Spirit of Fire's chest "He won't be able to escape, though. He's going to be melted in the fires inside of Spirit of Fire's chest and then I'll absor-

Spirit of Fire coughed out black flames as his chest started to expand. Hao, in shock and pure instinct, conjured up a powerful barrier.

Spirit of Fire cried out in pain before his body exploded in a shower of lava. Red aura blasted out in all direction, destroying any debris in range of its explosion.

"Whew! I think I burnt some calories while I was in there!" laughed Naruto. His black pants were singed in many places and his shirt was torn as well. "Nice move, Hao."

Hao growled again as he felt his magic levels dropped. _'Whenever Spirit of Fire is destroyed, my magic drops significantly. I'm going to have to fill Spirit of Fire's body with more magic if I need him to be used as a shield if I want him to be able to tank one of his stronger attacks._ ' he thought tactically before summoning Spirit of Fire behind him again.

The spirit roared out as he gained a boost in magic with his revival. His skin glowed red more than what it usually did and it held a homicidal look in its eyes. **"Hao…"**

"I know… it won't happen again." said Hao, creating a small ball of fire in his hand before sending it to Naruto.

"Oh, is this a birthday gift?" said Naruto with a laugh before coating his fingertips with claw like armor, made by his Power of Destruction. He sliced his arm through the air and a blade of red magic soared at quick speeds and sliced the small ball in half. He had to quickly summon a magic dome around him as the ball exploded like a massive bomb. His dome hit the barrier he constructed and continued to defend him from the fire outside it.

The Spirit of Fire appeared below Naruto before grabbing his dome with his large hand and flew him down to the ground. Placing the dome under his feet, the spirit stomped on the dome when it came into contact with the ground. A large crater continued to grow as the spirit jumped on top of Naruto's dome repeatedly.

"Seems... like someone woke up on…gasp..the wrong side of the bed…" Naruto said with clenched teeth as he continued to feed his dome with magic. The Spirit of Fire's moves were considerably more powerful than they were before and the fire around them was starting to get to Naruto as he was sweating more and more.

Hao was flying over the two with another small ball within his hands "This is one he won't be able to block.." he muttered as he concentrated on the flame "….. Spirit of Fire…get ready."

The Spirit of Fire howled at Naruto, its face inches away from Naruto's own, his dome saving him from the beast's bad breath, and flew into the air.

"Flaming Purgatory!" shouted Hao as the small ball released a massive flamethrower of concentrated white flames.

"Shit!" shouted Naruto as he watched his doom closing in "Can't play with this one. Fuck defense!" he released his dome and conjured up massive amount of magic before countering the flames with his Power of Destruction in the form of a massive beam.

Both attacks met and clashed mid-air and struggled against each other. Naruto groaned as the pressure from the struggle was pushing him further underground. Nevertheless, he pumped more magic into his destruction as it was slowly eating at Hao's fire.

"Get him." said Hao calmly. The Spirit of Fire groaned before pointing his large hands down at Naruto. Small missiles flew from his fingers and headed down to Naruto.

"Damn it." the young Bael said as he sensed the approaching missiles "Seems like I've gotta abort!" he said as his Power of Destruction flowed down to his feet.

The missiles hit the ground around Naruto, causing miniature eruptions of fire. Naruto's Power of Destruction, which was fighting against Hao's white flames, started to waver before disappearing. Hao took to opportunity given to him and expanded his attack, losing the force it once had, but covered more ground. The earth below was painted in white flames as Hao continued to spray the area Naruto was at.

He stopped his assault after a minute of hellfire before watching the earth below him, waiting for any sign of Naruto.

"I don't sense his energy." said Hao. The Spirit of Fire grunted as he too was watching for any signals of Naruto.

Suddenly, a couple of meters away from where Naruto once was, a hand popped out of the ground. Naruto slowly pulled himself out of the ground, before quickly rolling away from the hole he escaped out of. White flames erupted from the hole like a geyser, reaching heights that almost close to Hao in the air. After a few seconds, the eruption ceased and Naruto slowly flew his way up to Hao and the Spirit of Fire.

"Man oh man!" he said with a smile. His face was filled with dirt from his adventure of digging underground to escape Hao's wrath. "That was a great warm up!"

"A warm-up?" said Hao, almost laughing at his [King] "You think that was a warm-up? You've taken more damage than I have, surely. You probably halved your magic reserves, but your body won't be able to take the pressure of this fight for long. You need to surrender."

"And that's where you're wrong, Hao." said Naruto with a laugh "You honestly think I became a war-hero by surrendering? Come on, now? I'm better than that."

"Then show me. You haven't shown me that yet. The only good look you got off of me was at the beginning of the fight." said Hao with a glare.

"Allllrrriigghhtttt…" Naruto dragged out with a shoulder shrug "It's your funeral."

With a cruel smirk, Naruto summoned and blasted a small ball of Power of Destruction at Hao. The Spirit of Fire quickly acted upon it and used his hand to block it from Hao.

Hao's eyes widened when the Spirit of Fire's whole hand was blown off in an explosion of red.

He covered his face with his arms as the strong aftershock of the attack pushed him back. He gritted his teeth and sent his magic to Spirit of Fire so that he could recover from Naruto's attack.

The sound of Hao's cloak tearing caught his ears. He turned his head to see Naruto tearing a piece off and wiping his face. "Thanks for this."

Hao shouted at Naruto and engaged him. Naruto smirked while dodging Hao's fist and kicked him in his chest, causing the older Asakura to cough up spit. Hao quickly recovered and covered his fist in fire and tried to hit Naruto with a close range flamethrower. Naruto grabbed both of Hao's arms and lifted them upwards, keeping him safe from the hot flames. The Bael kicked at Hao in his ribs, smirking when he heard a satisfying pop sound, before releasing Hao and kicking him down into the ground.

Internally hurt, Hao smirk as he commanded the recovered Spirit of Fire to charge at Naruto, which he did almost instantaneously. Cocking its massive left hand back, the Spirit of Fire had the intent of breaking every bone in Naruto's body. Naruto smiled as he lifted his right fist up and coated it with his PoD . He yelled out a battle cry as his fist met the Spirit of Fire's….

The Spirit of Fire blew up in dazzling display of fire and red magic as Naruto's Power of Destruction that flowed from his hand destroyed the monster the instant he made contact with Naruto. Hao looked on in fear as his partner was destroyed was again.

"We're not finished, Hao!" shouted Naruto with a wicked grin as he flew down to the falling Asakura with a red hue surrounding him.

"Gah!" shouted Hao as he summoned Spirit of Fire again, but this time he was summoned as his Armor Style: Black Fowl gear. Hao aimed his cannon at Naruto and shot a red laser filled with power at Naruto before flying away.

Blocking the laser strike with his palm only, the red hue around Naruto grew brighter and brighter as he followed Hao in the air, dodging all of the fire bombs and lasers Hao was sending his way.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, the younger devils were watching the battle with wide eyes and awe. Issei had his mouth wide opened as he struggled to keep up with the speed the two older devils were moving at.

"It's like watching an episode of Dragon Ball Z…" he said as he followed the fight.

"We were living in the same town with these monsters?" Saji said as he looked over to Naruto's peerage. Everyone other than Lee was following the fight closely, while Lee had some trouble keeping up.

"He's amazing." said Orochimaru as he watched the fight "It's like he was never injured."

"And he's not even at 100% yet… his body is still healing…" muttered Anna as she sensed Naruto's power outage.

Kuroka smirked at the others, before looking at the barrier that separated them from the battling devils on the other side. _'They don't even notice. Naruto is such a genius, nya!'_

Naruto grinned at Hao as he closed the gap in between them. Red arms grew from the aura surrounding Naruto and caught the surprised Hao. He struggled to get free, but the arms held him down with an incredible strength.

"Gotcha!" shouted Naruto as flew done at Hao with his leg outstretched. Naruto foot entered Hao's stomach and a glob of blood shot out of Hao's mouth from the pressure. Naruto's red arms ripped Hao's armor off of before he flew and bounced off the barrier with a sick crunch.

"AAhHH! AAAhhhhh!" shouted Hao as he landed on the ground. His senses kicked in again, but he couldn't move quick enough as a red hand erupted from the ground under him and grabbed his throat. The arm retreated back into the hole, but Hao's face was smashed into the ground. Hao coughed up more blood as he summoned his wings and flew away from the ground.

"Where's that spunk you had earlier, Hao!" shouted Naruto as he flew over Hao. Hao gritted his teeth before focusing another fire blast at Naruto and increased his speed.

Naruto slapped the fire blast away with no seemingly effort and followed Hao closely, wanting to see what he would do next. He followed the huffing Hao back on the ground and started to walk towards him.

"I see the tables have turned." said Naruto as he stepped on the ground. The battlefield shook as his power coursed through it like it was nothing. Hao's legs buckled under him, but he stood his guard. "Are you sure you want to continue? Seems like the victor is clear as day to me."

"Shut up!" shouted Hao uncharacteristically as he outstretched both of his hands, both of them touching at the wrist. Another stream of fire soared at Naruto with the intent to kill, but Naruto's red aura destroyed the fire before it could even harm him. Hao sweated as he continued to pour more magic into his flames, but they seemingly bounced off of Naruto like it was nothing.

"After all that talk of you calling me weak…" Naruto shook his head with a chuckle as he continued to walk through the stream of pressurized flames "Seems that was all a fake."

"I said shut up!" Hao yelled again. Naruto finally made it to Hao and grabbed his hands once again. Leaning back and then quickly rearing forward, Naruto head-butted Hao with the force of a raging bull. Hao stepped back, a little disoriented, before recovering. He gripped his fist together and engaged Naruto in hand-to-hand combat, starting with a swift punch to Naruto's stomach.

Naruto ignored the blow and elbowed Hao's face, followed by a kick to his stomach. Hao hand's blasted a strong wave a fire, which broke the momentum of Naruto's kick, and sped towards him with a flying kneecap. Naruto side-stepped the blow went for punch at Hao's side, but Hao caught it will in air. Fire now sprouted out of Hao's feet as he swung around Naruto until he had premium position behind his opponent with their arm behind his back.

"Surrender." Hao said with anger as he held an orb of flames in his other hand and placed it close to Naruto's back. The heat was burning through Naruto's clothes and started to cook his skin, but Naruto didn't care.

"Dumb ass." he muttered. Two red hands broke out from the ground and captured Hao's ankles for themselves. The ground weakened underneath Hao, thanks to Naruto flooding it with his PoD, and Hao was pulled underground by the arms. Naruto laughed to himself for a while as his hands dragged Hao through the rugged underground soil before pulling him above ground.

The moment Hao's arm was out from the ground, the same orb he had used to threaten Naruto was used as his next attack as he threw at it Naruto while be hung upside down. Naruto quickly summoned a shield to block the attack, but his eyes widened in surprise when the orb quickly transformed into the head and neck of the Spirit of Fire, its mouth wide open. It swallowed Naruto once again before the rest of its body materialized, but it was much smaller than what it usually was.

"Spirit of Fire: Overheat!" shouted Hao as he broke away from Naruto's red hands. The Spirit of Fire groaned as its body convulsed and superheated itself, the lava inside of its stomach boiling hot. Volcanic gasses rushed out of the spirit's nose as it glowed a deadly red. The ground below it melted into a pool of lava as it continued to heat up.

"He couldn't have survived that…" Hao said with a deep breath of air. While he wouldn't be able to absorb Naruto's energy since he literally melted Naruto's being, he had won the-

The Spirit of Fire's mouth was forced open as a hand shot out of it. Naruto, his red aura protecting him from the heat, jumped out of the spirit's mouth before flying off in haste, away from the fire duo.

Hao's eyes widened he felt a large amount of magic centering inside of his partner's stomach. He summoned his wings and a quickly flew away as the Spirit of Fire imploded on itself in display of fire. The nearby barrier couldn't survive the heat as it was destroyed by the blast, but it slowly reformed after the blast.

Hao sighed as he felt the drop of his magic reserves once again. Naruto was pushing him to limits he didn't know he had. "Damn it… if this continues… I'll lose."

"I agree." said Naruto as he landed in front of him "This battle, while it was fun at the beginning, started to get boring overtime. I'd rather be back in my seal, talking to you about how you shouldn't kill weak people." he said with a laugh "Hold on… since you losing… shouldn't that mean I should kill you? You are pretty weak right now."

Hao's anger was evident on his face as he took of his tattered cloak before rushing to Naruto in blind anger. Naruto smirked as he crossed his arms, unafraid of the boy in front of him. He clicked his tongue to the top of his mouth and stabbed the heel of his foot into the ground…

Ice sprouted from his foot and danced over the surface of the ground, eating at any random fires in its way. The ice sped towards Hao as he was about to set his right foot back on the ground. His foot slipped on the ice and he fell head first into it.

"Tick, tick, tick, Hao." said Naruto as he walked over to Hao's tattered body. He wasn't moving at all and his hair was covering his face. "You used to act to calm and collected; now you're just a mad man who's struggles to understand that there will be weak people in the world."

He stopped in front of Hao's body and bent down to his level. He picked up Hao by his hair and pulled upwards, revealing Hao's face. His nose was broken and blood was pouring from it like a river, but he still had the strength to glare at Naruto, even if it wasn't as strong as his other glares. "It took eight years for me to convince you to turn from your ways and I didn't judge you one time throughout that whole experience. But then you judge me the first time you see me! Heheeeh…now isn't that funny?"

Hao gritted his teeth and conjured up his remaining magic "You… you fool…"

"Hm?" said Naruto, tilting his head sideways in confusion.

"Yo..you can't eve…even….. notice that this was a distraction."

The newly, and super-powered Spirit of Fire coated his massive hands in white flames, before clasping them together and dropped them down onto the duo in a fiery sledgehammer.

A purple dome protected Naruto and Hao from the blow. Naruto shook his head in disappointment. "That was a suicide blow. You're lucky that I'm smarter than you, hehehheee.." Naruto laughed "You won't be able to sustain the Spirit of Fire's form any way." Naruto used his free hand and flicked it a few times. Hao's body jerked a few times before his feeling in his arms and legs were gone. "My magic is inside your body, messing with your control. You've lost."

The Spirit of Fire screeched one last time before slowly fading away, no longer sustained by Hao's magic. Hao himself was looking at Naruto with a dead stare, his brown eyes glued to Naruto's blue.

"Do you surrender?" asked Naruto.

Hao groaned before using the rest of his energy to nod his head.

Naruto smiled and chopped the back of Hao's head, knocking him out.

"WHhHHhhhhheEEEEEWWWWwww! That was fun!" Naruto's childlike demeanor came back with full force as a cheeky grin spread across his face "I'm hungry."

He snapped his fingers and the barrier started fade away. His spell tags flew back towards him and he put them away in their seal. "I wonder what's on tv…"

Nobody from Rias and Sona's peerages could move as they watched Naruto walk back over to them. The fight they just witnessed was a monstrosity. The power and KI that entered their beings during the fight was indescribable for such young devils and couldn't process everything.

Rias shook when Naruto was walking towards them, her heart beating faster and faster in fear of being in the same presence of this monster. _'This man…. this is the power of the older devils? I don't even want to know the things he had to do in order to get that strong.'_ Her mouth dried up when Naruto pasted by her like she was nothing, and she felt that way too. If Naruto ever decided to rebel, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to stand against him for a whole minute before succumbing to death.

"Ahhh! I guess I should drop the other barrier to…" muttered Naruto as he stretched out.

"Other….barrier?" Sona managed to speak her thoughts, but fear was still coursing through her body. That man was incredibly strong. She wasn't even sure if her sister could fight against the Bael.

Naruto started to laugh at himself "It seems like only my protégé noticed it, isn't that right?" he said with a grin at Kuroka. She winked at him before joining him in laughter. "Oh, ho, ho! Just watch this part!" said Naruto excitedly.

 _He snapped his fingers…_

Hao gasped for breath as his eyes opened. He hurriedly looked around him to see where he was. He was currently standing in the middle of the same spot he was in while waiting for Naruto to wheel himself towards him and set up the barrier.

"What is going on?" he said to himself.

"Nyayayaya! Look at them, Naruto! They're like little lost puppies!" Kuroka's voice entered his ears and he looked over to where the barrier once was. His eyes widened in anger as he saw both Kuroka and Naruto was laugh at everyone, who also had confused looks on their faces.

"Wait." he said as he studied Naruto. He was still in his wheelchair, with no noticeable damage done to him. His clothes were still intact and he was positioned outside of where the barrier once was. "What did you do!" shouted Hao in anger as he stomped over to them. He coughed when he realized that he was extremely tired and low on magic. He dropped to one knee as he continued his coughing fit.

"What… happened to us?" asked Orochimaru as he looked down at his laughing master.

"What happened?" Naruto laughed out "Nothing happened, heheahahahah! I was here the whole time!"

"What!" everyone other than Kuroka shouted. He was there the whole time?!

"This needs an explanation." said Sona as she pushed up her glasses "How did this fight not happen? The field you used fight is obviously destroyed with fire and uprooted in many places."

"Because Hao thought he was fighting me." he said with a smile "He thought he was fighting me because I set the illusion up that he was fighting me, but I was watching him dance around the field like a little child the whole time."

"How did you make us believe that?" asked Orochimaru "I never felt a disturbance with my senses."

"Because I already had my magic in you. Remember these?" orange orbs fazed out of the chest of Naruto's peerage members "I planted these in you all so that you could have a better connection with my energy while I was in my seal. I just used that energy to influence you all into believe that the fight was real, but it was all just an illusion."

"And what about the second barrier you talked about?" Anna asked.

"That's what activated the illusion. I set it up the moment I arrived here, and activated before I made my way into the protective barrier where the battle was held. Genius, right? hehehhaahahahah!"

"And us?" asked Akeno "When did you have the time to put your magic into all of us?"

"I shook everyone's hand before the fight, did I not?" asked with a tilted head "I did it then and you all suspected nothing! heheeheh!"

"That's insane… for you to be able to construct something like that right under our noses…" Sona muttered, feeling very weak. "And the only person who found out about this was your [Queen]?"

"Yup, yup, yup! My protégé is super strong, so of course she could sense it right off the bat." answered Naruto with a smile.

"It was funny seeing Hao fly around, running from his own shadow, nyayaya!" laughed Kuroka.

"That's fucking awesome!" shouted Kisame, highly impressed with Naruto's abilities "I was going to jump into the fight whenever you two were done, but not anymore! Hell no! I've had my fill for the day! This is fucking incredible!"

"This.. this is really… really hard to believe right now." said Tsubaki. "What about the time when you brought Hao underground with your arms?"

"Ah! That was a all fake. Just look at Hao's cloak. See how it isn't tattered up? And remembered when I tore it too wipe my face? Hehehe, he actually discarded it towards the end of his fake fight and look at him now! He has it on! Its magic I tell you, ahHAHAHAHHAAHAH!"

"Your wheelchair doesn't have mud on it." Anna muttered. Everyone checked and sure enough, his wheelchair was spotless.

"I feel very weak right now." said Kiba as he shook his head "This is crazy… too crazy for one day."

Hao gritted his teeth as he punched the ground with a lot of force, denting it. "I was fighting a shadow… this whole time! I was shooting fire at fucking air!?"

"You sure was." said Naruto as he surprisingly stood from his wheelchair again. He disappeared in a burst of speed and appeared over Hao. He kicked Hao under his chin, causing the boy to fly in the air and land on his back. "But now it's time for your punishment."

Naruto stomped his foot on Hao's stomach. Hao coughed up blood while looking up at his master in fear. Naruto was looking down at Hao with indifference, just waiting on him to rebel. "I was nothing but nice to you, Hao. I waited eight years for you, and this is the thanks I get." Naruto's **KI** was flooding Hao's sense and he shivered in fear. "How disgraceful."

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-sama." said Hao in repentance "I've learned my lesson. Please forgive me."

"You don't deserve forgiveness!" shouted Naruto as he stomped on Hao's stomach, causing him to vomit another glob of blood. Everyone look at the scene uncomfortably. How could a person that was always happy turn into this?

"I'm really am debating on if I should kill you right now."

Naruto let his words hang as everyone digested them with shock.

"Naruto?" said Kuroka with uncertainty. _'What is he doing? He never acts like this…'_

"Naruto-sama!" Yoh appeared next to his weakened brother and looked up to his [King] with a pleading look. "Look, h-he gets it, okay!? He knows what he did wrong! It won't happen again!"

"I don't think so…" growled Naruto as a red hue covered his whole body, except for his right leg, which was pinning Hao down to the ground. "I don't take it lightly that you tried to kill me. I gave you my trust. I expected you to be my family…. and yet you still do something like this!"

"Naruto…" Kuroka was slowly making her way towards the three boys. The rest of Naruto's peerage was behind her. "I don't think… you want to do this. Just let Hao go…he understands what he did."

"Don't tell me what to do, Kuroka." Naruto growled, halting Kuroka in her tracks "This man tried to kill me… do you know what happened to the last person who tried to kill me, hmmm?"

Naruto's aura started to dance wildly around him. The earth shook beneath him as he looked down upon Hao like he was nothing "The last person who tried to do that to me was during the Civil War and I turned him into nothingness!"

"Okay, Naruto!" Kuroka cried out "But, please! Please don't kill him! This isn't you!"

Naruto glared at his [Queen], which broke her heart into a million pieces, but she stay strong, not dropping eye contact with him.

"That's your family member, Naruto…" she said to him "You always said you couldn't wait to see everyone for yourself one day. This isn't what you taught me, nya."

Kuroka noticed that his eyes weakened at her words before turning back to Hao. "It seems I've found some type of mercy, Hao."

"Thank, Naruto-sama." Yoh said with a bow, trying his best to keep from shaking while under pressure of Naruto's KI.

"Don't thank me too, early. He'll still be punished." he said as he looked down at Hao with disinterest "You called me weak while I was sick? Then your punishment shall be the same."

Naruto's red aura went down his leg and surrounded Hao's body. After a few seconds, Hao skin started to crack and crinkle. His breathing hitched as the strength he once disappeared in an instant. His skin was clutching to his bones, his lips dried up, and his face grew wrinkles. All in all, he looked the same way Naruto did when he was freed from his seal.

"Your punishment is my own struggle. Your pride is what's going to torture you. You'll stay like this for a while." said Naruto as he removed his foot from Hao's stomach.

"Wha…. how did you do this?" said Yoh as he watched his brother struggle to breath.

"I'm cutting of his blood flow, giving him the bare minimum to live. I also destroyed a lot of his stored nutrients he had, as well as any food in his system. That's his punishment." Naruto picked Hao up by his cloak and dragged him back to the sidelines. His peerage members created a path for their [King], not brave enough to stop him.

Naruto threw Hao into his wheelchair, making him wheeze out in pain. "My peerage, come!" he shouted. They made their way to their master while a magic seal engulfed them until they were gone, leaving Sona, Rias, and the other younger devils to finally be able to let go of a breath they all didn't know they were holding in.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

The peerage and [King] appeared in the living room. Naruto ignored his followers and made his way up the stairs and back into his room. He closed the door behind him and started to strip down until he was I his boxers. Putting back on his gym pants that he slept in, Naruto entered his bed before unraveling his bandages around his wrist and stomach. He connect his water and food tube back into his stomach and then inserted his blood transfusion needles into a vein, not even wincing at the sharp pain. He tapped his heart monitor to his chest and turned the machine on. Finally, he placed his breathing machine back on his face and turned the machine on as well. He took a deep breath as he laid back into his bed and closed his eyes, entering his slumber.

He was all alone that night. Kuroka didn't sleep next to him like she usually did.

His stomach rose as he took in air, before deflating shortly after…

"Beep…..beep…..beep…."

 **wwwwwWWWWWHHHHHHHHEEEEEWWWWW WEEE! NARUTOPLUG BACK AT AGAIN, YA DIGGGGGG!**

 **Naruto a whole real nigga out here! You ain't finna catch him lacking, no, no, no! He'll kill you in his sleep! Now that's a fun chapter to type up!**

 **Man! I swear I outdue myself ever time! You can't find this anywhere else people! Only here, BreakThrough by NarutoPlug, can you find all this amazing-ness packed into 11 chapters!**

 **DON'T FUCK WITH NARUTO! PERIOD!**

 **Shit, I got scared while typing that last scene up! The emotion! OOooooooOOOOOHH! I love my mind!**

 **So yea, Naruto can move around, but I don't think I explained how in the story. He's using his magic to move his body for him. He basically wasn't using any muscles at all, his magic doing the work for him. I'll address that in the next chapter just so nobody is confused.**

 **Does Kuroka care for Koneko? What was that NarutoPlug? Why didn't Kuroka try to hug Koneko and shit like that? Like what happens in most fanficti-**

 **Cause BITCH THIS IS MY STORY!**

 **Man, I'm feeling myself with this chapter! Please forgive me if I sound like I'm arrogant, because I'm a real humble dude, but I gotta pat myself on the back for this one. I'm just so awesome.**

 **So Naruto can A.) control his body in some awesome way B.) use his PoD in a variety of ways and C.) create illusion so fucking amazing, you think you actually fighting niggas, meanwhile, he eating popcorn while looking at yo dumb ass, STOOPID!**

 **Now that's a chapter worthy of 15k words! This shit is starting to get easy to me now!**

 **I like how a lot of you listed people you want to be in Naruto's peerage. It means that you all read my AU's and I'm grateful for that. I've got such loyal readers, thank you Lord.**

 **I'm gonna be honest with ya, I'm leaning more towards a female peerage member than a male. Gotta even it out for the ladies, ya dig?**

 **Shit I don't even know if I have anything else to address…. I guess I don't..**

 **REVIEW YA ASSES OFF!**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	12. KingAndQueen

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy NarutoPlug, the nigga on Fanfiction with the blessed fingers of typing, ya dig?**

 **Another thing I wanted to ask you all: Would you all be alright for an OC to be a part of Naruto's peerage? One of my reviewers gave me an OC character last chapter (You can go back to chapter 11's review list and scroll down to see who I'm talking about) and it sounded nice. If you all are okay with an OC character in Naruto peerage, hit me up and give me the business.**

 **This chapter will focus a lot on Naruto and Kuroka, I've been giving y'all too much action lately, lol, so we gotta take it down a notch in this chapter.**

 **Oh, and this to all the females that read my story. Since a lot of my reviewers (I'm assuming here) are males, I want some of yall feed back too, ya dig. This story do got drama in it and a upcoming love triangle, so tell what you all want to see in this story as well. I want your ideas to be in this story, too. NarutoPlug is a feminist by the way. I'd rather be in a room with girls than boys, lol.**

 **Let's begin the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **KingAndQueen**

 **The Next Day**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"You go in there, cause I'm not! I like my life!"

"Aren't you always talking about how strong you are, nya? Go prove it now!"

"Get the rookie to do it! I'm not going in there for nothing!"

"Yosh! I would do it….. But I just remember that I have to extra push ups today!"

"Oh no you don't!"

Kisame, Kuroka, and Lee were outside their [King]'s door, debating on who was going to wake him up for the day. Everyone in the house was shocked about what happened yesterday evening at the end of Naruto and Hao's battle. The brutality that Naruto used to punish Hao was very unnerving and they were wary of their [King] now. Even Kuroka, who has spent the most time with Naruto, didn't recognize the man they saw yesterday. It scared her that Naruto was debating about killing Hao before he was convinced not to.

Kisame grabbed Lee's collar and pulled him back towards them "Listen, you need to pay your dues and go in there now! I'm not going in there because I'll say something stupid like 'Damn Naruto, got all those needles in your arm-you a crack fiend now?' and then he'll shoot me up with that red magic-destruction shit!" the shark man cried out.

"Well, why can't Kuroka-sama do it!? She's known Naruto-sama the longest!" Lee said in his defense.

"Because, Lee dear, I don't want to do it. As your [Queen], I demand that you do it, nya." Kuroka said with a playful pout.

Lee was looking back and forth at Kuroka and Kisame, trying to find an escape route to his predicament. His eyes lit up in happiness when Orochimaru stepped out his room in his usual tunic. "Orochimaru!" Lee ran over to the snake man in a blitz of speed "Good morning to you! You look well!"

"Good morning, Lee." Orochimaru said in his usual raspy voice. He raised an eyebrow at the young martial artist. "Is there something you need from me?"

"YES!" shouted Lee "Can you wake up Naruto-sama for me? It would really mean a lot to me."

Orochimaru looked over at Kuroka and Kisame, who were looking at Orochimaru with hopefulness. "You are Naruto's advisor, nya. Maybe you should wake him up!" said Kuroka with an accusing finger pointed at Orochimaru.

Sweat rolled down Orochimaru as he looked at the closed door to his master's room "Oh..Uh..I just remember that I have to get to the school early today…"

"It's Saturday, dumbass!" said Kisame with a laugh "Now go do your job, Mr. College Advisor! HAHahah!"

"I have student organization work I need to handle!" Orochiamru said quickly while summoning a magic circle "Good day."

"The legendary Orochimaru, reduced to this." said Anna as she opened the door to her and Yoh's room. She was dressed in her usual blue short dress with her 1080 beads around her neck and red bandana over her hair. "I'll do it. I need to talk to Naruto-sama anyway."

Everyone cleared the way for Anna to approach and knock on the door quietly "Naruto-sama, I'm coming in." when she didn't receive an answer, she opened the door without any hesitation and entered his room, closing the door behind her.

Everyone in the hallway looked at the closed door in disbelief. Anna really went inside.

"Damn." said Kisame while rubbing his chin "That girl has balls…hehehe…. 'Has balls'! Ha! I'm hilarious."

It was quiet in Naruto's room, with the occasional sound coming from one of the many machines in the room supporting Naruto's health. Naruto was sleeping on his back with his breathing machine on. He looked peaceful to Anna, so she watched him for a while, taking the time to really study him for the first time. He looked healthier, no doubt, but she could still see his bones protruding from his skin, even if it wasn't as bad as it was when they first freed him from his seal.

Anna snapped back into focus and grabbed one of the chairs in the room and sat down on the right side of the bed. She reached out and shook Naruto's sleeping form a few times to get him to wake up.

"Naruto-sama." she whispered quietly. Naruto's eyelids tightened somewhat until they slightly opened, revealing his blue orbs to the world. He took a deep breath and turned his head to Anna, looking her in the eyes. Anna suppressed a shudder but kept her stoic persona up.

"Anna…I wasn't expecting you." he said quietly "Good morning."

"Good morning, Naruto-sama." she said with a bow "Was your sleep nice?"

"No, they never are, but I'm used to it." he said with a smile "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'll be honest with you, Naruto-sama, what you did yesterday surprised me." said Anna while folding her arms together over her chest "I wasn't expecting you to do something so drastic to Hao."

Naruto laughed a little and looked towards his window "You hate me now, right? I don't blame you, but I believe that what I did was justified. I won't have such actions go unpunished."

"No, I don't hate you because I agree with you." Naruto raised an eyebrow at her words and turned back towards Anna as she continued "Hao needed his pride to be destroyed. I know of his past outlook on life and needed that beat out of him. Hao never lost a fight before, so I'm glad you were the one to beat some sense into him." she said coolly.

"W..well then," Naruto said with a cough "I'm glad you're on my side on this. I would have thought you were going to be mad at since you have a strong connection with Hao and Yoh."

"Your right about that, but Hao was starting to become annoying and it was a problem. Yoh was worried about his brother and I was close to handling him myself, but you did it for me. Also, the way you beat Hao was truly outstanding, so I thank you for that and I'm in awe at your skills, even while bedridden." she finished.

"Thank you, Anna. That really means a lot to hear you compliment me like that." said Naruto with a closed eye smile.

Anna's nonchalant face didn't change at all "However, what you after the fight is what confused me." Naruto's smile slightly wavered as he cracked his eyes open "You were thinking about killing Hao. I'm not going to act innocent and say that the thought hasn't cross my mind of ending him, but I wouldn't kill Hao just because he got on my nerves. The only situation where I would attempt to kill him is if he was a threat to Yoh. Now, Hao was trying to kill you, so the logical thing for a devil to is get them back, but nobody really thought that you were capable of killing one of your peerage members."

"Really now?" said Naruto with a head tilt "So you would kill Hao if he became a threat to Yoh's safety, but your surprised that I would debate upon killing someone that tried to kill me? I don't understand."

"I know, but let me explain myself." she said while sliding her sandals off and kicking her feet up on Naruto's bed "You are our [King]. You are the one who asked us if we wanted to be a part of your peerage. You accepted our strengths, along with our weaknesses. While you helped Hao for a long time with his outlook on life of all beings, you knew that he still held contempt for certain things. He tried to kill you, yes, but I didn't think that you would think about killing him as well. To be honest with you, I'd feel more comfortable around you if your first decision would have been what you decided to punish Hao with: disabling him. It makes him feel weak, which will humble him, but killing him is just like running away from your problems. For you to go through so much, you actually believe that killing him would be the correct justice for him, and this peerage?" she explained.

"That is what you believe, but it's because of my past experiences is what made me debate on killing Hao or not." he said with a small smile.

"Why is that?" asked Anna in interest.

"A lot of people have betrayed me, Anna. I've seen a lot of my time and was faced in harsh predicaments many times. If I would have acted sooner, then it is a strong possibility that I would have never been sealed inside that disgusting box. Basically, I'm not going to take chances on the people I put my trust in. While you all didn't see, it hurt me a lot that Hao tried to kill me. So much, I almost gave up on him. I'm just using what I've learned in life and base my decisions from that." he said with a shrug like it was nothing "I have different morals than most people. It isn't something I control; it was something forced upon me."

"Understandable, but you do know that everyone fears you now?" she said questionable.

"My family shouldn't be afraid of me unless they are plotting against me." Naruto said with all-seriousness in his voice "Are they planning on doing something against me? I noticed that my protégé wasn't here to wake me up. Is she planning something funny?"

"No." Anna said sternly "Why would you assume something like that? How could you assume something like that? That is your [Queen] and you believe that she'll betray you? We are here for you and we're just worried for you. What we saw yesterday was an entirely different man."

"It's because you all aren't the first group of people I've called 'family'." he said with a certain amount of edge in his voice "You know…you know my story, Anna. This isn't my first go around where I had to trust a group of people with everything. It wouldn't surprise me now if you tried to attack sometime during this talk."

"N-no. I wouldn't do that." said Anna, surprised with revelation.

"That didn't stop my mother from killing herself, though." he said with a frown. He gripped the sheets of his bed while staring at his ceiling fan. "It didn't stop her from leaving me alone…."

Anna didn't say anything for a while. She was digesting this new outlook she had for her master. Naruto's mind was a fragile thing, and he had to use that fragile mind to get by inside an empty space for years. Of course he was going to have distrust for people, to be prepared for his own peerage members to betray him was an amazing and scary sense of security to Anna.

"The word 'family'…" Naruto whispered "I hold it to such high regard… before I considered you all my family, I considered myself to be in two families; both went down to hell." he said with a growl "I just don't want the same to happen now. So when I see someone trying to damage or hurt my family, I'll do what's necessary to keep them safe, even if I have to kill one of my family members."

"We're really that important to you?" asked Anna, generally interested in Naruto's outlook.

"I need you all." he said with all the confidence "I need you all so much that I can't put it into words. You all are my family and you all are the only people in this world, the Underworld, Heaven, or anywhere else that I consider to be more important than me. I'd stop all the plans I have right now if you all don't want me to do so. I'm not going to force myself on you all, that's why I asked for everyone's approval before adding you all to my peerage. My peerage is my god, and I'll honor it with every breath in my body."

Anna shocked face didn't stop Naruto's rant "If Hao were to kill me, I don't know what would happen to you all, which is why I was debating on killing him. I've stuck with Hao for eight years, trying to change his outlook on life, and I was somewhat successful, but I didn't change it fully. He tried to kill me because I wasn't what he expected me to be at first glance. Hao trying to kill me is the equivalent of an angel or a fallen angel trying to kill you, Anna. The only reason why Hao is still alive right now is because Kuroka convinced me that he is a part of my family, so he was an enemy I had emotional ties with. He got the special treatment, if that's what you want to call it, but if he tries to do what he did again, that'll be it for him. I know that you all need me, just like I need you all, so if someone threatens us, they won't live to tell the tale. That is final."

Anna stared at Naruto, studying his calm face as he pulled the sheets more so only his head was sticking out. "What I'm getting from this….you love us, that is obviously true…. but don't trust us fully…. like your heart has a defense mechanism for protecting itself from breaking when someone you truly love betrays your trust…. that is an amazing and scary trait to have."

Naruto shrugged his shoulder, "That's just how the world made me Anna. The heart is the weakest part of the body and mine has been abused many times. It's sink-or-swim out here and I was floating in the ocean with a paddle boat filled with holes. I gotta do what I have to in order to live with any means necessary."

"You… you are surprising knowledgeable for a person that laughs all the time and was locked up for centuries." she said with unease, not sure how he was going to take it.

Naruto just laughed and waved Anna off "I spent centuries learning how people worked, Anna. I had to learn the things nobody would teach me myself in order for me to do the things I plan on doing. Remember, you don't need to be the strongest to be the strongest."

Anna sweat dropped "What does that even mean?"

"Plus, ya gotta laugh through things to keep it pushing!" Naruto said with a smile, ignoring Anna's last question "I do have something to ask you, Anna."

"Which is?"

"How is Yoh doing?" he asked.

"Yoh?" she with a raised eyebrow "He's okay. He's….split between what you did. While he's happy that you kept Hao alive, he wasn't really fond of the idea of you were debating on killing him or how you punished him. He doesn't know how to approach you right now." she answered honestly.

"Hmmm…" Naruto eyes trailed to the ceiling he thought about his next words "Yoh… I'm sorry that you are scared of me… and I'm sorry that you feel like what I did was wrong, but I want you to understand that I care about both you and Hao, I just have a weird way of showing it, hehehe! So, I hope that you listened to my side of the story well and understand where I'm coming from."

"Your peerage members are noisy people." said Anna with a shake of her head.

"We know you all are listening through the door." Naruto said outloud.

A lot of noise was made outside Naruto's bedroom door, and both could clearly here Lee shoot his usual 'Yosh! Run!' and Kuroka's 'Nya!', and the sound of feet repeatedly hitting ground was heard until it slowly decreased.

"Hehehehe! Hahhahahahahaha!" Naruto laughed, generally finding the whole situation funny. Anna shook her head, but cracked a smile.

When he finished his banter of laughter, he turned his attention back towards his second [Bishop] "When you get down there with them, tell them to leave me alone for the day. I need to think about some things." he said with a kind smile to Anna, "And thanks for this as well. While this won't truly mend things together with the others…. maybe they'll understand why I did it."

"Yes sir and I'm sure you'll understand us more sometime soon." she said with a nod as she stood from her seat and made her way out of his room, closing the door behind her. She made her way downstairs and into to living room to meet up with the others. Once they saw Anna in the room, everyone acted like their full attention was on the television.

"Oh, look at us over here just watching some good 'ole TV, not doing anything of suspension! Hahahahaha!" Kisame laughed out awkwardly, Samehada shrieking with its master.

"Yes, Ms. Anna! We were down here just watching the television that you all enjoy so much!" Lee lied with a goofy smile "Nobody was outside of Naruto-sama's door, listening into your conversation about what he did to Mr. Hao yesterday! Nope!"

Everyone in the room sweat dropped at Lee's lying skills, or the lack of it. Anna shook her head while making her towards Yoh, who was sitting at their usual couch. "You all are impossible…. it doesn't even matter, now. It better this way if you think about it because now he doesn't need to explain himself again."

"I know…" Yoh said with a sigh, burying his face into his hands "but Hao.."

Hao was seated in Kisame's recliner, taking in deep breathes air. His skin was clinging to his bones and the veins in his neck were clearly visible. He had on his usual black plants, but ditched his cloak for a white undershirt. Yoh was the one that dressed Hao and teleported him downstairs into the living room since Hao couldn't move for himself. He didn't want his brother trapped inside of room all day, rotting away.

"Listen, Hao knows what he did wrong, Yoh." said Anna, putting a comforting hand on his back. Yoh didn't move for a while, choosing to think about the next words he was going to say.

After debating upon it, Yoh lifted is head up and turned meet the eyes of his fiancée, "You said that you would kill Hao for me."

Anna stoic face didn't shift at all at his words "I did say that because it's true. I've told Hao that as well, so he knows."

"Do you honestly believe that my brother is a threat to us?" he asked. While everyone didn't want to pry into their personal matters, they were talking about a very sensitive subject in front of everyone, so Kisame, Orochimaru, Kuroka, and Lee were listening to the couple have their discussion.

"I do….or at least, I did think he was a threat before Naruto-sama punished him with that." she said, point towards the older Asakura brother "I agree with what Naruto-sama did, I just didn't like the process of him doing it."

"But this is cruel!" Yoh jumped out of seat and started pacing back and forth "Hao, he knows that he did wrong the moment Naruto-sama stood over him at the end of the fight. I know that Hao did a stupid thing, but I just think that this is too much!"

"So if Hao got away with killing Naruto-sama, you'd be okay with it just because he's your brother?" asked Anna with little bit of anger in her voice. Their conversation was slowly turning into a argument and everyone could tell by the growing frown on Anna's face.

"No…no I'm not saying that! I'm saying that this-"he pointed to his sickly-looking brother "isn't the way it should go! Maybe make him clean the house or something! I don't know! I just don't want my brother to suffer like this, nor any of us! You do realize that the moment we piss him off, he could put us in a similar state that Hao is in for who knows how long! Doesn't that scare you? Even a little bit?"

"The only reason why I should be scared of Naruto-sama's power is if he was going to use it against me. I don't plan on rebelling against him anytime soon, so why would he punish me like he did Hao?" asked Anna "You are forgetting that Naruto-sama is our [King]. This is his job: to manage his peerage. If you don't want him to be a [King], you shouldn't have joined this peerage."

"Anna, you have to be joking!" Yoh yelled "He's our [King], but he is prepared at all times to kill us! Doesn't that put fear you heart!? After what happened yesterday, I'm fucking TERIFIED of him! Don't you all feel the same?!"

Kuroka's ears dipped as she looked out the window. That was a totally different Naruto that she was used too. Naruto was usually happy, joking around, and talking about pickles. However, the Naruto she saw when he stood over Hao's body like his existence was meaningless…. she didn't recognize him at all….and the way that he had spoken to her…

" _Don't tell me what to do, Kuroka."_

Kuroka shook her head, trying to rid herself of the memory, but it kept coming back to her. His cold blue eyes broke her heart and froze it over. She felt weak when she saw those eyes; all of her conviction of saving Hao for a few seconds, but thankfully she pressed on. Her words could have been the deciding factor on if Hao would be live or not. _'I don't want to see that side of him again…'_ she thought to herself.

She regained her focus when Yoh stopped in front of her "Kuroka," he said quietly "weren't you scared? You've known Naruto for a long time, so you know how he acts. You feared him and you still do, right?"

"Yes." she said without hesitation. He body shook as she remembered the KI that he was releasing at that time. If felt like she was standing in front of Lucifer himself. "I'm scared of him now…..but I still support Naruto."

"Why?" asked Yoh "Why support a man that could do to you what he did to Hao?"

"Because he was there for me…" she whispered, clutching the sides of her lose kimono "He saved me. He kept me company, fed me, sheltered me…..even while he was losing his mind in a jail of emptiness, he was still there." a wave of energy filled Kuroka body as she stood up on her bare feet "He's done so much for us and we're here talking about how much we fear him!? No! That doesn't make any sense! Naruto needs help just like how we needed help, so even though I fear him, I'll still be there for him!"

She turned her attention to Hao, who was watching her with weak eyes "I'm sorry for what happened to you, Hao, but you tried to kill my [King]. If Naruto was any other devil, Hao would have been labeled a stray devil and hunted down! I've experienced that myself and its hell! Sleeping in alleys with one eye open, running from city to city! Country to country! You don't want that from your brother, do you?!"

"N-no, I don't, bu-"

"Then you should be grateful that your brother hasn't been destroyed to a molecular level! If it were my decision, I would have killed Hao and been done with it, nya!" she said with a hiss at the end, glaring at the younger Asakura.

"I know that…. but still…" Yoh gritted his teeth and clenched his fist as he thought back to the fight Naruto had with Hao "He was playing with Hao…. he wasn't even taking it seriously… do you honestly think you can protect yourself from that?"

' _Hehehe! You all are so cute! '_

Yoh, Kuroka, and everyone else in the room eyes moved towards the stairs where they heard the voice. An orange orb was floating steadily in the air, watching them all.

"N-naruto." Kuroka whispered, the feeling of fear washing over her again. The orb floated towards them and stopped in the middle of the room. Everyone's breath hitched when the orb turned in Hao's direction. Hao watched the orb, but unlike everyone else, he looked at the orb with tiredness rather than fear.

"I've…learned.." Hao gasped out to the orb. The orb giggled, almost mocking Hao.

' _I'll think about it._ _"_ Naruto replied. The orb turned towards Yoh this time, causing him to take a step back. _'_ _You really don't understand what an 'illusion' is, do you? Heheehe, I guess I made that thing a little too good._ _'_

"What are you talking about, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru, speaking for the first time in a while.

" _You all say that your scared of my power that you saw in the illusion. You all are so focused on the fact that the fight was fake that you didn't stop to think that everything was fake._ _"_ Naruto said to his [Pawn].

"What does that even mean?" asked Yoh, wondering what their Bael master could be getting at.

" _It means that the strength that I was using in that fight was also fake, hehehe! " _ laughed the orb _"_ _Did you honestly think that I could handle a fight like this in my condition? hehehehaahahahah! My peerage members are so gullible~_ _"_

"AAWWWWW HELL NO!" Kisame yelled suddenly, with Lee jumping at the sudden noise "Your telling me that the power you used in that illusion was fake!? So you're not even that strong to begin with?!"

The orb continued to laugh before answering _"_ _Y up, yup, yup! All fake! To be honest with you all, I don't even know how strong I am. I was in a seal for over 500 years after all,HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAAAAHAHAH! JOKES ON YOU, HAO, BECAUSE YOU COULD BE STRONGER THAN ME!"_

Yoh looked at his master's orb in shock, and then sighing and slumping into the couch that Kuroka was in "You've got to be kidding me…"

" _Nope, not kidding. There's a good chance that Hao is stronger than me. If I were to use my magic to sustain my body in a real fight against Hao, I would have lost in the first thirty seconds of the fight because of the amount of pressure on my body. It was another reason why I gave the illusion of a stronger me fighting Hao. It would help set my dominance among the group and show my awesomeness at the same time, hehehe! It's so funny because Hao lost to a person who doesn't even know how strong he actually is, ahahaha!_ _"_ laughed Naruto.

It was silent for a while because everyone was digesting the words Naruto gave them. He tricked them. Once again, Naruto outsmarted everyone, giving them a false sense of fear so that they wouldn't deter or rebel.

The sound of chuckling from Orochimaru was the first noise to be made, which increased into pure laughter from the man. "Hahahahahaa! You, Naruto-sama, are a genius! Muhahahahaha!" laughed the man with his raspy voice. Naruto followed along with Orochimaru, laughing out loud as well.

"It's too many insane people in one room." said Kisame, grabbing Samehade and headed out of the room "I'm going out. Have fun laughing at each other's fucked up faces."

"I think I need some air as well." said Yoh, opening the sliding door and entering the backyard. Anna bit the bottom of her lip, internally debating if she should follow her fiancée, but ultimately decided against it. He was going to need this time alone to think things through, and even though it was killing her inside that she didn't go with him, she knew he needed this.

" _I'll end your punishment tonight, Hao, since I'm feeling merciful again. Just stick it through these next couple of hours. I need to handle some business now._ _"_ were Naruto's final words before the orb disappeared.

Kuroka frowned when she sensed Naruto's magic disappear from above them, meaning that he left the house for his own devices. She sighed and headed out of the living room, wanting to find something to do to keep her busy.

 **Uptown Kuoh Apartments**

Sona, wearing an oversized pink shirt and black shorts, was sitting in her bed while reading a book that she was enjoying thoroughly. The book was about the Sitri Clan, its history and water techniques that the clan was famous for using. She wanted to know everything about the Sitri before taking upon the mantle of clan leader. She was the clan heiress, after all.

" _We, the Sitri Clan also famously known for valuing knowledge above power."_ Sona read mentally, the book being written in the author's perspective, _"Unlike the Bael Clan, we hold our intellect higher than anything, even using it to judge young men and deem them worthy of the high-class maidens of the clan. Our lust of knowledge is our strongest power, able to retain it and memorize it to memory easier than any other devil clan. Sitri's were the main battle strategist thorough history for all of the wars devils participated in. We are one of the greatest clans of the Underworld, holding the title of Prince, but with the increase of power younger generations have, we co-_

Sona was brought out of her reading when she heard light taps against her apartment door. She was confused because she wasn't expecting anyone today, but she just summed it up to be one of her peerages members wanting to talk to her.

She walked towards the door, but then a thought hit her, _"But wouldn't they call and tell me that they were coming over? Also, if were someone else, wouldn't I be alarmed that someone was coming to my room?'_

While she was suspicious, she opened the door anyway, not sensing any magical entity on the other side. However, she was highly surprised when she saw Naruto, in his wheelchair, smiling up at the young Sitri.

"Ah! Sona Sitri. I'm sorry to come here without alerting you, but I wanted to talk to you personally." he said with his charming smile.

However, Sona wasn't buying the smile one bit. She internally shuddered when she thought back to his fight with Hao. He utterly destroyed him, and then made her feel even weaker when he told them that he had them under his spell since the beginning. The utter sense of powerlessness she had while near this man was freighting. But Sona wasn't brave enough to deny this man what he wanted, so she silently opened the door more and stepped aside, allowing him entrance into her home.

"Whew! My arms hurt a lot." said Naruto as he parked himself in Sona's living room. Sona was sitting adjacent to him on one of the couches in the room with her hands in her lap.

' _Keep it together, Sona.'_ she thought. _'You are a Sitri, so you shouldn't be shock up like this…even if this man scares you.'_ she took in a deep breath of air before starting conversation with the Bael "Uhm, Naruto-sama, why did you stop by my residence."

"Oh, you don't have to call me 'sama'." he said with a wave "My peerage members make everyone do that when someone is talking to me while in front of them. I don't really care for honorifics and such, so just address me with my first name."

"Okay, Naruto then," he smiled at Sona and she had to hold back a shiver "Is there anything you need from me?"

"I just wanted to talk. My peerage is residing on your territory, so it's only right for me to introduce myself to you privately. As you know, my name is Naruto Bael, high-class devil and the [King] of my peerage. It's nice to finally talk to you."

"The same." she said while pushing up her glasses "I am Sona Stiri, heiress to the Sitri Clan, and a third-year student at Kuoh Academy. I'm actually happy that we can have this conversation. There are many questions that I have to ask you."

"And I'll answer them with respect," he said back "but first, I must say….you really do look a lot like your sister…."

"My sister? Do you know her?" she asked with interest.

"Oh yes! Serafall and I go waayyyy back! We fought together in the civil war amongst devils a long time ago. I was a part of a legion that she was commanding. We fought side-by-side with each for a long time. She's a good friend of mine."

"Really?" Sona raised an eyebrow at the new information. She looked down in thought as she rubbed her chin, "I've never heard her mention you at all. That is really surprising…"

She didn't notice the menacing smirk growing on Naruto's face….

 **Same time- Hyoudou Residence**

' _Ding-dong!'_

"Honey!" yelled Mrs. Hyoudou from the kitchen. She was washing dishes alongside Rias and Asia while Issei and Mr. Hyoudou were watching television in the living room, "Can you open the door for me?"

"Sure thing, dear." Mr. Hyoudou answered as he got up from his seat on the couch and walked towards the door. He opened it to see a beautiful, black haired girl in a loose fitting kimono. He took a mental image of her breast that was almost spilling out of her attire. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Hiya, nya!" Issei's head snapped towards the door when he heard the voice of Naruto's [Queen] outside the door "Can I come in? I'm one of Issei's friends, nya!"

"Uh-sure! Sure!" said the older man, holding the door open for Kuroka. She smiled at him and entered the house, kicking her sandals off at the door. Issei stood up from his seat his eyes meet the Nekoshou's. She smiled at hi sultry and purred "Hiiiii, Ise~"

Issei's mouth dropped opened in shock as he robotically waved his hand at Kuroka, not knowing what to say at all. He did notice that her ears and tails were gone. Mrs. Hyoudou, followed by Rias and Asia who were dry their hands with a towel. Rias eyes narrowed when she heard the tone Kuroka used with Issei. She even used her nickname for the boy! "What are you doing here, Kuroka?" she asked a hand on her hip.

"I'm just here to talk, nya!" she said with a mischievous smile "What a nice home this is! I like, nya!" she said with a wink at Mr. Hyoudou. He laughed awkwardly while making inching his way towards the bathroom. He needed to get rid of a problem that just 'sprung' up when he saw Kuroka….

"About what?" Rias said plainly. Kuroka rolled her eyes at the Gremory and focused on Mrs. Hyoudou, "I'm sorry if I causing any trouble…. it's just…" Kuroka started to sniff a little as a tears started to form in her eyes "I've been so lonely ever since my boyfriend left me. Ise is the only friend I have and..hick..I'm sorry..I should just leave, nya."

"Noooo!" said Mrs. Hyoudou with concern. She walked over to Kuroka and hugged the shorter girl, "You can stay here as long as you like. Issei can keep you company."

"R-really?" stuttered Kuroka, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Of course, dear." said Mrs. Hyoudou with a smile. She walked Kuroka to the couch with an arm around her shoulder, "You just sit right here. I hope you are alright with pre-heated food. We already had dinner earlier, so the food is in the fridge."

"I'm al-sniff- alright with that…" Kuroka whispered quietly, holding back the laughter that was crawling up her throat.

"Alright, dear. You take it easy. Rias, may you please fix Ms. Kuroka a plate?" Mrs. Hyoudou asked.

"M-me? But I don't want to make her anything!" Rias splurged out.

"Now Rias, that isn't nice." said Mrs. Hyoudou with a frown.

"Yeah, Rias," Mrs. Hyoudou was in front of Kuroka, so she didn't see the grin on Kuroka's face as she looked at the younger devil, "that isn't nice at all, nya. I've never done anything bad to you…"

Rias growled at the girl before stomping her way back into the kitchen childishly. Asia giggled at her [King] while following her into kitchen to help her.

Minutes later, Kuroka was sitting on the couch with a small tv stand as a table for her hot plate of food. Rias' face was red with rage as she set the plate down and turned away with a 'huff'. "Enjoy." she said plainly.

Kuroka looked down at the plate, her eyes sparkling at the spicy curry and baked fish in front of her. Her eyes gained a gleam as another idea entered her mind. She quickly gained a depressed look and started to cry again, which attracted Mrs. Hyoudou to check on her again, "What's wrong, Ms. Kuroka?"

"W-w-well…" she sniffed out "My ex-boyfriend would feed me… and he made curry all the time… I just-hick- I ju-" another round of tears poured out of her golden eyes, making Mrs. Hyoudou's heart weaken at the site.

"Don't worry, Ms. Kuroka. Issei here will feed you." she said with a smile.

"What!" Issei, Rias, and Asia shouted for different reasons. Issei didn't want to feed Kuroka at all, while Asia and Rias yelled because they wanted to be the ones feed by Issei and not Kuroka.

"You heard what I said!" Mrs. Hyoudou snapped, causing Issei to gulp in fear, "You treat her right. You two do the same, okay?" she said to Rias and Asia. Asia nodded her head submissively while Rias turned away and grumbled some curses under her breath.

"Now, Ms. Kuroka, I'll be in my room but they'll keep you company. Call me if you need anything, okay?" said Mrs. Hyoudou softly.

"O-o-okkaayy…" Kuroka said with a fake stutter.

When Mrs. Hyoudou was out of the room and far from earshot, Kuroka started to laugh loudly at the three devils, all who wished they could cover Kuroka's head with duck tape.

"Kuroka, what are you doing here?" asked Issei while feeding the Nekoshou a piece of baked fish.

Kuroka munched happily on her fish before answering, "I just wanted to something fun, nya. I'm glad I decided to come here. I get free food and servants, nyaayayaya!" she laughed out loud.

"You should leave." Rias said with a growl as she watched Issei fed her in jealously. _'That should be me, damn it!'_

"Nope!" she said with a smile as she swallowed some food, "I'm to comfy right now and this food is really good."

"Would you like some chocolate for dessert, little cat?" asked Rias with a scowl.

"No thanks," Kuroka said with a nonchalant wave at Rias, ignoring her joke/threat, "I came to talk to Issei. Naruto would always talk about you when he found out about you, so I'm interested in him. I haven't gotten chance to talk with him one-on-one, nya."

"Um, excuse me!" Asia's voice squeaked out for the first time, "Is this another grab at Ise to join your [King]'s peerage, b-because I d-don't agree at all! He's happy here!" she said bravely, abet with a few stutters here and there.

"No, Naruto said he's content with Issei staying with Mrs. HIV, so you don't have to worry about us steal him from you, nya~" sang Kuroka.

Rias was twitching in anger when she heard Kuroka use the nickname that Kisame gave them. ' _Don't do anything stupid, Rias. You can do it… Just for a few hours, you can live with this until she leaves.'_

"So what is it that you want to talk about?" asked Issei, feeding Kuroka that last bit of food.

Kuroka swallowed her food before looking back at Issei, "Would you like to take a bath with me, nya?"

Rias shot out of seat and her magic danced around her in a dangerously, "You want to do what…" she whispered quietly, her hair covering her eyes which added to her menacing look.

"So do you, Ise?" she said as she inched closer to Issei, who was scooting away from her. He ran out of space on the couch and Kuroka caught up to him, her face hovering over his, "I promise you that I won't bite~"

"Help me…" muttered Issei with a distraught look. Rias pulled Kuroka off of her [Pawn] protectively. Kuroka landed on the ground, but started laughing again. "Nyyayayayaya! You all are so much fun to play with!" she laughed, "I'm not going to do anything naughty with Ise. I do consider myself a taken woman, remember?"

"Oh yea!" said Issei, "You're in love with Naruto-sama, right?" he asked and got conformation from Kuroka with a nod.

"Wait, you love your [King]?" asked Rias.

"With everything I have." she answered with a genuine smile, which slightly surprised Rias, but she hid it behind a neutral face. "I just want to talk to Issei, if you don't mind. I'd like to clear Naruto's name because I know you fear him a little since you witnessed that battle yesterday, nya."

"I guess that makes sense." Issei said while rubbing back of his head, "He scared the shit out of me when I thought he was going to kill Hao."

"He scared me too…" she muttered sadly, "but I understand why he did it. It's just how his mind works."

It was silent for a while, but Kuroka broke the tense atmosphere when she stood up and looked to Rias, "You can come if you want, but I just wanted to talk with Ise. He knows what's going on more than you do, so you should could sit in and listen, nya. I don't wanna answer a lot of questions, though."

Rias contemplated her answer before agreeing, "Alright, I'll listen in. May Asia come as well?"

"It doesn't matter to me." said Kuroka, "Now lead me to the bathroom, nya! I need to clean up for the day."

 **A few minutes later…**

Issei sat in-between Rias and Asia in the ofuro, waiting for Kuroka to step in. Said Nekoshou was currently nude, right in front of him, pouring a hot bucket of water over her head. Her long, black hair was sticking to her wet form and her creamy white skin was gleaming from the light of the room. Her golden orbs really stood out when she was naked, contradicting any other color on her body, giving them even more power over Issei. But it was her big, perky, breast that had his attention. While they weren't as big as Rias or Akeno's, Kuroka's orbs of amazing-ness looked huge on her small stature of 5'3. The jiggled with every step Kuroka took when she walked towards them, and Issei took note that Kuroka walked a lot like how Rias or Sona did: with elegance and confidence. Her thick thighs were rubbing together provocatively and Issei could have sworn he saw a small patch of black fur ov-

A hand covered Issei's eyes, blocking Kuroka from sight. It was Rias, who was blushing with anger when she caught Issei devouring Kuroka's body. She didn't want him doing that with anyone else other than her, damn it! _'The only body he'll become obsessed with is mine!_ '

' _Nooo!'_ Issei cried internally, sad that he couldn't see the rest of the beautiful lady in front of him. His depression grew when he heard Kuroka enter the water with a sigh, meaning that he wouldn't be able to expect her body again for a while.

"Ahhh! This feels nice, nya." Kuroka moaned as the hot water heated her up "I feel like it's been a while since I've relaxed…always working, nya…"

"So Kuroka," said Rias as she removed her hand over Issei's eyes, "now that you are here, you have the floor."

"Of course, but first.. I'd like to hear everyone's opinion on Naruto, nya." said the Nekoshou, "He's done a lot to you all, from manipulations, to playing with your emotions when you revived Asia." Rias slightly flinched at the memory, "How do you all feel about Naruto?"

"I don't feel anything bad against the guy," said Issei with a shrug, "I mean, yeah, he's been in the shadows a lot, but since I know about what he went through, it's understandable to me."

"What did he go through?" asked Rias with a raised eyebrow, "Issei never told me exactly what was going on with your master, Kuroka."

"I guess it doesn't matter now, nya." said Kuroka as she closed her eyes in thought, "But I do want to hear your opinion on him first."

"Ma-may I go first, Buchou?" asked Asia. Getting a nod from her [King], Asia spoke her thoughts, "While I don't know him much, he seemed like a nice person. I could feel such a happy energy from him when he appeared yesterday. It actually made me smile at how he introduced himself to everyone there. H-he reminds me of the nice priest of the church in a way…." the smile Asia had flipped into a frown as she started onto the negative aspects of Naruto, "but what he did to… Hao, I believe that was his name, is something that a man with a troubled past or hardened heart would do."

"Seems like he's easy to read." said Kuroka with a sad smile. She turned to Rias, "And you?"

"I feel…somewhat similar." said Rias hesitantly, "I do anger towards him as well. He did try to draw my [Pawn] into his peerage, and while I do appreciate him training him, it was all a ploy to nab at my Ise. He's found entertainment in playing with certain situations and watching from afar. That factor has caused me to feel wary when I'm around him. I was surprised when I noticed that he was in a wheelchair because Sona and I summed up that your master wasn't injured; that was the excuse that Orochimaru told us when he asked for our blood. But seeing him in a wheelchair, I'm starting to think that there is something wrong with him…..plus… he didn't seem mentally…'intact', if that's the correct word to use. I noticed that he would giggle every now and then to himself for no reason. I want to know what happened to him." she finished.

"I get it, nya." Kuroka said, "Naruto is a playful man, so it sounds much like him to be meddling in your lives for his personal interest, but believe me that Naruto always does something for a reason. You are also right about the mental thing, nya."

"Can you explain further?" asked Rias, generally interested in the whole mystery of Naruto Bael.

"Well, I'll make it quick and snappy, because I've told this story way to many times." she said with a giggle, "Naruto Bael was born a low-class devil before the times of the civil war between devils. He was one of the few low-class devils in the Bael Clan don't have the Power of Destruction. His parents raised him, hiding his powers from anyone else, while secretly training him while he grew. Soon enough, Naruto was old enough to join the war with his father and he was enlisted into a legion that Serafall, or Serafall Sitri at the time, was in command and quickly rose through the ranks with his abilities. He was the deciding factor to many battles."

"That's amazing…." muttered Rias, "No offense, but you wouldn't even know that Naruto-sama had such accomplishments just by looking at him." said the impressed Gremory.

"I see that you're adding 'sama' to his name, nya." purred Kuroka, causing Rias to blush in embarrassment. Kuroka laughed a little before continuing, "Nyayaya! It's alright! Naruto deserves all the respect in the world. He's done a lot for people and was never congratulated for it."

"And why don't you call him 'Naruto-sama', Kuroka?" asked Issei.

"Because I know him." she answered easily.

"What does that mean? I sure a lot of people know him." said a confused Asia.

"Just know that I've been with Naruto-sama for a while, nya." said Kuroka before donning her serious face, "anyway, Naruto was a war-hero. Not on the level of the Four Satan, but he did have a major part of the victories Serafall's legions won. During this time….Naruto and…Serafall.." Kuroka growled out uncharacteristically, surprising Rias and Asia, "… the two were dating."

"You mean…they loved each other?" asked Rias, very much interested in this new information. She has met Serafall plenty of times in the past and she never said anything about Naruto. _'Maybe it was a bad break up.'_

Kuroka didn't say anything immediately after Rias' question; she was staring at her image in the water with an angry face. An image of a smirking Serafall appeared and Kuroko's magic fluctuated around her, creating waves in the water. It continued to where the waves were tall enough to past the walls of the onsen and fell onto the floor.

"Kuroka!" shouted Issei, putting a calming hand on her shoulder. Kuroka caught her breath, before meditating her anger back inside of her.

Her cat ears slouched a little as she took a deep breath. She bowed to the three devils, "I'm sorry…. I just get mad thinking about that little girl…"

"You don't seem to like her at all." said Asia, a little spooked at Kuroka's power display.

"I don't. I hate her." growled out Kuroka.

Rias raised both of her eyebrows, "Is this jealously that I'm sensing?"

"Damn right." the cat said with a sigh, lowering further into the water, "I don't like her at all. She took advantage of Naruto. He was a kind soul and she didn't try to save him at all!"

"Please explain to us, Kuroka…" said Rias with concern.

The Nekoshou sighed before continuing, "Apparently, Lord and Lady Sitri, along with some other high-up devils, didn't like the fact that such a low-class devil like Naruto was dating the heiress of the Sitri Clan. They believed him to be unworthy of her, which is highly untrue. It should have been the other way around if you ask me. But back on topic, nya, they didn't like that Naruto was with Serafall and she was demanded to break up with him by the end of the war. She didn't do it, however, so she forced the Stiri's hand by sealing Naruto in a box."

"Sealing him!" yelled Rias in shock, "Why would they do that!? That's torture!"

"It is, but they didn't care…" Kuroka clenched her fist under the water, "He wasn't anything to them, and even after all he did to save his home. His mother…. she killed herself when she found our Naruto's father died in the war, but he kept on fighting. He held onto his belief of protecting his home and that's how they rewarded him. He was sealed up for more than 500 years in emptiness, and just recently did he get out."

Asia eyes were forming tears as she listened to Kuroka's story, "That's…i-is that how low-class devils are treated?" Issei sighed, running a hand through his hair. He didn't ever want to think like that, but it was true.

Rias quickly interjected, "No! No, Asia, not all low-class devils are treated evilly! I treat you well, right? I've never done anything wrong against you."

"You say 'not all', but forget about the others…" muttered Asia, looking at her reflection in the water, "If they were able to do this with Naruto-sama, couldn't they do something similar to Issei? Or anyone else on your peerage if something doesn't 'go their way'?"

Rias mouth was slightly ajar, trying to find some type of loop hole in her words to defend her race, but she couldn't find anything at all. All logic pointed that there were many flaws in the system of devils, a system that highly favored high-class devils more than anything. _'I… is it really that bad? Because of my lavish life, am I blinded to all the things happening now? It seems clear as day to Asia, and she's hardly been a devil for a month!?'_

"It's just how the world works…" muttered Kuroka, "that's something that Naruto would say a lot…its one of his teachings that I've taken to heart because of how true it is."

"Damn it." Rias said out loud, catching the attention of everyone else, "I… I'm so ignorant. I've eaten at the same table with Serafall-sama…. along with Lord and Lady Bael! You're telling me that they were hiding something like this all along!?"

"Your parents are too." Rias head shot up towards Kuroka.

"What do you mean!? I demand that you talk now!"

Ignoring Rias' tone of words, Kuroka continued, "There's a reason why we needed your blood. In order to free Naruto from his prison, we needed the blood of clans that was responsible for Naruto's sealing. Bael. Sitri. Gremory." Kuroka lifted three fingers up, "They were all involved. If such a sealing like this happened, then your parents must have known about it. What their alternative motives are, I don't know, but they were definitely involved."

Rias' body shook as she dropped back into the water with a splash. She didn't care, though. She was overwhelmed with the new revelation of her parent's secret dealings. _'They helped with this!?'_ she shouted mentally, an image of her innocent, smiling parents appearing in her mind. _'All this time, they've been hiding things like this!? It doesn't make sense! What would they benefit from the sealing of a man that isn't even involved with him!?'_

"It must be hard, nya," said Kuroka, pulling Rias from her thoughts, "to see your parents in a different light. Everyone sees them as a happy couple without any struggles or flaws; however, almost every clan has their dark dealings. I'm not that old, so I don't know much, but Naruto has always warned me to be a step ahead of the game when dealing with devils. It was how he found a way to release himself while stuck in a seal."

"How did he do it?" asked Asia.

"When the sealing was happening, Naruto killed 3 of the 10 devils over the sealing, weakening it. Overtime, he found a weak point in the seal and uses that as a form of keeping up with the world. His orbs, I'm sure you've been victim to his surprise attacks with them, is what he used to gain strength, watch the world, gain peerage members, and then, finally, freeing himself."

"But all those years of solitude clearly had an effect on his mind, correct?" asked Rias, coming to turns with the situation at hand.

"Sadly…I always wondered why he would laugh and talk the way he did. He would mumble to himself, and I would think that he was crazy and say it was nothing….all of those years, and I didn't even know that it was a cry for help…" the cat [Queen] said.

"And why is he in a wheelchair?" asked Rias.

"Naruto weakening the seal came with a serious drawback: it wasn't preserving him properly. While it did sustain him for a while, the seal was weakened so it couldn't properly hold the task of keeping Naruto safe from time. For centuries, Naruto's body started to degrade from the lack of nutrients, and all that time, he didn't say anything about it. He just kept laughing and joking like nothing was wrong. Once we released him from his seal, he was almost dead from malnutrition. His recovery is going great, but his body is still weak." explained Kuroka.

"So what does he plan to do now?" asked Issei, "He's free now and I remember Orochimaru saying that they were building up their popularity in the Underworld using Rating Games for Naruto-sama's cause. Do you know what's next now that he's free?"

"I…I don't specifically, but I know that he'll reveal himself to those that crossed him soon." she admitted, "He has a plan for everything, with a backup plan to boot. Whatever it is, it'll be big."

"How did you meet Naruto-sama?" asked Asia. Kuroka smiled and looked up at the ceiling in thought.

"He saved me from some hunters looking for me. This was back when I was a SS-Class stray devil, so I was always on the run. He saved me and took me in. I've been training with him ever since…. I was so young back then…" she thought out loud.

"And he asked you to be his [Queen] then?" asked Asia.

"Yea… but I denied him…. I denied him for years, but he never went away." said Kuroka with a laugh, "It took me three years with him before I became his [Queen]."

"Three years?" said Rias, "That's a long time. What took you so long to join?"

Kuroka's smile was replaced with a frown, confusing the trio, "I…I should have joined sooner…..I didn't know what I was doing…I was young and acted rashly…"

"What are you talking about?" asked Issei.

Kuroka sighed, "I'm probably no better than that Serafall bitch… but I denied Naruto for a long time before accepting him out of jealously."

 _ **Flashback – 3 years ago**_

 **Tokyo, Japan**

16 year old Kuroka jumped into the oversized bed with happy yip. "Finally!" she said out loud, hugging the pillows and rolling around in the sheets, "It's been so long, nya! I haven't felt the comfort of a bed in soooo long!"

Kuroka, at the moment, was wearing a thin, tight-fitting purple kimono with long black sleeves that covered her arms, and a black sash holding it together. The kimono was low-cut, revealing her developing chest that was covered in a light, fish-net shirt, giving her the appearances of a ninja. Her long, black hair was currently in a ponytail, and she finished the look with a simple pair of sandals.

" _I…I'm glad…you're…co..comfortable.._ _"_ said the orange orb that was floating above her. _"_ _I want…wanted… to sup..surprise you….train…training went well._ _"_

"Yeah, it did, but Antarctica, nya!?" shouted Kuroka with fake anger, "It was sooo coooldd! I hate cold places and you know it, nya!"

" _It…he..he..helped…with… .senjut..jutsu though.._ _"_ the orb muttered.

"Yeaaa, but it was lame." she said with a blank face, "I feel a lot stronger, though. So I guess it wasn't a waste, nya." she stripped naked and entered the bed with a satisfying sigh of relief, "Good night, Naruto."

" _Go..good…morning..hehehehe!_ _"_ Naruto said before disappearing. Kuroka rolled her eyes at his lame joke, but she was used to it. Naruto always did and said weird things to her, but after staying with him for the last three years, she felt comfortable around Naruto. It was also a plus that he was training her in all things magic, so she was grateful for that as well.

' _He's probably just doing that just so that I can become the [Queen] he wants.'_ she thought with a laugh, _'And it'll never happen.'_ were her final thoughts before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

 **Morning**

The light rays of the sun entering the room through the window and hitting Kuroka's eyes is what woke her up. She hissed at the glowing ball's rays of heat and rolled over on her other side to avoid the bright light. She tried to go back to sleep, but her usual scheduled time of training with Naruto kept her up. So, Kuroka groaned and removed the covers from over her and sat up, expecting to see Naruto's orb. Sure enough, an orange orb was floating over her, waiting patiently for her.

" _Goo..good…morning…_ _'_ Naruto stuttered out.

"Good morning, nya." Kuroka said politely before yawning cutely. She slid out of bed and put on her sandals, not even caring that she was nude, and walked inside into the kitchen of the lavish hotel she was staying in. The smell of breakfast filled her nostrils and she moaned at the deliciousness in the air. Another one of Naruto's orange orb now had arms that he used to cook up breakfast for his apprentice, but the sight of a small ball with arms that didn't fit its body made Kuroka laugh somewhat.

" _..s…sit.."_ muttered the orb that followed Kuroka into the kitchen, growing its own arms and pulling out a chair for her.

"Awww! How nice, nya!" Kuroka complemented while sitting down at the kitchen table, "You sure know how to treat a lady, Naruto."

" _I..aim.t..to..please._ _"_ stuttered out Naruto. He pushed Kuroka's chair closer to the table and joined the other orb that was finishing up Kuroka's breakfast. After a few minutes, Kuroka was presented with a plateful of ham and eggs, toast coated in the right amount of butter, and a green salad on the side. _"_ _En…en..enjoy_ _."_

"Thanks, nya!" said Kuroka as she dove into the food with little table manners. Using her hands to claw at the ham, utterly inhaling the eggs, munching on the toast so eagerly that crumbs flew everywhere, the only thing that Kuroka ate properly was the salad. Naruto watched as the cat girl finished her food and gave off a satisfying burp for effort, "Oof! That's tasty, nya!"

Naruto laughed a little, glad that his friend enjoyed his cooking, _"_ _What…do wa…want to do…today? Mo…more….training?_ _"_

"NO!" screeched out Kuroka, "I don't wanna train for the rest of my life! I want to go outside and see the city, nya! We're tourist for the day!"

" _Tourist?_ _"_ said a confused Naruto, _"_ _B..but we ca..can't be….out i..in the ope…pen…a lot….hunters.._ _"_

"I know, but I want to feel normal for once." said Kuroka with a pout, "All I've been doing for the past three years are running from hunters and training. I want to feel like a girl for once!"

" _An..and how…do yo…you…..do that?_ _"_ asked Naruto.

Kuroka's eyes lit up with stars in her eyes, she jumped on top of the table with a clap of her hands as she yelled out the word that men throughout all history hated as it entered their ears like the venom of the most poisonous snake, destroying necessary body tissue and shutting the body down….

"SHOPPING!"

 **A few hours later…**

Kuroka was laughing happily as she carried bags from many stories that she had visited. The shopping mall they were at was huge, holding a massive variety of stores for the young Nekoshou to hold hostage for a certain amount of time before preying on the next store with the deadly credit card Naruto gave her. Naruto was right beside her, but his orb was under the guise of an illusion, making him invisible to human eyes. Kuroko's tail and ears were hidden, but that didn't stop various people, particularly men, to stop and look at the beautiful and voluptuous teen as she paraded from store to store.

"Nyayayaya! I'm having so much fun!" Kuroka laughed excitedly with the largest smile, "So many places to go~"

" _If….Ku..kuroka…havin..having fun…..I am..too._ _"_ muttered Naruto, following behind his jolly friend.

"That's the spirit, Naruto!" said Kuroka. People raised an eyebrow at the girl, believe that she was crazy that she was talking to herself, but they just summed to up that all beautiful girls were crazy and ignored her. "Ooohh! I wonder where we should go next? How much money do I even have?" she turned to Naruto, "Where did you even get this card from?"

" _I…I asked….Asa..asakura's…for money….._ _"_ he answered.

"Oh, you mean those other people that you have in your peerage? You talked about them before..Anna..Yoh…. and Hoe, right?" she asked.

" _hehe! No….i..its..Hao.._ _"_ laughed out Naruto.

"Oh, well why give a boy something like that? It's so easy to make jokes about him." Kuroka shrugged, "Oh well, not my problem, but I do like their considerate donation to the 'Kuroka Foundation of Shopping' organization, nayyayay!" she laughed.

" _So will ….you… become…my…[Queen]…now? "_ asked Naruto.

"Nope! I'm never gonna join a peerage ever again! I don't see why you keep asking me that. I'm a free woman!" said Kuroka with a smile.

" _J….just making…su..sure..hehehehehe!_ _"_ laughed out the Bael as he continued to follow Kuroka.

The two continued their stretch in the mall, hitting store after store, the bags in her hands growing in number. She had so many bags; she had to teleport back to the hotel to drop some off so she could buy more stuff. Naruto followed behind her loyally, helping her decide on what to buy, and laughed along with her as the day continued.

Soon enough, Kuroka finished her shopping spree and decided to end the day with dinner at the food court. She sat at their table after buying a simple hamburger with fries… however, the cashier was very confused when Kuroka asked for milk for her drink of choice.

Naruto watched as Kuroka ate her food, unconsciously moving closer to her as she ate her hamburger. When Kuroka noticed that he was floating closer to her, she tilted her head at him cutely and asked, "What are you doing, nya?"

" _A..are..there any….pickles…on. the..bu..burger?_ _"_ he asked with interest.

Kuroka laughed a little at her friend, "No, there isn't! I forgot to ask them to put them on here, nya. But it isn't that important anyway! I don't see why you have fetish over stupid pickles, nyayayyyayayay!"

Naruto laughed awkwardly, _"_ _Ye..yea….it's….no…nothing…important..hehehe….._ _"_

Kuroka raised an eyebrow at his behavior, but didn't speak upon it, deciding to enjoy her dinner for the day. The two sat in silence for a while, enjoying the noise surrounding them, before they were interrupted.

"Uh..excuse me?" said a girl that walked up to them. She was a very pretty girl, wearing a tight-fitting pair of blue jeans, a yellow crop top shirt that struggled to hold in her breast, and a pair of black flats to finish it off. She had long, pink hair that was split in two braids in the back, with bangs of pink hair circling her face. Her pink eye demanded attention as they gleamed from the light of the room, and the small but confident smile that had a slight edge of arrogance to it, "I'm sensing a large amount of magic from you… and you have a floating orb beside you. What are you?"

Kuroka summoned her magic, just in case this girl did anything funny, "I'm half-Nekoshou, half-devil if you wish to know. Now scram. I'm having my dinner." she said with a small hiss.

"I'm not here to do anything to you." said the pink-haired girl, "I was just curious. I've never felt your magic here in Tokyo before, so I just wanted to make sure everything was alright. My name is Dorothy by the way."

Kuroka studied the outstretched hand that the girl stretched towards her. After deciding that there wasn't any ill intent behind her actions, Kuroka shook her hand gently, "Kuroka."

"It's nice to meet you, Kuroka." said Dorothy. She then turned to Naruto, "And what might be your name be?"

"… _.Pic….pickle…..rick…_ _"_ answered Naruto, giving her his alias.

Kuroka rolled her eyes at Naruto's code name, "Don't mind him, nya. He's a friend that talks funny. He won't do anything naughty, nya." said Kuroka.

"I wasn't suspecting anything." Dorothy said with a smile, "So how long have you been-

"Dorothy! I've been looking for you!" said another girl as she ran towards the three. This girl had short, dark blue hair with a pink bow on top, complementing her innocent, childlike face she had. She was wearing a pink jacket over another jacket that was red, with red shorts and pink boots. A veil of happiness seemed to glow off of her as she stood next to Dorothy with an innocent smile on her face, "Oh, hello!" she said when she noticed Kuroka, "I didn't know that Dorothy had met anyone over here. My name is Snow. Nice to meet you." she said with a cute bow.

"Uhh… hi." Kuroka answered awkwardly, not used to talking to anyone other than Naruto, "I'm Kuroka… this is… my friend Naruto." she said while pointing the floating orb.

"It's nice to meet you two." Snow said with a bright smile, "I was just checking on Dorothy to see if she was okay with going to the movies later on."

"Movies?" asked Kuroka with interest.

"Yeah, we were planning on going after finishing up here." said Dorothy as she placed a hand on her hip, "Do you want to go with us? I haven't talked to anyone else other than Snow and our circle of friends. It would be nice to have someone else hang out with us."

"Re-really, nya?" asked a surprised Kuroka. She was invited to hang out? With other girls her age?

"Yeah, you should come!" said Snow with excitement, "It'll be fun! Dorothy and I wanted to get away from the guys for a day, so it'll be cool to have another girl with us. Do you want to come with?"

Kuroka looked over to Naruto, who was surprisingly quiet during the conversation. Even though his orb didn't have eyes, she could almost feel like he was staring back at her, curious as to what her answer would be. She did want to go, but she didn't want to hurt Naruto's feelings, even if she wasn't a part of his peerage.

Been then Kuroka got to think, _'Nya, I deserve this! We've been in Antarctica for who knows how long! I'm gonna go on a training strike, nya! I'm going!'_

"I want to go, nya!" Kuroka said out loud. Dorothy and Snow were happy that Kuroka would go with them, hoping to gain a new friend, but Kuroka's focus was on Naruto and how he would react.

" _A..are you…su..sure…Kuroka?_" he asked politely, _"_ _We..we do….don' …them….co..could be….bad…pe….people._ _"_ he managed to get out.

"They're not bad, nya! They're just regular people… or whatever they are. I'll find out soon. Just wait for me at the hotel. You can go to sleep for all I care. I'll be back soon. Don't follow me, nya!" she said confidently.

Naruto watched as Kuroka threw out her food before following Dorothy and Snow out of the mall. He sat there for a while, before disappearing back to the hotel.

 **A week later**

A knock on the hotel door caught Naruto and Kuroka's attention. They were both watching TV at the moment, lazing the day away. Kuroka looked at the door in excitement and jumped towards it. Naruto was highly confused on what was going on, but decided to float towards Kuroka to make sure everything was going okay.

Kuroka opened the door to reveal Dorothy and Snow, along with two other boys as well, "Hey guys, nya!"

"Yo, Kuroka!" said one of the boys, a blond, with a cheeky grin, "What's going on?!"

" _What is going on?_ _"_ asked Naruto without his usual stutter, surprising Kuroka. He only did that when they were fighting or if he was serious, and Naruto was never serious, so it put Kuroka on edge a little.

"Naruto, these are my friends that I've told you about." said Kuroka with a frown, "I invited them over."

" _Why?_ _"_ he asked plainly with no room for his usual jokes.

"Because I they are my friend and I wanted you to meet them." Kuroka said while crossing her arms with a pout, "I don't know why you're acting so stuck-up about it right now."

The spiky blonde haired boy spoke up, "Hey, Mr. Naruto, we're not here to do anything bad or nothing. We just got outta school and Kuroka invited us over. That's it."

Naruto examined them thoroughly, trying to find any lies. They were all in a school uniform, the boys with blue dress pants with golden lines down the sides, a blue jacket with the same golden lines going down the sleeves, and a basic white shirt under it. The girls were in blue skirts with the same top as the boys. He didn't sense any negativity at all, but he was still on guard.

"… _.How do pickles taste?..._ _"_ he asked curiosly, but still held the tone of a concerned parent.

"Uhhh… their okay, I guess?" said the blond haired boy with a shrug, not understanding the sudden change in conversation.

" _No! He was supposed to say that they taste amazing! They're the enemy! We mu-_

Kuroka slapped Naruto's orb out of the way, "You guys can come in, nya." she said with a smile as she allowed them in. Kuroka ignored Naruto's grumbling as she sat everyone down in the living room.

Naruto floated back into the living room with Kuroka and inspected them all, making sure they weren't up to no good, "He really doesn't trust us, huh?" said Snow when she had to back away from Naruto when he got very close to her face.

"He doesn't like stran- _"_ _I don't like strangers._ _"_ he jumped in. Kuroka growled at him for interrupting her. Naruto sighed before backing away from Snow, _"_ _B..but I….I' nicer…..I'm Na..naruto._ _"_

"I heard you've already met Snow and Dorothy, but I'm Ginta Toramizu!" said the blonde with a smile and pointed to the other boy, who had black hair and small scratch lines under his eyes, "and this is Jack!"

"Howdy there!" Jack said with a wave.

"Okay, Naruto, we're going to be here watching TV, so you can go now, nya." said Kuroka.

" _Go…go wh…where?_ _"_ asked Naruto.

"I don't know, nya! Go to sleep or something! You just gotta leave us alone!" snapped Kuroka. Naruto's orb back away from the angry cat girl.

" _I…..i…okay…b..but remember…w…..e ..we leave…..s…soon…m..must….stay on…th…the move….._ _"_ he said as he disappeared.

"You haven't told him yet?" asked Dorothy.

"No, but I'll tell him soon, nya." said Kuroka as she sat down next to Snow.

"You seemed a bit harsh with that lil' flying thingy." said Jack, "Are you sure you should be so mean with him?"

"Eh.." Kuroka waved Jack off, "He'll be okay."

 **Two days later…**

Naruto floated in the bathroom when he heard Kuroka call out for him. She was staring at the mirror with a frown, which instantly put Naruto on edge. He never liked seeing Kuroka sad and would do anything to help her. _"_ _An..anyth…anything wrong?_ _"_

Kuroka ignored him and continued to stare at her reflection in the mirror, confusing him even more. This wasn't Kuroka-like behavior. She was usually loud and demanding, usually asking for either food or extra time to sleep. However, she spoke after a few seconds of silence, "I want to stay."

" _..W….what….do y…you mean?_ _"_ asked Naruto.

"I mean that I want to stay here, in Tokyo. I want to go to school with my friends."

Silence filled the bathroom once again. Kuroka gritted her teeth, knowing that he wouldn't like the decision that she came too, but she wanted to do this for herself. She had spent years running around the world with Naruto. She was tired. She wanted to have a normal life for once.

" _Kuroka,_ _"_ she flinched at the tone he used, like a parent about to scold their child, _"_ _You can't stay here. You can't stay in one place for long. The devil hunters will find you and kill you. I don't want you to give them the opportunity of finding you again. We've stayed here longer than I anticipated. We need to leave n-_

"No!" she shouted, slamming her hands down on top of the sink, "I don't want to run anymore! I want to live a normal life now, damn it! I want to stay with my friends! I told them everything about me and they accept me! I don't want to be a stray cat anymore!"

Naruto floated dangerously close to Kuroka, _"_ _So you told them that you're a SS-Class stray devil? You told them everything and they just accepted that?_ _"_

"Yes, they did because they're good people!" shouted Kuroka, "They're not going to do anything bad to me, so stop questioning me and acting like you own me! I can do what I want whenever I feel like it! Ginta and the others told me that they'll protect me if the hunters come after me! I'll be safe!"

Naruto was quiet for a while, making Kuroka uncomfortable again. She knew that Naruto was smart…smarter than he let on. She knew that he was adding everything together but she hoped that he wouldn't understand everything she had planned.

It took a while, but Naruto finally spoke, _"_ _You think that I don't know what's going on. I've sensed the magic coming from that Ginta boy. He's a full-blooded, high-class devil. Those kids around him are his peerage members. You want to join them, right? You want to leave me and join them._ _"_

"Wha-no! I told you that I don't want to join any peerages ever, nya! That's why I haven't joined you in all this time! I'm my own person and I don't need to be dictated by anyone else. I told Ginta that I wouldn't join his peerage for anything in the world! I just want to go to school and be a regular 16-year old girl! Is that too much to ask for, nya?!"

" _It is because you lying. "_ said Naruto harshly, _"_ _I'm almost certain that your lying, Kuroka. I know you. I've been with you for three years and I know how you lie to people to get what you want. You want to be a part of his peerage just so that you can feel 'normal' again, right? The problem is that you are not normal. You are one of the last remain Nekoshou and everyone will be gunning towards you. I've been with you for so long, but I never pressured you into joining me because I actually like you as a person, but you want to throw all of that away for this?!_ _"_

"I just told you I'm not lying!" shouted Kuroka, "I want to stay here with my friends and that's final! I don't care what you say about it but that's what I'm doing!"

Kuroka took in deep breaths as she glared at the silent orb. She had never gotten into an argument with Naruto before, but she was done with following him around. If those hunters were to find her again, she would kill them with her power. She was strong enough to live and protect herself, but it felt like Naruto didn't believe her at all.

" _Where would you live, then? You can't stay here forever._ _"_ growled out Naruto.

"Ginta and his family have money. He told me that he would rent me out an apartment, buy me a house, whatever I wanted. He generally cares for me and so does everyone else."

"… _..And you don't think….you don't think that I care about you?_ _"_ asked Naruto sadly. Kuroka's heart broke in half when she heard Naruto's defeated tone, but she had to do this if she wanted to feel free for the first time in years.

"I feel….I feel like you only want me to be in your peerage. You've trained me and stayed around me in hopes that I would join you someday. I'm telling you today that it'll never happen." she glared at the orb with all the anger she could muster up, "I'm done following you, nya. This is my life and I can choose what's best for me and I know that this will help me in the long-run. I can't stay with a guy who uses an orb to talk to me all the time! You only want me so I can be your [Queen], but they like me for Kuroka! Just Kuroka! You can go find yourself someone else who cares about you, BECAUSE I DON'T!"

Suddenly, Naruto disappeared, leaving Kuroka to herself. She stared at where Naruto once was, just waiting for him to appear again, but he didn't. She stayed like that for ten minutes, but he didn't come back. Kuroka slowly dropped down to her knees and hugged them close to her body. Tears were pouring out of her eyes as she cried silently, thinking that she just destroyed the relationship she had with her guardian. He was always there for her, making sure that all her needs were met. He wasn't bad at all, but Kuroka felt like she needed this for herself. She was always locked down to someone. She wanted to make her own decisions for herself.

"I…I'm so…hick..sorry..Naruto.." Kuroka said in-between her cries.

 **Two days later**

"Okay, that's it!" said Ginta with a huff as he dropped the box he was holding. Ginta, along with his peerage members, were moving Kuroka into an apartment that he got for her. After the fight with Naruto, Kuroka was alone for a few days. Naruto didn't come back to check on her at all, which saddened her greatly. She had never made Naruto mad at her and the silent treatment he was giving her was like poison to her. She was so used to having him around her at every moment for the past three years.

Kuroka heard Ginta, but was too busy looking around to see if Naruto was near. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but calmed down when she noticed that it was Snow's hand. Said girl was looking at the Nekoshou with worry and concern, "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Y-yea..I haven't seen him sense our fight and… it's not like him." he muttered sadly, her cat ears mimicking her mood by slouching down, "I'm not used to this at all. He'd usually say something stupid by now and make me laugh, but he isn't here…."

"It'll be alright, Kuroka." said Jack, "I had the same feeling when I left my Ma', but she understood over time. He'll do the same for you too."

"I don't know, nya…" she said sadly, "I've never felt like this before…. I feel so guilty.."

"Do you want to stay with him? We understand if you do, Kuroka." said Dorothy, "You don't have to do this."

"No, I want to stay, nya. I want to do this for myself." she said confidently, "It's just that this is harder than I thought it would be."

"Well, do you want us to leave you here for a while so you can think about it?" asked Ginta, "We can meet up some time later on." he suggested.

"Sure….Yeah, that sounds nice." she said with a smile, but they knew she was hiding her sadness behind it, "I'll see you guys later."

They all waved at her before disappearing in a magic seal. Kuroka sighed and entered her home and jumped onto her couch. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but the fight between her and Naruto was haunting her with every passing second. _'I was so mean to him…he only wanted to help…'_

She rolled over with a huff, trying to shake the thoughts of Naruto out of her head, but it was inevitable. She was thinking back to all the times she had with him over the past three years. He was the only person that she actually 'loved' other than her sister. She trusted him fully throughout the years, and he did the same. He never did anything to make her feel uncomfortable, always putting her needs first. It was an internal battle that was destroying her from the inside out.

" _So you really want me to go?_ _"_

Kuroka's face was in one of the couch pillows, but she didn't look up. She felt the magic of Naruto floating over her. She knew he was there but she didn't want to look at him. She was scared of him. Scared of what he was going to say and if he was going to judge her.

"I….y…yes.." she muttered quietly, holding back the tears that started to form in her eyes, "I want to make my own decisions. I can handle myself, nya. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"… _okay….._ _"_ he said plainly. Kuroka clinched her eyes shut. She didn't want to cry in front of him, but it was getting harder and harder to do so every second, _"_ _I'm glad that I got to know you, Kuroka._ _"_ were Naruto's last words to her before disappearing all together.

 _ **Flashback End**_

"So he left in the end?" asked Issei, "So how did you become a part of his peerage then if you two split up?"

"It was not to longer after that…. after we went our separate ways that the hunters found me." said Kuroka, "They found me right when I was leaving school with Ginta and his peerage. The hunters asked Ginta if he was helping me hide, because if he was, he was going to be punished for it…..he said that he wasn't…"

"So they betrayed you." said Rias, who was entranced with Kuroka's story.

"They were young.." muttered Kuroka, "They didn't know the politics behind the devil world. Ginta was scared that he and his peerage were going to be punished, so he left me out of fear. It's funny because I had lied to Naruto during our argument, saying that Ginta hadn't offered me a spot on his peerage because he did. He offered me to be his [Bishop] and I was highly considering it."

"And you did it because they made you feel normal, right?" asked Rias, "I can relate to that, so I understand your predicament and I would have done the same thing. It must have been hard to leave him."

"It was and I hated myself when my 'friends' left me to the wolves. It felt like my heart froze over when they left me to fend for myself…..well, I could fend for myself, but still! It was a hard time for me, nya." said Kuroka.

"So what happened next?" asked Issei.

"I killed the hunters… easily. That training with Naruto really paid off in the end, but I was lost after that. I didn't know what to do or where to go. I was lost for a month… back to being Kuroka the Stray Cat. It took me sometime, but I found a trail of Naruto's magic and instantly chased after it. It took me another month to actually find him, but that's when everything changed for me, nya."

 _ **Flashback Continued**_

 **New Orleans- Mardi Gras**

Kuroka was huffing as she ran through the city, using the shadows to avoid human eye. She knew Naruto was near. She could feel the warmth of his magic somewhere in the city and she felt like she was getting closer and closer to him.

"Stay where you're at, Naruto! I'm coming!" Kuroka said with a big smile as she jumped from building to building. The city that she was in was currently having some type of parade for a holiday. Everyone sights were focused on the floats slowly making their way down the streets with everyone enjoying themselves with their family and friends.

Kuroka landed on the ground after jumping down from a building before rushing through the crowd, pushing past a few people. He was near. She could feel it.

"Almost there, nya!" she screamed out happily. Her grin continued to grow as she felt the warmth of Naruto's magic signal. When she found him, she would plead for him to forgive her and make her his [Queen]. She knew that she made a huge mistake with leaving him for someone else, but she wouldn't make a mistake like that for the rest of her life! She would fully commit to him and free him from that seal he was trapped in!

Kuroka approached a restaurant that was filled with people. It didn't stop her from entering it and pushed her way through everyone in sit, even ignoring the waitress that yelled for her to stop.

She was looking around, trying to focus on where he was in the building, but the loud noise and everyone surrounding her was messing with her sensory skills. She hissed at a man that got too close to her and shoved him on the ground, garnering a lot of attention. She wasn't worried about them, she needed to find Naruto!

Kuroka entered the bathroom where there were less people. She went into one of the stalls and closed the door behind her before focusing on Naruto's signal. _'Come on, Naruto! Help me out here! You're in here for a reason! Just give me a signal!"_

It took a while, but she felt a wave of energy on the roof. Kuroka opened her eyes and teleported to the roof with a magic circle. Nobody else was on the roof. There was one table in the middle of the roof with candles and food for one person. On one side of the table was Naruto, in his orb form, floating calmly. Kuroka's eyes were filled with tears instantly and she ran up to him, jumping up and grabbing him, and fell on the back down while holding the surprised Naruto to her chest.

"Naruto! Naruto!" she cried out happily, "I finally found you! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean what I said to you! I'll never leave you again!"

" _Ku..kuroka?_ " said Naruto. The Nekoshou sighed happily when she finally heard him say her name. It felt like so long that she had heard his voice and she needed it.

"Yes, Naruto. It's me. I'm here to stay this time." she whispered silently with tears of happiness. The hole in her heart had seemingly healed the moment she held Naruto to her breast. "I'm so glad that I-

"What's going on here?" said an unknown voice. Anger filled Kuroka's being as she looked up at the person. Who dared cut her off of her Naruto time! She just got back with him and now someone was interrupting them! Who was this person!

"Who the fuck are you?!" shouted an angry Kuroka. The person she was yelling at…. she was simply beautiful. The sense of grace and elegance was flooding from the woman, and she could have sworn that the night sky made her shining golden hair stand out even more. For the first time in Kuroka's life-

She felt inferior.

"Hi!" said the gorgeous woman with a smile that would have melted the heart of the coldest criminals, "My name is Gabriel!"

 _ **Flashback End**_

"And that's when that dusty, old, disgusting, ugly, man-stealing eyesore of a woman Gabriel popped up!" shouted Kuroka with anger, scaring the three younger devils, "I swear I hate that woman with every fiber in my being! For weeks, I had to follow those two around being all friendly with each other! I almost went back to Ginta and his peerage because of the disgusting sight of those two laughing and talking with each other! It's like he replaced me!"

"Uhhh…. wait, you mean Gabriel, one of the Seraphs!" shouted Rias in shock.

"Yup…" Kuroka grumbled with a few curses, "That angel bitch has been mooching on my Naruto for the past three years! She'll pop in every now and then to go sightseeing with Naruto, but I swear I've seen her blush whenever he laughs! I don't want her to hear another one of his beautifully insane laughs!" shouted Kuroka.

"What a relationship you two have…" sweat dropped Asia.

"But yea… one day I got sick of them talking to each other like I wasn't there, so I just shouted that I wanted to be Naruto's [Queen]. He quickly cut off his conversation with Gabriel the Bitch and was happily dancing around me. It was so sweet, nya~" said Kuroka with a blush.

"I actually enjoyed your story. A bit of comedy, romance, a break-up, and an on-going love triangle. It's a very nice story indeed." said Rias with hearts in her eyes.

"It is.. but things have changed between me and Naruto since then." Kuroka said sadly, "He doesn't use my name a lot anymore, usually referring to me as 'My Protégé'. I don't like that name...I want him to use my actual name..."

"I understand that as well...I've had my own self-identification issues as well. You'll get through to him one day." said Rias, subconsciously taking a peek at Issei.

"I guess it is, nya. But I hope you all understand Naruto a bit more. He's a good person; he just depends on us so much so he can forget about his past. I promise you, he wouldn't do anything bad to anyone that didn't deserve it, nya…"

 **Same time –Sona's Apartment**

"-and BOOM! The battle ground is destroyed and we won, because of my awesomeness if I do say so myself, hehehe!" laughed Naruto.

"That's an amazing war story, Naruto-sama." said Sona, deeply interested in the Bael's stories of the past, "Why haven't I heard of these stories before? You're a war hero!"

"I guess…" said Naruto with a cheeky grin as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "But what's up with the '-sama' thing again? I told you that I don't care much for honorifics."

"I know, but you deserve it, Naruto-sama." said Sona, "These tales you have of the war and all the knowledge you have on magic… its incredible and I would love to learn more. You've been here for a couple of hours but I haven't been bored any second while you've been here. You are an amazing person, a war hero, and you deserve all the respect in the world if you ask me." praised Sona.

"Aawww! You're making me blush." said Naruto with a smile, "But I'm glad that you like me. It really means a lot."

"Absolutely. You have my respect after hearing your stories and I'm sorry for feeling a little frightened by you when came to my door. I didn't know that I was opening the door to a legendary man of war." Sona praised again.

"Well I'm glad to hear that." said Naruto with his smile growing.

"I was wondering…. would you…maybe help me in my training?" asked Sona, "You trounced Hao in your fight, even if it was a illusion, and it was very impressive. I want to learn how to fight like you…or at least, incorporate some of your techniques into my battle style."

"No problem." said Naruto, which made Sona lighten up in happiness, "I was going to ask you if you wanted to be trained by me anyway. I was going to ask Rias Gremory the same, since I've heard that she's good at using her Power of Destruction. I wanted to see so for myself and give her a few pointers as well."

"S-sure!" said Sona, stuttering over her words uncharismatially because of the excitement rushing through her body, "We'd love that and I appreciate the opportunity."

"Again, no problem. I'm here to help." said Naruto, "Well then; I guess my time has run out. I need to meet someone else before the night ends so I'll be taking my leave now."

"Of course." she said with a bow, "I thank you for stopping by. You are welcomed here at my home anytime."

"Thank you for that." said Naruto as he summoned a magic seal below him, "I'll see you soon."

"W-wait! One more question!"

"Hmm?" he hummed.

"I know you weren't lying about your stories… but if your such an amazing person, where have you been all of these years and why am I just learning of you now?" she asked with interest.

Naruto smirked at the young Sitri, "Because the higher-ups sealed me in a box because they didn't like me." and disappeared within the seal, leaving Sona puzzled of his answer to her question.

 **Underworld**

 **Bael Territoy Countryside**

Misle Bael was preparing for bed. Her son was gone with his peerage for one of their 'monthly training trips' so she wasn't expecting any visitors that day. It surprised her when she heard the door bell ring throughout the house, especially at this time of day.

"That can't be Sairoarg." muttered Misla as she made her way to the door, "I don't feel his magic at all… I can't feel anyone's magic."

She opened the door slowly, just in case anyone tried to surprise attack her. Her confusion increased further when she saw a mysterious male in a wheelchair looking up to her with an eerie smile

"Uhh…hello?" said Misla.

"Hello there, Lady Bael. It's been a while since I've last seen you."

The voice of the man did sound familiar, but she couldn't quite put a name to it, "I'm sure it has, seeing as I don't get a lot of visitors other than my son and his peerage. Can you tell me you name?" she asked nicely.

"Oh, it makes since that you don't remember me. I just recently freed myself from the seal that you agreed to put me in over 500 years ago, right?"

A name clicked in Misla's mind. Her eyes widened in fear as she stepped away from the door. The man in the wheelchair opened the door enough for him to get through without a hassle and closed it behind him. Misla was shaking in fear as the man smiled up at her with an evil grin.

"I'm Naruto Bael, bitch. You and I need to talk. Now."

To her surprise, Naruto stood out of his wheelchair and walked over to her. Fear over-rid her minds commands to get the hell out. Naruto grabbed Misla by her throat and held her in the air with surprising strength, "Ohohoho, I've been wanting to do this for years. It seems like little Miss Bael isn't so arrogant and grand now, is she? Heheheheh!"

"Please…" Misla croaked out, "Please… put me down…i.I can explain."

Naruto hummed to himself before deciding on letting her go. Misla dropped to the ground in a cough fit, gasping for the air that she was cut off of for a short time.

"What happened, Misla? I remember that you used to be so arrogant and demanding. I remember storied my mother used to tell me of how you would put down everyone who would serve you. You do remember my mother, right? She was one of your maids for a long time." said Naruto.

"I…I do. I'm sorry for what happened to her." said Misla, looking up to Naruto with sorrow, "I'm sorry what happened to you as well. I..I'm a changed woman. I've seen the error in my ways and-

"Your damn right!" shouted Naruto, kicking Misla across the room. Misla bounced off the wall and landed on the ground harshly, "You don't know ANYTHING I'VE BEEN THROUGH BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"Please… I know that I did wrong by you…" she groaned out. She shakily stood back on her feet to meet Naruto face-to-face, "But please understand that I'm different now. I know what I did is wrong and I've regretted it ever since they sealed you all those years ago."

"You're going to regret it." growled out Naruto, grabbing Misla by her throat again, "I want to kill you… I want to utterly torture you before I kill you with a massive blast of my power, but I can't do that right now. I need you alive for the moment. You being dead will only cause complications in my plan."

"I..I understand.." she muttered out, "I'll… atone to my sins…I…i-

"I what!?" shouted Naruto, "What is it that you can possible offer me right now!"

"I offer my services…" she said with a groan. Naruto narrowed his eyes in curiosity at her words, "Anything you need of me…I'll do it… I just ask that you don't h-hurt my son or any of his friends."

Naruto grinned at Misla, "Now THAT'S an offer! HehehehHAHAHAHAH! I believe that making you my servant in my peerage would also be agreeable, hmm?"

"Yes.." she muttered, "You can do anything with me, just don't hurt my son."

"heheh..hehehehehehe! HHHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHA! THIS IS HILARIOUS! THEY LOOK ON THEIR FACES WHEN I REVEAL THAT YOU ARE A PART OF MY PEERAGE! THE WIFE OF THE GREAT KING! hhehehHAHAHAH! This is rich!" laughed out Naruto with insanity, increasing the fear in Misla's heart.

"Alright, little Bael. I'm not going incorporate you into my peerage…at least, not yet… it depends on if I really feel like embarrassing the higher-ups by making you mines. I know something that you will do though…

Naruto brought Misla's face closer to his own, "You're going to tell me everything about those in charge. Tell me everything you know about the Great King, Satans, The Bael Council, everything. If you decide to even leave out one thing…" Naruto used his free hand to summon his Power of Destrution and held it dangerously close to her face…

"There will be hell to pay..hehehhehe! HhahahahhHHAHAHAHAHAH!"

 **muHAHAHAHAHA! you didn't see that shit coming, did ya! Oh my god, I love ME! MY MIND IS SO AMAZING SOMETIMES, I SWEAR!**

 **Yup, yup, yup, I told you guys that I was looking for a female peerage member, but you all totally forgot about Misla. To be honest, I kinda forgot about her too, but SHE'S BACK!**

 **However, it isn't certified that she'll become apart of Naruto's peerage, but she has a chance. I took note of a lot of y'alls recommendations, but a lot of the people you've listened are from anime's I haven't watched yet, nor do I have to time to do so. College is closing in on me and I have all my focus on getting ready for it, which is why this chapter came out so late.**

 **Also, don't forget to tell me if you all are available for an OC character in the reviews or if you support the idea of Misla being apart of Naruto's peerage. I have a feeling a lot of you would be against both ideas, but I just wanna make sure. You all have a voice in how this story progresses.**

 **This chapter has 17k words, so happy birthday to all my readers! This is the longest chapter to date. My birthday is very close, but I'm not going to say it to keep my identity as secret as possible, but you all can wish me happy bday if you want….*kicks rock*…I mean..its not that important… but if you want too…**

 **To all the ladies, my pm's still open, so holla at a player, ya diggggggg?**

 **The Naruto/Kuroka story was something I enjoyed typing, and the characters in their story are from 'MAR: Marchen Awakens Romance'. It was one of the first mangas I've read, so I was glad that I could put them into my story.**

 **You guys have any questions or anything, you can review your thoughts. You all have been killing it with the reviews and I love you all for it. It makes me fill good.**

 **The next time I update, I'll be in college, so the updates won't be coming in as quick for sure. I just hope that you all understand that and continue to encourage me to type this amazing story up for you all to enjoy.**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

 **P.S.- my birthday really is soon, so send love**


	13. DateNight

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, just watching some Naked and Afraid while I'm clothed and in my bed.**

 **Yoo, you guys did the most with the birthday wishes and it means a lot. I swear I have the best supporters on Fanfiction and I hope you all continue to read BreakThrough until the very end.**

 **I'm writing this AU the day before I leave for college. The support I've gotten from you all understanding my situation as a rising freshman is amazing, cuz. Yeah, the chapters probably won't be coming in as they usually do on a weekly basis, but I will continue to type. The last two chapters came in a bit late because I had a lot to do preparing for college and shit like that. All I want you all to do is to continue to harass me in my Private Messages and Reviews and demand that I update. It'll work, for sure!**

 **Also, a few people were kinda put off on how the last chapter ended. I'm telling you all now so that you won't have to worry about him later: Naruto isn't evil, he's just troubled. He's been in a seal for god knows how long, alone, and couldn't do shit. When he saw Misla, the average person would have done far worse to her than what Naruto did. Remember, this isn't a revenge-fic, but more like a self-redemption fic. But, it's like he'll get revenge on those that wronged him while redeeming himself. It's a win-win situation for you all.**

 **Everyone got to understand Kuroka and Naruto's relationship a bit more last chapter. You all liked the back story and how Gabriel was introduced. See, what I tell ya? All ya had to do was be patient and everything was gonna work out.**

 **We'll be getting back onto the main story now that all the mushy stuff is over with. Please enjoy.**

 **Let's get back into the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **DateNight**

 **One week later…**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

" _Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Be-_

A hand slammed down on the alarm clock, stopping its annoying cry for its owner to wake up.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened, revealing his baby blue eyes to the world.

"Day 5…" muttered Naruto to himself. He checked clock and saw that it read 7:00 a.m, "I didn't even wake up once…"

He sighed and took off his breathing machine. It was the only thing that he needs to sleep at night. He was healthy enough to eat and drink for himself and he didn't need any more blood donations from the others either. He was progressing, but he had to do some of the work for himself.

Naruto groaned as he pushed himself up. His arms still hurt from the previous days, but he knew that he needed to train. His body was weak from being trapped in that seal for centuries. If he was going to follow through with his plans, he had to condition himself even better than he was during his war days.

The young Bael stood up, wearing only orange shorts, though he did have some trouble doing so. He wasn't using any magic to strength his body. It was a part of his training, after all.

Slowly walking past his wheelchair, Naruto opened the door and started his streak down the hall. He grunted a few times whenever his sore feet made contact with the floor. _'Damn it,'_ he said mentally when he leaned against the wall for support. He took a couple of deep breaths before continuing his walk, ignoring his crying legs as he made his way to the top of the stairs. "Okay, Naruto," he whispered to himself, "You can do this…"

Grabbing the sidebar with both hands, Naruto placed his right foot down onto the first stair. After taking a quick break to make sure everything was okay, he quietly made his way down the stairs. It wasn't as hard for him to go down the stairs now that he was supporting a large amount of his weight on his arms, however, the hardest part of walking down the stairs was keeping his balance. He flinched when his right foot hit the side of the wall, stubbing his toe. Growling out in pain, he refocused before making his way down the last few steps.

"Naruto, nya?" said a familiar voice. Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Kuroka from the dining room with a curios look in her cat eyes, "What are you doing? We would have helped you get out of the bed."

"I..I wanted to try." he muttered while using the walls for support as he took a few more steps. Kuroka quickly appeared at his side and wrapped one of his arms over her shoulders while wrapping her own arm around his mid-section. He silently thanked his protégé while the headed into the kitchen where Anna was cooking. She was wearing a blue shorts and one of Yoh's muscle shirts with everything under a pink apron.

"Good morning." she said nonchalantly, but she did take a few seconds to glance at Naruto from the side of her eyes. Kuroka didn't go upstairs to assist him, so she summed up that he left his bed himself. While it was a good sign that his recovery was doing him well, it was also very un-safe for him to be doing task like that without someone with him.

"Good night, hehehe!" Naurto joked. Both females in the room rolled their eyes his corny joke that he said every morning and every night. Kuroka sat Naruto down in one of the chairs at the table and scooted a seat next to him.

"You shouldn't have done that." she whispered to him, pulling his body towards her. She moved his head gently so that it was sitting on her breast. Naruto sighed and snuggled into Kuroka's warmth. She purred quietly when he wrapped both of his arms around her stomach and she started playing with his hair, "You should have waited for me or Orochimaru to help you."

"Orochimaru has to work today." he said with a yawn, "I didn't want to bother him this morning and I didn't know where you were this morning. You stopped sleeping with me and I didn't want to yell for someone to help me."

Even though what happened with Hao was over a week ago, the new fear that she had for Naruto was still present in her heart. The only reason why she could be next to him like she was now was because Anna was in the room with her. When she's alone with Naruto, however, the memories of his hostility start to invade her mind. She gripped Naruto a little tighter, "I just giving you more space so you can sleep comfortably, nya!" she lied, "I didn't want to wake you up whenever I moved in the bed, so I decided to leave you for a while a sleep somewhere."

"Okay…" he said with another yawn, not noticing that Kuroka was looking down at him with a troubled face, _'I don't like this. Why am I still scared of him? Everyone else seemed to get over their fear and suspensions of him, but now me? What's wrong with me?"_

The noise of a plate hitting the wooden kitchen table brought Kuroka out of her mussing. Anna placed the plate down in front of him the two. The simple meal of eggs and toast was on the plate, with a small container of yogurt that Anna got out of the fridge. She also poured him a glass of milk before focusing back on her cooking.

"Here you go~" said Kuroka playfully, grabbing the chopsticks and started to feed Naruto. He didn't have any problems with it at all since his arms still hurt. He chomped down on his eggs slowly but with eagerness as well. Kuroka giggled at Naruto he flashed a smile at her, his teeth filled with egg bits.

"Eh?" said the newly arrived Kisame, only wearing his purple boxers, "Ya' cook me sum? I'm pretty hungry right now."

"You didn't even say good morning, only focusing on food that I'm not even making for you." said Anna with a little twinge of anger, "Either make your own food or go out and buy it because I'm not making you any."

"Wow, who gives a fuck." laughed Kisame, "Just keep that same energy when we're watching that Sharknadoe movie I recorded last night! Hahaha! I bet that movie is awesome with a title like that…"

"Hello, Kisame." said Naruto when he swallowed his food, "Nice to see you, hehehe!"

"And it is nice to see you as well." said Kisame, "At least you have the fucking decency to recognize me with kindness instead of stuck up bitchy-ness." he said. He raised an eyebrow at the position he was in with Kuroka, "Hold on now, Naruto. Just because she sexy as fuck doesn't mean you fuck here right here. I'm sure Anna wouldn't have a good time clean up the juices, hehehe!"

Kuroka's face flushed a deep red at Kisame as the images of her and Naruto started to fill her mind while Anna growled at the shark man, forgetting about the eggs that she was making for Yoh.

"What are you talking about, Kisame?" asked Naruto innocently, "I don't ge… what is this water?" Naruto looked up at Kuroka to see that she had a glazed look with half-opened eye lids. The blush on her face was still strong and she was salivating from her mouth, "Kuroka, your drooling on m-"

"Ssshhh!" said Kuroka, putting a finger to Naruto's lips, "Let me enjoy this right now, nya~"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"She's a woman, so we'll never know…or at least, you won't know, Naruto. Once you get more in tune with the world, you'll get it." said Kisame as he opened the fridge and stole the cartoon of milk, "Bottoms up!" he yelled before chugging in with ferocity, draining it in seconds.

Anna's eyebrow twitched twice in anger…

 **30 minutes later…**

 **Backyard**

Naruto was outside with Lee, doing some light stretches to prepare for the day's exercises. Yoh and Anna were watching from the sidelines, sitting in lawn chairs. Yoh was eating the burnt eggs with comical tears falling from his eyes because Anna forced him to.

Naruto was sitting on the ground, reaching for toes. Lee was behind him gently pushing his back down, "Good job, Naruto-sama! Just a few more seconds like that and we can start training again!"

"This hurts…" said Naruto with a depressed tone. His thighs were burning up and he didn't want to continue this at all.

"YOSH! That means its working! Pain is gain, after all!" shouted Lee as he applied more pressure, pushing Naruto down even further. A loud pop sound reverberated throughout the background when Lee pushed Naruto down.

"Ahhhhhhh…." Naruto's eyes were wide and he couldn't form words when the pain of his back multiplied by one hundred.

"Ouch." muttered Yoh, wincing at the sick sound.

"YOSH! GREAT JOB!" shouted Lee, "Now we're ready for fifty pushups!"

"Fi-fifty!" shouted Naruto comically, "I can hardly move and you want me to do fifty!"

"Absolutely!" said Lee. He grabbed both of Naruto's shoulders and pulled him back up, his back snapping while doing so.

"Uh..Lee.." that snap didn't sound normal to Yoh at all.

"Why is he my trainer!" cried out Naruto as he rolled over on his stomach.

"Remember that its arm day today! Yesterday was leg day and I see that you're getting used to the pain! So fifty push-ups should help you get used to the pain in your arms while you're fighting!" shouted Lee in excitement, "See, I'll do them with you!"

"Should we be helping Naruto-sama, Anna?" Yoh asked his fiancée, who catching a tan.

"Let them have their fun. It's more peaceful anyway when Lee is dogging down someone else with training practices." she replied.

"If you say so." he muttered when he threw the rest of the eggs into a bush when Anna wasn't looking. The two continued to watch the duo in silence. Lee was waiting on Naruto finish his push-ups, yelling encouraging words to their master. Naruto was gritting his teeth as he pushed himself from the ground, "F-f-four…" he said and dropped back down to the ground.

"Great job! Four-five more to go! If you can't finish it in the next 10 minutes, we'll have to add to them by two hundred!" Lee screamed.

"Why did I add you in my peerage again…" muttered Naruto as pushed himself up again, "This shit is crazy."

"Oh, so you're going to quit?" asked Lee.

"Never." he answered quickly, "I'll never quit….believe it."

Yoh shuffled in his seat uncomfortably as he took a quick glance at Anna. She was wearing sunglasses, so he couldn't see her eyes. He tapped his fingers on the arm rest of his chair, before switching to whistling. Anna ignored his obvious attempt to get her attention and continued to bake under the sun peacefully.

"Ugggghhhhhhhhhh…" groaned out Yoh, rolling onto his stomach and curling into a ball, his back facing Anna, "It's so boring.."

Anna twitched twice…

"What do you want?" she said suddenly. Yoh rolled over to Anna.

"What do you mean? I didn't ask for anything." he glanced away from her when she turned her head to him. Even though she was wearing sunglasses, he could still feel her heated glare directed at him.

"Whenever you want my attention, you do stupid stuff to get me to talk to you." she answered, "So just tell me what you want so I can deny it."

"I mean…you're kinda right." he mumbled, "You probably wouldn't care anyway so I'll just…ya' know.." he rolled back over, facing away from Anna.

"What do you want, Yoh? I'm not asking again." she said.

He was quiet for a while, so Anna was about to zone him out and focus on her tanning, but he finally spoke up, "I wanted to go on a date with you tomorrow."

Anna stared at his back, noticing that his arms weren't tensed up anymore, "I know that we haven't felt…I don't know what word to use..maybe… comfortable…Yeah… it hasn't been comfortable between us since we had our argument. I just wanted to patch things up again." he mumbled.

The silence between them was tense. Yoh was waiting for an answer from Anna, but all that he heard was the shouts of pain from Naruto and Lee's encouraging words. He sighed, believe that he had failed in his pursuit to restore his relationship with his fiancée, but his ears perked up when he heard Anna speak, "I agree…" she said, "I don't like it when we aren't talking. I hate it when we're quiet in bed, waiting for the other person to say something. I want everything to be natural between us…like how it used to be."

"So you'll go?" asked a hopeful Yoh as he turned back towards his fiancée, "You'll go out with me tomorrow?"

"Yes." she said quietly. A full grin grew on Yoh's face and he tried to hug Anna, but a kick to his ribs stopped him as he curled up in pain, "But that's it. I want to sit down with you and talk while eating good food. Nothing more than that."

"Nothing more? You mean-" Yoh noticed the light blush on Anna's cheeks, "Oh! Uh, yea. We don't have to do that. I just want to be able to hug you again at night because you're warm-"

"Of course." she said while rolling her eyes.

"-and because I love you." he finished. Anna's breath hitched slightly at his words. She couldn't look him in the eye, so she turned away from the younger Asakura so he wouldn't see her heated face, "You know that, right?" he asked.

"Yes….I love you too."

 _Click!_ "Whew, got that on record." said Yoh as he pressed the screen on his phone, "I'll just make that your ringtone for whenever you call me."

"You were recording me…" growled out Anna. Yoh smiled evilly and pressed the reply button.

" _Yes….I love you too._ _"_

Anna eyebrow twitched a few times in anger…..

 **Later that day**

 **Student Council Room**

Sona was marching her way to her office during lunch. The heiress of the Sitri Clan was uncharacteristically behind on her work these days because she was spending a lot of her time with Naruto, listening to his stories of the war and training with him. She was fully invested into the man, her respect she held for him grew every time she saw him. He was like a walking library of untold stories for Sona and she wanted to hear everything. While it was slightly annoying that he would come to their training sessions already tired from his daily training, she knew that he wasn't fit like how he described himself in the past and had to take the time to get himself back up to speed. She winced when she remembered that Lee was the one over Naruto's training. After the beating he gave Rias and her peerage, along with the fight with Sairaorg that happened weeks ago, she knew that the young marital artist was a training addict and anyone would suffer under his tutelage.

The Student Council President opened the door to her office and saw that someone was already in there. Her neutral face grew a small frown once she noticed that it was Hao was sitting in one of the couches in the room. His back was to her, so he didn't see her, but Sona didn't want to speak to the Asakura. Anyone who would try to kill their [King] over ignorant and selfish reasoning wasn't a friend in Sona's book.

Nevertheless, she closed the door behind her and walked towards her desk, not even saying a word to him. She noticed that he was sipping on some red wine from a wine glass. She could tell that he wasn't drunk or anything, otherwise, he wouldn't be sitting so calmly.

"Are you done analyzing me?" he asked once Sona sat down in her chair.

The female Sitri answered, "I wouldn't have to do that if you were to just be a reasonable person."

Hao gave her a weak smile, "But I'm not a reasonable person, Sona. I have my own demons that I need to take care of."

"And the way to take care of them is by killing your own [King]?" she snapped back, "Are you honestly saying that you're the victim in this situation?"

"No, I'm not." he answered smoothly, not even concerned that she raised her voice at him, "I'm not the victim, but I'm not the bad guy everyone else has painted me as."

"I don't want to hear your cry for pity." she said, "You don't deserve my forgiveness or anyone else's, especially your peerage members. I can't even fathom of sleeping in the same house as my attempted murderer. They must treat you like an outsider."

Hao didn't answer her, which internally surprised her. She took a closer look at his face when she went to push her glass back on her nose, and it seemed like Hao actually looked sad. He had a frown on his face, not an angry one, but a sad one. His whole demeanor seemed as if he was battling with the guilt inside of him, "I don't care about anyone else other than Naruto-sama, Yoh, and Anna. Whatever the rest of them think wouldn't affect me at all."

"I've meet you brother once before." said Sona. Hao seemed interested and listened as she continued talking, "He was the one that invited my peerage and I to your fight. He appeared behind me and I tried to attack him because I thought he was an assailant, but he suddenly appeared in the middle of this room."

"Yoh is probably the fastest person you will ever meet." Hao said with a chuckle, "He likes to run from problems due to his lazy attitude. I guess that mindset translated into his speed, because whenever I want him to do something for me, he disappears and I can't follow him." he finished with a laugh.

The edge of Sona's frown twitched a little. She didn't want to, but Hao seemed nicer when talking about his brother, so she continued with the subject, "You two must be close."

"It's complicated between us." he answered after taking a sip of his wine, "Yoh had to deal with me during me crazy-phase and I really hurt him, apparently. However, no matter what I did, he always defended me. When I joined Naruto-sama's peerage, Yoh joined right after, his main reasoning was that he wanted to thank Naruto-sama for saving me. I don't deserve someone like him."

"And what about the other girl that I saw holding Yoh's hand during the fight? If I remember from the Rating Game you all had against Sairaorg, her name was Anna." said Sona.

"Anna is Yoh's fiancée, also Naruto-sama's other [Bishop], like me." he answered, "She's a kind girl. She hides behind that menacing persona of hers, but all she wants is to be near Yoh. She joined Naruto-sama's peerage just because Yoh did."

"That's actually interesting. I'd like to have a conversation with her about her shamanic powers. It's a dying culture, so meeting one is very rare." said Sona.

"That is, if you can get her to talk to you. Anna's very closed off. She's scared of meeting new people because she scared that they'll fear her for her powers. I will never understand how Yoh convinced her to be his wife, but they have each other. I could die happily now that I know Yoh has her." he said with a rare smile.

Sona made sure to burn the image of Hao smiling into her memory. Even though she was supposed to hate this man, she couldn't help but find him very attractive. She kept her blush down and crossed her arms over her chest while leaning back into her chair, "While that is nice, it doesn't explain why you're here. You came into my office unannounced, for what has seemed like the tenth time, and you haven't given me what I wanted."

"Which is?" he asked.

"An apology."

Hao sighed, "I feel bad about what I did, but apologize? That's not me." he said with a laugh before taking another sip of his wine.

"Then I guess we can't have our usual conversations ever again because I won't speak to you again unless you apologizing. It isn't hurting me either way, since I can go to Naruto-sama for information and training."

"You've seemed to have built a relationship with my master." said Hao.

She nodded, "He's very interesting. I've heard his stories many times of the war. He is truly a war hero that should be respected. I don't understand why his name isn't mentioned a lot in books that I've read concerning the war. It's like he's faded away from history and it makes me mad that he isn't given the respect and honor he deserves."

Hao laughed, causing the Sitri to raise an eyebrow at him, "It's just….you sound a lot like how I did when he told me his stories of the past…. you're smile reminds me of the same smiles I once had…"

"Don't you try to go out and enjoy yourself? I know it must be a pain living in a house with so many people, but don't you have a connection with your peerage members other than your brother and his fiancée?" she asked.

"I do…I don't know how to describe my feeling for them." he answered honestly, thinking about Kisame, Lee, Orochimaru, and Kuroka, "They are all annoying, but I've gotten used to it. I enjoy our arguments, even though I don't show it on the outside…the common argument of who gets the remote for the night…I sometimes look forward to that."

"You all fight over the television remote?" Sona had to hold back a laugh. She couldn't imagine someone as stoic as Hao fighting with others over such a measly thing, "What happened to hating human inventions?"

"Whoever made the television was a human that surpassed other humans. He was a god-send to this world filled with ignorance." Hao said with a chuckle, "To explain the TV situation, my master only put one television in house, which is located in the living room. That would force us to get together and watch. The overall goal was to make us bond during the time that Naruto-sama was away."

"Can you explain that to me?" she said with curiosity, "I've met with him a few times over the course of this week but he hasn't explained to me why he was sealed. The only thing he's told me is that the higher-up devils didn't like him. I want to understand him more."

"If he hasn't told you yet, it's because there is a reason to it." he said, "Naruto-sama is very crafty. However, I must say that he's taken an interest in you. The only people he's really invested his time with like the way he's doing now is with his peerage members and Issei."

"I feel honored that I have his attention. He's somebody I can look up to."

"And you should." said Hao as he stood up from his seat, "Well, I've said what I've wanted to say."

"I guess I won't get that apology?" she asked with a small smirk.

"No, because I'm not that type of person. He may have beaten me in combat, in some weird way I may add, but he didn't beat the arrogance out of me. I'm still the same guy, I just got my ass beat." he said with a shrug.

"So you would try to kill Naruto-sama again if you had the opportunity?" she asked, her smirked long gone in replace of a frown.

"No. I won't do that ever again." he said with a sigh, "I don't know what the hell I was thinking. That was the man that gave me a new outlook on life and I forsake him. One thing for sure, that punishment was hellish. It was hard just to breath in the state I was in. When my punishment was over, all he did was touch my forehead and the pain went away. It took some time for my body to recover fully, but I was glad that shit was over with."

"Hmph, glad you learned your lesson, even if it was a little extreme for my taste." she said, pushing up her glasses.

"He did put the fear of god in me, that's for sure." he chuckled, "Even if he is weakened, I still feel like that he could win against a fight with me in some type of way. Plus, Kuroka wouldn't let me get close to him anyway."

"His [Queen]? Kuroka the Nekomata?"

"That's the one." he said, "That girl…she's really strong. I can feel it. I wouldn't stand a chance against her."

"Are you sure? I didn't feel any magic from her when I saw her during your fight." she said.

"Beings with a lot of power tend to be able to control it better, concealing their magic from others. I'm not saying that she's as powerful as a Satan or anything, but she has the potential to. Remember, she was the only one that noticed Naruto-sama's illusion. She's strong."

"If you say so…" the Sitri heiress muttered.

"Well, even though you may not trust me, I want out alliance to continue again." he said, "I've missed out conversations. I want to look forward to them again."

"I still haven't gotten my apology." she said with a smile.

"You'll get it if you allow me to be your ally." Hao said with a cocky smile.

"You're really not in the position to bargain." she said with a smile similar to Hao's.

"True, but I know you'll accept it anyway." he countered with a laugh. She rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn't help but smile a little more.

"Sure… now my apology." she demanded playfully.

Hao smirked at her and summoned a magic seal underneath him, "I'll see you soon, Sona." and disappeared.

 **Timeskip – After School**

"Cardio! Cardio! Oh how I love cardio!~" sang out Yoh. He was running with his usual orange headphones over his head, weights cuffed around his wrist and ankles, down his usual running path.

"Why..huff..why are yo..you sing that terrible song…" groaned out his [King], who was trying to catch up with Yoh. It was part of the day where Naruto would join Yoh on his daily jog which would help him build back up his muscle and stamina he lost over the years.

"Oh, I hate that song. Anna makes me sing it so it can motivate me to finish my jog." said Yoh, finishing up on the last stretch of their run, "Butttttt~ I'm very happy today! Caaaaaaaaauuuuuuseeeeeee I gotta date, date date! I gotta date, date, date!" sang the [Knight].

"O..oh.." groaned out Naruto who was struggling to keep the distance between the two at a minimum, "Well good for you."

When they finally reached the entrance of Kuoh Academy, Naruto dropped down on the ground and huffed for air. "My…My l-legs…." he said in between his gasp for breath.

"You'll get used to it." said Yoh, eyeing some of the student that was leaving school grounds. School ended about twenty minutes ago, but there were a few more students left that were lazing around. They all looked at Naruto weirdly, wondering why he was so thin and if he had any decency.

Yoh was about to help his master up, but the sound of swords clashing reached his ears, causing him to check his surroundings. Naruto wasn't focused on the distant sword battle, rather, he was trying to get his [Knight]'s attention but failing to do so.

"You do hear that, right?" he asked his master.

"Hear the swords? Yeah, but I don't care about that! Help me up!" shouted Naruto, falling back onto the ground when his knees buckled under his weight.

Yoh pulled Naruto up and allowed him to use him as a crutch, "Let's walk to that alleyway so no one can see us. I'll teleport us to that noise." said Yoh, leading Naruto to the alleyway he was talking about.

After reaching the alleyway, the two teleported behind the Old School House, the same place where Yoh claimed he heard the noise. Naruto summoned his wheelchair and sat in it. Using his powerful magic, Naruto made a small ice walkway for his wheels to roll on while Yoh pushed him. The two made their way through the trees for a while until they made it to the clearing directly behind the Old School House. There, they saw both Issei and Kiba fighting against two girls dressed in tight, black body suits and were armed with swords.

"What's going on here?" said Naruto in confusion.

"Na-Naruto-sama?" said Issei, surprised at his sudden entrance. He quickly brought his attention back to his fight and ducked under a sword swipe that would have cut of his head.

"Opps! Sorry! I thought you were focusing on the fight!" said the brown-haired girl that Issei was fighting.

"Gah!" yelled Kiba in pain when he was kicked to the other side of the clearing.

"That was boring." said the blue-haired girl that kicked Kiba, "You aren't that strong."

"His form was flawed as well." said Yoh, catching the attention of the blue-haired girl and her partner, "He's quick on his feet, but he doesn't have a lot of power in his strikes."

"Are you alright, Kiba?" asked Rias when she went over to check on him, but he shrugged her off in anger and started to walk towards Yoh.

"I can handle myself, especially against holy-swords. Your appearances just distracted me." Kiba said with anger in his voice.

"No, I can assume from the large crater in the ground that she was the one that did it with her big sword," said Yoh, pointing to Kiba's opponent, "and I can tell that you were losing before I arrived by the scuff marks on your clothes and you injuries. You lost because she was stronger than you, period." Yoh said with a lazy yawn.

Xenovia, the victor between her and Kiba, looked at Yoh with interest, "You seem to be very analytical and wise. You must be strong yourself."

"Ehh, I'm just a guy who wishes he was sleeping right now." said Yoh with a wave, dismissing Xenovia's claim, "Can we go home now, Naruto-sama?"

"I don't know; his may turn out to be fun, heheheh!" laughed out Naruto with a closed-eye smile.

"Forgive us, Naruto-sama. We were just having a practice match with these followers of the church." said Rias.

"It's alright. Practice is good. Practice is good. I just wish I had someone of that popcorn stuff that we eat when we watch movies." said the Bael.

"Who are you two?" asked Xenovia. The fighting between Irina, the other girl, and Issei ceased once they noticed everyone's attention was elsewhere.

"My name is Naruto Bael and this is my [Knight], Yoh Asakura." Naruto introduced.

"Hi." said Yoh with a wave.

"So you're devils as well? That's odd. We were only informed that the Gremory and Sitri were stationed here." said Xenovia.

"We moved in about two and a half months ago, so we're still new to the area." explained Naruto.

"Well then, I shall inform you that we are here to look for Holy Swords and we don't want any disturbances from the devil population here in Kuoh." said Xenovia.

"Okay." Naruto said plainly.

"If we have to, we'll use force to…..did you just agree?" she said with confusion.

"Uhhhh," Naruto looked up at Yoh in confusion and all he got from him was a shoulder shrug, "Yeaaa…I mean, I'm not the one over this territory anyway. You'll have to talk to Rias or Sona for that. We just live here."

Xenovia looked back at her partner in confusion before focusing back on Naruto, "Well then, I thank you for being understanding." said Xenovia, "But there is something that I'd like to request from you."

"And that is?" asked Naruto with curiosity.

"I want to battle with your [Knight]." said Xenoiva while pointing to Yoh. Yoh wasn't even focused with the conversation being held, finding the orange butterfly that was floating around more interest. However, his ears did pick up on his name.

"Eh, did you say something?" he asked. Everyone sweat dropped at the lazy [Knight]'s lack of interest.

"I said I wanted to battle you here and now." demanded Xenovia, pointing her very large sword at Yoh with ease.

"Maybe I don't want to." Yoh said with a yawn, "Listen, I need to go make some reservations at a restaurant soon so I ca-

"I don't care." stated Xenovia, walking towards Yoh and Naruto, "You've caught my interest and I want to do battle with you."

Before she could get to close, Yoh and Issei flew in front of Xenovia, blocking her from reaching Naruto, "I believe that you should leave now and go handle your church business. I don't want you here on my school grounds any longer." demanded Yoh, his lazy demeanor long gone.

Issei summoned his Boosted Gear, "I've been meaning to practice with my new form anyway. Step any closer and I'll give it a test run on you."

"You guys are so tense!" laughed Naruto, "Issei, you won't be testing your Balance Breaker today, but you will soon so keep that energy up!"

Both Irina and Xenovia perked up at Naruto's words, _'He can activate Balance Breaker? So he was just playing with Irina/me?'_

"Are you sure, Naruto-sama?" asked Rias. Naruto laughed and pushed himself past Issei and Yoh, now facing Xenovia.

"I'm sure Yoh can finish things here real quick. Right, Yoh?"

"Do I have toooo?" moaned out Yoh.

"If you don't, I'll tell Anna on you!~"

Yoh sighed in defeat and sulked onto the pseudo-battlefield, "All I want to do is make reservations!" he cried out.

"He'll fight you, but be careful." said Naruto with a smile.

"I don't need a devils concern." stated Xenovia as she followed Yoh. Irina inched closer to Naruto before introducing herself.

"Hi! My name is Irina Shidou! Nice to meet you!" she said with a happy smile.

Naruto smile matched her own as he shook hands with the girl, "Naruto Bael! Very nice to meet you! Has anyone told you recently that you have lovely hair?"

"Your master doesn't seem like the serious type. He seems more like an idiot to me." said Xenovia, observing Irina and Naruto make small talk.

"He isn't the serious type, but he's not an idiot. He's just happy." said Yoh with a smile. However, that smile changed into a frown as he stared at the blue-haired swordswoman, "But do we have to do this? I really need to get home and make some reservations…"

"You can do that later. Call out your sword now and fight me!" shouted Xenovia.

Yoh sighed and summoned his sword, "Haven't swung Harusame in a long time."

"Is that your sword's name?"she asked.

"Yup. A friend of mine gave it to me a long time ago." he said with a small smile, "So are you ready because I really need to go make those reservations."

"I'll finish you quickly, then." she stated.

"That's a heavy sword you have there." said Yoh.

"My Holy Sword, Durandal, is heavy and its weight would interfere with most swordsmen wielding abilities. However, I've been trained to handle it!" she yelled while dashing towards an uninterested Yoh.

When she was near him, Xenovia slashed at Yoh, intending to slice him in half. Yoh simply ducked up the swipe and poked Xenovia with his sword, "Boom. You just died."

"Hmph." Xenovia jumped away from Yoh. She rubbed the side of her stomach, the same place that Yoh poked at. He didn't cut her, but he could have easily left a fatal blow, "You could have killed me…"

"You killed yourself." said Yoh, walking towards Xenovia, "You can handle that sword well, but you are slow, slower than most [Knights]. You're basically a [Rook] with a sword. I can tell that your style of fighting is counters, using your swords destructive capabilities to catch your opponent off guard when their trying to attack and finish it with one hit. I don't even have to be stronger than you to win. I just have to be quicker." explained the Asakura twin.

"Don't use devil terms to determine my strength!" shouted Xenovia while raising her sword over her head, intending to slam it into the ground to create a shockwave.

Yoh blitzed in front of Xenovia before she could even continue with the motion and kicked her into a tree, "You are really slow. If you continue this pointless fight, you'll run out of stamina quickly.

"I've dealt with those who are quick on their feet." said Xenovia, ignoring the pain in her back, "This is just another training session to me."

"Eh." Xenovia picked up Yoh's voice from behind her and quickly turned her head to it. She saw Yoh, on his phone, totally uninterested in the fight, "What was the number to that restaurant."

' _What!?'_ Xenovia said mentally, focusing back on the spot Yoh was previously at. There was another Yoh there, but he seemed to be fading in the light, _'An afterimage?'_

"You just died again." Xenovia felt the tip of Yoh's sword rubbing against her spine, "That's twice girly. You are not a cat. You do not have nine lives."

"Woah." muttered Issei, "I didn't know that Yoh was so cool."

"He doesn't even seem interested in the fight…" muttered Koneko.

"It is boring." said Naruto, his head leaning into his palm, "I thought there would be laser beams and rocks flying everywhere! I want my money back!"

"It's not my fault, Naruto-sama," said Yoh while ducking a swipe from Xenovia, "she's just so slow. I don't even need to fight back."

Xenovia growled in anger and tried to pierce Yoh, but he spun around the sword swiftly and grabbed Xenovia's left ankle and lifted her off the ground. The young church follower fell flat on her face and dropped her sword.

"Xenovia!" shouted Irina, running up to her friend to make sure she was okay.

"I'm done with this…whatever this is." said Yoh, recalling his sword into a magic circle, "You're too cocky for your own good.

Yoh passed by Kiba while on his streak back to his master, "And that's how you handle a Holy Swords user. You're welcome."

Kiba gritted his teeth, feeling like a fool. He was thrown around like a rag-doll during his fight with Xenovia, but Yoh was bored of the whole thing. Kiba clenched his fist before disappearing with a magic seal, wanting to release his rage somewhere else.

"He seems mad." said Naruto with a laugh, "Whelp, can't help that. I want to go home. Will you all be coming with us?" he asked Koneko, Akeno, Asia, and Rias.

"Ara, I'll come to watch, Naruto-sama. I feel a bit lazy today." said Akeno with a smile.

"I shall come. I still need help with my Power of Destruction. I hope that you can help me with it." said Rias with a bow.

"Eehhh, I'm hungry." Issei said nonchalant, causing his peerage members sweat drop, "I think I'll go get something to eat first before coming over. I know Anna, Kisame, and Hao don't like it when I eat food from the fridge."

"Sure, come by anytime." Naruto turned his attention back to the church followers. Xenovia was back on her feet and retrieved Durandal from the ground and Irina was making sure that she was okay, "I guess you all can leave now. You have a mission to succeed in, right?"

"Yes, we'll be taking our leave. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Naruto!" Irina said with a wave. Xenovia didn't say anything to the devils, only glaring at Yoh who was flipping through the contacts through his phone.

"What was that restaurant's number again?" Yoh mumbled again.

Xenovia huffed, angry that her opponent didn't even care for her. The two church followers left the scene, leaving the devils to themselves.

"You guys ready?" asked Naruto, summoning a magic circle beneath him and Yoh.

"Yes sir!" those that following him. Naruto smiled to himself before disappearing with Yoh. Rias and her female peerage members disappeared with them, leaving Issei to his own devices.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

 **Backyard**

"Make the water move faster!" shouted Kisame, was laying on the ground.

"I'm trying…" muttered Sona who was sweat a lot, "It's too big to control."

"IT's ToO biG tO ContRol!" mocked Kisame, "Wanna know the last time I heard those same words? A bitch couldn't fit my balls in her mouth! Now add more magic into the water serpent and make it faster!" he shouted.

Sona gritted her teeth and summoned a large, blue magic seal in front of her. A huge water serpent was summoned from it, but it imploded on itself after a few seconds. The Stiri heiress dropped to her knees and took in deep breaths of air. Her glasses fell from her face and landed in the puddle beneath her.

Kisame rolled over to Sona on the grass, not caring that his black robe now had grass stains on it. "You suck." he said simply. Sona glared at Kisame from the corner of her eye, but he brushed it off easily, "If you want to be a master at water magic, but can't handle making simple spells even stronger, then I think you should go back to fucking devil-day care and learn more about magic."

"Kisame isn't holding back on her, huh?" said Naruto, watching the scene between them.

"She needs to break out of that 'traditionalist' mindset. She believes that spells have a certain amount of magic in order from them to work. She's not stretching the limit." said Yoh.

"I can actually understand where she's coming from." said Rias with a sigh, "Everyone in Naruto-sama's peerage are slave drivers."

"True," said Tsubaki, Sona's [Queen]. She was sitting in a nearby lawn chair, watching her [King] train, "but I guess that's why they're all so strong. Sona wants to be the same so she's putting in the work. However, Mr. Kisame has a very cruel way of encouraging her."

"When I say LAME, you say I AM! LAME!"

"sigh…do I really have to.."

"Didn't I just tell you too?" asked Kisame with a glare, "This is your punishment because you're the 'heiress of the Sitri Clan', but you can hardly push more magic into a basic spell. LAME!"

"…I am…." muttered Sona.

"Heheh! Kisame's funny." Naruto said while pushing himself to them, "Sona, you're not lame, you're just young. It'll come in due time."

"I don't know how to do it, Naruto-sama. It's like trying to fit water into a water bottle that's already full." she complained.

"Well go get another bottle then." said Naruto, "You're used thinking a certain type of way, Sona. Magic is the power of imagination. Just go with it and it'll happen over time."

"If you say so…" she said hesitantly.

"Just because he's here doesn't mean that you get off. He left me in charge over your training, so get back to it before Samehade devours you!" shouted Kisame. His sword started to crackle evil, causing Sona to shiver in fear of it.

"Y-yes sir." she stuttered.

Koneko was standing off to the side, watching Sona train along with Rias, Asia, and Akeno silently. Her sights were set on Naruto, who was watching Kisame yell at Sona with a child-like smile. She tilted her head to the side in interest. Naruto was a person that she couldn't understand. He seemed like a nice person, but his personality could switch in an instant. The KI he was releasing during his fight with Hao frightened her, but now, she can hardly feel his magical outage. It was almost like he wasn't even there.

"Cookie, nya?" said a familiar voice from behind her. The three devils looked behind them to see Kuroka with a tray of cookies in her left hand, "Anna didn't make them, but I'm taking the credit anyway, nyaya!"

Rias and Akeno slowly stepped in front of Koneko, blocking Kuroka from her, "We're good." said Rias, watching the cat girl carefully. She didn't like Kuroka even though she had a good relationship with her [King]. Koneko was still wary of her sister, so she would defend her until further notice.

"We all know that's a lie, nya." Kuroka said calmly. She placed the tray on the ground and walked by the group, headed towards Naruto, "Enjoy!~" she said with a wave.

"You handled that well." said Naruto, watching the encounter from the corner of his eye, "I thought you would have jumped at those two for blocking your way to your little sister."

"I was thinking about it, but I didn't want to cause a scene and make things worse." said the older Nekomata, "Plus, Shirone doesn't need me anymore. She has her own family now. If she doesn't want me around, I'm not going to force myself on her. Whenever she wants to talk, I'll be here."

"That's very grown up of you. Why are you taking your time her? I can just tell Rias to let you two talk." asked Naruto.

"Because she doesn't need me, plus I'm needed elsewhere."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest, "Where?"

"With you, nya." she said softly, her golden orbs gleaming in the sun as she looked at Naruto in the eyes, "I need to be with you."

"What…" Naruto was actually at a loss of words, something that Kuroka has never witnessed before. She was actually surprised that he was surprised. However, she kept her thoughts to herself as he continued to speak, "But….I mean..s-she's your sister. Don't you think that she's more important than me?"

"She is my sister, but over these past few years, I been learning to let her go. I'm not going to stop loving her, nya, but she doesn't need me. As of now, she doesn't even want me to be her sister. So I'm giving her the space she needs. My main focus right now is helping you recover so you can accomplish whatever plans I know you have in your brain, nyayaya!" she finished with a cute laugh.

"I…I'm first?" he muttered quietly, as if he was scared of the answer.

"Of course. You know, Naruto, even though you care for your peerage members more than yourself, you're actually a selfish person, nyaya!"she laughed.

"W-wait! I didn't mean-

"It's alright." she interrupted, "You've been deprived of love for a long time, so I understand. You are first in my life, nya. If it wasn't for you, I don't know where I'd be right now." the Nekoshou said with a soft smile.

"I...I wa-want to go to sleep…" he stuttered.

"Are you sure? It's not even that late in the afternoon yet, nya." said Kuroka.

"I'm sure. I'm tired from my exercises with Lee and Yoh. My body hurts and I want to recover in bed." he stated quickly.

"If you say so. I'll just tell Kisame about it first." said Kuroka. Naruto kept quiet, confusing the Nekoshou a little, but she kept her thoughts to herself and made her way to Kisame, "Hey Sharky. Naruto said that he wants to go to sleep so I'm going to help him, nya."

"Guess I've got to cut this training session short." said Kisame, "Alright, go lay the cripple down. Hey, Sitri Faliure!" Kisame's yelling caught Sona's attention, "Naruto's about to go to sleep, so we'll have to end it here today, which really isn't that much of a loss seeing as you're not going anywhere in your training."

Sona couldn't bark back at Kisame because she was too tired to do so. She just ignored him and focused on gathering her lost breath.

"Alright, take him up." said Kisame, seeing that he wasn't going to get a response from Sona. Kuroka nodded and made her way back to the silent Naruto.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I am…I want to walk back." he said.

Kuroka nodded and helped him stand up from his wheelchair. His legs instantly buckled when they had to hold Naruto's weight, but Kuroka caught him and held him up. He quietly thanked him and took his first step, wincing at the pain he was still feeling from the day's exercises.

"Take your time." Kuroka whispered in his ear, "You don't need to rush. I'm here, nya."

"Thanks…" he said while taking another step.

The two continued, ignoring how everyone was staring at them, even Kisame. Kuroka, who was usually outspoken and lazy, didn't seem like the person to be patient with anybody. Even though Naruto needed help, it was confusing to see Kuroka care for someone so much.

"That's cute..." Rias whispered to Akeno, who smiled in agreement. They all jumped a little when Naruto faltered a little bit, but Kuroka still stuck with him, holding him up and allowing him to push forward. The [King] and [Queen] duo made their way past Akeno, Rias, and Koneko as if they weren't even there, only focusing on entering the house and continuing their streak forward.

Koneko was watching the whole time, taking in the sight of her older sister helping her [King]. It confused the young Nekoshou because Kuroka didn't seem to be mad with the power of Senjutsu. She seemed to really care for Naruto. She didn't sense any evil intent from Kuroka, nor did she even feel afraid of her when she was tending to Naruto. It was like she was genuinely worried for him. _'Weird.'_ she said mentally.

"I'll never understand that man. Just teleport to your fucking room!" shouted Kisame, destroying the quiet, peaceful atmosphere, "Over here trying to show off and shit! Bitch I can walk just fine, thank you very much."

"You know, you are a very disrespectful person." said Sona in annoyance, "You shouldn't be talking about Naruto-sama like that."

"I'll talk to him however I feel like it. You just need to worry about how to make a simple fucking water spell more advanced. Naruto has patience for this shit, but I don't. So as long as he leaves your training in my hands, I better see some progress soon or else I'll just leave you to it by yourself." scoffed Kisame.

"You should be a little bit nicer, Mr. Kisame." said Rias with a kind smile.

"Listen, Mrs. H.I.V...wait a second...your not Mrs. H.I.V...That's the other black haired girl over there." he said while pointing towards Akeno, "Well, I'll have to come up with a nickname for you later, but I don't do nice. Just that damn simple." said Kisame while scratching his butt, "Oh, wedgie…"

"I don't see why Naruto-sama doesn't try to get professional help." said Sona, ignoring Kisame, "He needs all the help he can get and he deserves it. He should be admitted into my sister's hospital-

"Hey, do me a favor and don't mention your bitch of a sister around me." barked Kisame.

"Excues me!" shouted Sona uncharacteristically, "What did you just call my sister?!"

"I called her a bitch and you heard me say it the first time. Don't say your bitch of a sister's name around me, you get that, Mrs. STD?" said Kisame with a roll of his eyes.

"I will not take any more disrespect from you any longer!" shouted Sona, "You are a despicable person, only caring for yourself and no one else! I don't see why Naruto-sama would even revive a person like you! You're just a dumb demon that shouldn't even be here right now!"

"You know, if it was any day out of the week, I would have killed you by now." said Kisame. A quick wave of KI filled the area, before disappear as quickly as it came, "I just don't feel like finishing you off. Maybe it's because your boring training session just made me tired…..I don't know, but just know that I would have killed you just for what you said about me, so be grateful that luck and my tiredness is on your side."

"You can't kill me." spat Sona, "I'm the-

"I swear to fucking god, if you say you're the 'Stiri heiress', I will fucking kill you very slowly." growled out Kisame. Sona shuddered as another wave of KI filled the atmosphere, along with Rias and her peerage members, "You so fucking stupid. You think you're special because of that title? 'Heiress of the Sitri'? Ha! You don't even know how shady your family really is."

Sona was caught off-guard, "Wh-what does that even mean?"

"AAAhahahahaha! Oh boy, I can't wait for the fireworks show to start!" laughed Kisame as a teleportation seal appeared below him, "Time to go buy some popcorn…" and he disappeared.

"What does he mean?" asked Sona. She turned towards Rias, who looked away at Sona in shame. Her actions caused Sona to narrow her eyes in suspension, "Do you know something, Rias?"

"I do…" she muttered quietly. Akeno put a comforting hand on her shoulder, showing her support.

"What is it then?" asked the Sitri again.

"You'll figure it out soon enough. I'm going through some mental battles myself because of new revelations of my parents…"

That actually worried Sona somewhat. She has known Rias as a person who would always believe in her parents. They were like her best friends. So for her to have distrust between her parents, whatever was troubling her must be big. She just hoped that it wasn't as big as she was assuming it to be.

Suddenly, Anna stepped out from the sliding door, "Does anyone know who took my cookies out of…."

Koneko turned to Anna, whose face was filled with crumbs as she was stuffing her mouth with chocolate chip cookies, the same one's that Kuroka left for them earlier.

"Opps." Koneko said with her usual monotone voice.

Anna's eyebrow twitched three times in anger…

 **Naruto's Room**

The door Naruto's room was slowly pushed opened by Kuroka. Naruto's breathing was quickening because of the energy he was running through just to stay awake. His legs were trembling and he felt nauseous.

"I guess we over worked you today, nya?" said Kuroka, helping him to his bed side.

"A-all week.." he muttered, "I've been t-trying to get back on…my own two feet. I feel my muscle memory kicking in, but it's coming in slower than I thought."

"It'll be alright, nya. We're here for you." said Kuroka with a purr.

"Thanks…but I need to be healed. Soon." he stated seriously, "I know you've sensed some other beings with magic in this town. Something is going to happen soon."

"And we'll handle it, Naruto. Just go to sleep and we'll take care of the rest, nya." she said.

He sighed and nodded, taking off his shorts and kicking off his shoes. Kuroka assisted him with taking his pants off and replacing them with the orange shorts he likes so much. Using her arm, she lowered Naruto's head slowly until it was prompted up safely by his pillow, "I need her."

Kuroka stopped her actions and looked at Naruto in confusion, "Who, nya?"

"Gabriel."

"…..Oh…" Kuorka muttered quietly, "What can she do?"

"Gabriel's strong and her divine powers maybe able to heal me. I don't know if they work on all beings or just angels, but it's worth the shot." said Naruto, closing his eyes and letting the comfort of his bed take over him.

"What about that other girl in Rias' peerage, Asia Argento? Her healing capabilities are amazing even though she's a newbie devil." she said.

"She's too weak to heal something like this. Her magic reserves are too small. I'd rather place my chips on Gabriel. Plus…I haven't seen her in a while. I miss her, hehehe." he laughed weakly.

Kuroka gritted her teeth, but she didn't say anything. She lifted the cover over Naruto's and made sure everything was okay before making her way out of the room.

"Kuroka."

The Nekoshou's breath hitched when she heard her name. She turned back around to see Naruto smiling, even though it was a little weak since he was tired from his training, "I thank you for your words today. I needed to hear that. I'm glad I know where your loyalties are and I'll be sure to do the same for you when I've fully recovered."

She smiled at him and nodded before leaving him in his room. She closed the door behind her and stood there for a while, her mind running ramped with thoughts. She placed her back to the door and slowly slid down it until she was on the floor. Kuroka brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, not even caring she was flashing her underside to whoever may walk up to. Her body trembled as her mind felt like it was at battle with itself.

"I don't know if I should be happy or mad…" she whispered to herself.

 **The Next Day**

Yoh opened his eyes up and yawned, stretching his arms outwards while doing so. He smiled when he noticed the weight on his chest, Anna, shuffle slightly at his stretching. She woke up too and gave a fiancée a quick kiss on the lips, "Good morning."

"Good morning." he said with widest grin.

"Why are you smiling like that?" she asked.

"Because today's our date. I'm looking forward to it." he said while hugging her.

"Hmm…" she hummed into his chest and let him embrace her, "What about the reservations?"

"Hm?" he said.

"The reservations."

"…oh shit."

"sigh…Yoh, you didn't forget…please tell me you didn't forget."

"I didn't forget! I just…put it to the side of my mind and left it there."

"So you didn't make the reservations at the restaurant?"

"…no."

"Yoh, I bought a new kimono for me to wear for this date. I'm going to wear it today, do you understand me?"

"I understand fully! Look, I'll just call them now!"

"…you better hope that they're open…"

Yoh reached over to his phone and called up the restaurant.

"… _..Hello, this is Aronia de Takazawa! How may I help you?"_

"Uh, yes, my name is Yoh Asakura and I'd like to make a reservation for tonight."

" _Mmmm…honey, we don't have any more reservations for the day."_

"Uhhhhhhh…. nani?"

" _A wedding group is coming in later on today and reserved the whole restaurant. We won't be accepting any reservations until tomorrow."_

"Please..please tell me your lying."

" _I mean, if you would have called in yesterday, we could have fit you into one of our private rooms, but those are booked already. Sorry! 'Click!'"_

Yoh slowly placed his phone back down and rolled back to Anna to see her face red with anger.

"Uh…listen, Anna."

"Yoh?"

"Wanna order pizza?"

Anna's eyebrow twitched four times in annoyance…

 **A few hours later…**

"Eh, so the guy's still asleep?" said Kisame.

"Yes." muttered Kuroka, sitting on the counter and playing with a ball of yarn, "He really used up a lot of his energy these past few days and needs to recover so he might stay in a coma-like state for a while."

"Must be nice being able to control how long you sleep." muttered Kisame, "I'm thirsty. I wonder what's in the fridge-

"PROTEIN SHAKES!" shouted Lee, appearing out of nowhere.

"Damn it!" shouted Kisame, "What the fuck, Rook! Why are you scaring me like that!"

"I just wanted you to enjoy one of my many protein shakes I've made for everyone, see!" said Lee, opening the refrigerator door to reveal that the fridge was filled with protein shakes in bottles, "These will last us for a couple of days!"

"What the- WHERE'S MY ORANGE JUICE!" shouted Kisame.

"Even though orange juice is good for you, the orange juice you had, Mr. Kisame, wasn't so good. Sunny D is fake orange juice." explained the exercise freak.

"What about my milk!" cried out Kuroka with comical tears.

"I used that to make the shakes! Thanks for that, Kuroka-sama!" said Lee with a wink.

"I'm going to kill him…" muttered the Nekoshou.

"Right behind ya." Kisame grabbed Samehade and pointed it the shivering [Rook].

"Now, now." said Orochimaru, entering the kitchen in a gray robe, "It's too earlier in the morning for all of this noise. If Lee wants to make his protein shakes then-where's my coffee maker?"

"I threw it out because the caffeine in the coffee beans isn't healthy." explained Lee.

Orochimaru exited the kitchen but not before saying, "You can kill him now." The evil laughs of Kisame and Kuroka filled the house as they slowly crept up to the shivering Lee.

The sound of someone knocking on the door entered Orochimaru's ears, drawing him away from the pleasant screams of Lee. He opened the door and he raised an eyebrow in surprise once he saw Sairoarg of all people.

"Sairoarg Bael." said the snake man, "What graces us with you presence?"

"It's been a long time, Orochimaru." said Sairaorg with a smile, his deep voice making him sound older than he was, "Seems like you still hold that same confidence as usual."

"Of course, it's who I am." said Orochimaru with a chuckle, "However, I am curious on why you're here. Are you here to challenge us for another Rating Game? If so, I think you know how that will end."

"Oh no!" the Bael said with a laugh, "I'm not here for that. Even though I've improved over these past few months, I know I still won't be a challenge to you all. I'd just save myself from adding another lost to my Rating Game record. The real reason I'm here is to check up on Naruto-sama."

Orochimaru did a take back at Sairaorg's words, "You…you know Naruto-sama?"

"Yeah, he's been helping me and my peerage train for a while." said Sairaorg, "He's been helping us out in the form of that little orange ball form of his. He's really given us some pointers on a few things as well as instructing us on fighting styles and magic concepts. He's been a big help."

"That's…it's just surprising because Naruto-sama hasn't mentioned training your peerage at all. Just this week, he's been focusing on recovering his body from his seal situation."

"I know. He's kept me updated on some of the things going on with him. It's tragic that he's gone through so much for no reason." said Sairaorg.

"So you know everything about Naruto-sama and the reason why he was sealed?" asked Orochimaru.

"I do and it sickens me that someone of his caliber would still be subjugated for dating Leviathan-sama. I've always said that skill should judge one's class instead of blood. I want to change this system that devils live in so that everyone can have a chance at achieve their dreams." said Sairaorg poetically.

"That's a nice dream. I'm sure its one of the reasons why Naruto-sama likes you." said Orochimaru.

"That's the main reason why I'm here. Is he okay? Yesterday he told us that he'd be gone for a while, but didn't disappear like he usually would. His orb form seemed to be flickering like he was running out of energy before fading away. I wanted to check on him to see if everything was alright." said Sairaorg.

"He is sleeping right now. He's been asleep for a long time, actually. He fell asleep a few hours past mid-day yesterday and he's still sleeping. Kuroka projected that he was recovering from all the energy he's spent through with his own training. He can't move around without the assistance of someone else, currently. Naruto-sama is trying to bring his body back to its peak, but he's pushing himself too much too soon." explained Orochimaru.

"That makes sense. I guess I won't be able to see him then." said Sairaorg with a sigh, "However, I did bring him a gift." Sairaorg summoned a magic circle and a small pickle jar phased in his rather large hands, "I've heard him talking about pickles a lot for some unknown reason. I don't find them good, but I'm sure he'll enjoy these."

"He will. When he wakes up, he'll cry tears at this for sure." said Orochimaru with a chuckle as he grabbed the jar, "I appreciate you for this, Sairaorg. We should stay in touch."

"Agreed. While you are a creepy person, Orochimaru, you are also very wise and strong. I have a very large respect for you." said Sairaorg with a bow.

"No bows are needed, but I thank you anyway." said Orochimaru, "I will tell you this: I know of your mother's sickness." Sairaorg's head snapped up at Orochimaru in shock, "She's put on a pretty good act on keeping it under the ropes, but you can't hide it from the eyes of the scientist. I've been working on a pill for her to take so she won't suffer from it any longer."

"Wha…really?" asked the shocked Sairaorg.

"Seems like you'll be getting that wish you from our Rating Game." said Orochimaru with a chuckle, "There are perks for being my ally."

"I…Thank you!" shouted Sairaorg, bowing to Orochimaru again, "I can't believe you're doing this for me! I will never forget this!"

"Fufufufu, rise, Sairoarg. I know this is something you've been worried about, so I just decided to do something about. All I want you to know that Naruto-sama has noticed and wants to protect you and those around you. You are currently under our care."

"I can't thank you enough, Orochimaru." said Sairaorg, outstretching his hand to the snake man.

Orochimaru chuckled creepily as he shook Sairoarg's hand, "Don't thank me, thank Naruto-sama."

 **The Next Day**

 **Kuoh Academy**

"This opponent you will face…" Sona said to Rias and her peerage, "He's on a whole different level. Have you called for your brother's help?"

It was currently night time and there was an invasion at Kuoh Academy. During these last two days, Kiba, Issei, and Koneko paired up with the church followers Xenovia and Irina to find the Holy Swords. However, it was revealed that all of this was just a bigger plot, lead by Kokabiel, one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels, to renew the war between the Three Factions. His plan to kill Sona and Rias was going to be the trigger and he would be able to have a nice weapon on his hands with the fused Excalibur shards. Rias peerage and Sona's peerage were now gathered together to see how they wanted to handle the situation.

"I haven't." said Rias, "I believe that we should handle this ourselves."

"This is one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels, Rias. There is no handling this ourselves. We need some type of backup on this." snapped Sona.

"I support the ideal of calling Lucifer-sama." said Akeno, to Rias shock.

"Akeno! We are not doing that! I will not trouble my brother with out problems!" shouted the Gremory.

"Then what other option do we have!?" Akeno shouted back, "We cannot defeat a being at Kokabiel's level. He fought on the front lines during the Great War and still survived! We cannot handle someone on his level!"

Rias hissed at her [Queen], but she knew that her words were true. They wouldn't be able to handle Kokabiel themselves, but who?

An idea popped up in her head and she turned back to the group, "We can always call them?"

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"So should I eat the chocolate protein shake or the strawberry protein shake…" muttered Lee, looking at his collection of shakes that invaded the fridge, "So many choices…..I don't know how to decided…"

Suddenly, a magic seal appeared beside his ear, " _Lee, can you hear me?_ " the voice of Rias rang from the seal.

"Oh, Rias! How nice it is to receive a call from you! Are you calling for training!?" asked the green beast.

" _No Lee, we need Naruto-sama's help. Can you reach him for us?_ " asked Rias.

"No, sorry Rias, but I can't. Naruto-sama is still sleeping right now and can't fight. He's recovering from his body conditioning." said Lee.

" _Well, is Orochimaru there? Or maybe even Kisam- actually, don't get Kisame, get Orochimaru._ "

"Yosh! I'll get to him soon!" Rias listened to Lee running up the stairs and seemingly kicking a door down, "Yosh! Mr. Orochimaru! Rias needs you!"

"Lee, what did I tell you about kicking down door in the house." grumbled Orochimaru with a menacing glare.

"I forgot. Sorry." said Lee with a head scratch.

" _Orochimaru? Are you there?_ " asked Rias.

"Yes, I'm here, Princess. What is it?" he asked.

" _We need your help. Kokabiel, one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels, has invaded our school and we can't handle him alone. We need someone stronger like you._ "

Orochimaru hummed for while, thinking about an answer, "I don't think I can do that, Princess. If Kokabiel is here, I'm staying here to guard Naruto-sama. He is in a semi-coma and can't defend himself right now. I need to be here to protect him."

" _Please, Orochimaru! We need you! If you or Kisame, or anybody, doesn't come, he'll destroy Kuoh and kill us!_ " pleaded the girl.

"Damn it…" muttered Orochimaru, running a hand through his long hair, "Lee can't handle Kokabiel, Hao's still recovering as well….I don't trust Kisame to finish the fight cleanly…Kuroka and I are guarding Naruto-sama…."

" _What about Anna and Yoh!?_ " shouted Rias, " _They're strong, right? They can handle him!_ "

Both Orochimaru and Lee looked at each other for a second before he replied, "Yoh and Anna are currently occupied. They're on a date."

" _A DATE ISN'T MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONSTER TRYING TO RESTART THE GREAT WAR! Link me to them!_ " she yelled.

"If you insist…" said a wary Orochimaru.

 **Same Time**

 **Aronia de Takazawa**

"I hate wearing suits." said Yoh, tugging at his collar. He was wearing a simple black suit with a white dress shirt and black tie. He borrowed one of Orochimaru's suits and it fit him well, so he stuck with it.

"You look handsome…" said Anna in her usual monotone voice. She was wearing an elegant, short, dark blue kimono with long sleeves that had a light-blue trim at the end. She wasn't wearing her red bandana, so her hair was fully exposed, its golden color shining even in the dim-lighting of the restaurant.

"Thanks." Yoh said with a chuckle. The two stepped up to the front desk which was managed by two workers, "Hello, my name is Yoh Asakura. I have a reservation here for the night."

"Yes, Asakura-sama. We have been expecting you." said one of the ladies at the front desk, "Follow me, please."

Yoh grabbed Anna's hand and followed the lady throughout the restaurant, passing by many tables that were filled with men in women in formal attire. The two followed the lady into a elevator and stayed there for a while before it opened up on top of the roof, where there were 5 waiters holding different bottles of wine for the couple.

Anna raised an eyebrow at the scene. They were the only ones on top of the roof but it was decorated with white flowers along the railings on the roof and the floor was littered with candles, "You really went all out today?"

"I had to, of course." said Yoh with a small smile while leading his fiancée to the table in the middle of the roof, "I've got to make an impression on the most beautiful girl in the world."

Anna blushed slightly and gripped Yoh's hand a little tighter. He led Anna to her chair and pushed it forward for her before sitting in his own chair.

"Wine?" asked one of the waiters.

"Sure. Thanks." Yoh said. The man nodded and poured red wine into Anna and Yoh's wine glass. The other waiters handed out the menu and explained the specials for the night and all the options that the couple could choose from.

"Well then, we'll leave you two alone for a while so you can decide on what to eat." said the man waiter. They all bowed at the couple before slowly making their exit down a set of stairs.

"This is nice." said Anna, looking up at the dark sky and star-gazed, "We haven't done anything like this in a long time."

"And we'll be here as long as you want." said Yoh, grabbing Anna's hand and giving it a light squeeze, "Tonight's you night and there isn't anything in the world that'll interrupt us."

Anna's smile quickly transformed into a frown, "Don't say that."

"Why?" asked a confused Yoh.

"Because every time you say something like that, you jinx it and then something happens. Just like how we've tried to get married but something always happens." said Anna with a small glare.

"Ok….I'll give you that, but it wasn't my fault that the zoo animals got out and invaded the city that one time…That was crazy." Yoh said with a chuckle.

Anna couldn't help but smile, "And that time when we tried to get married on the beach, but then tide came in a flooded the wedding set up?"

"That was crazy!" Yoh said with a laugh, "When everything settled down, everyone was covered in seaweed! That's something I'll never forget."

Anna actually giggled. It was a small one, but she definitely did it, "I remember the time when we tried to get married at Disney but all the people dressed up as Mickey's were actually planning to rob us."

"Now that…that was my fault. I thought that dude outside of the gas stations was legit." said Yoh, scratching the back of his head, "Guess I won't be doing anything like that again…"

"I'm just glad we're here tonight." said Anna.

"And nothing's going to interrupt us."

"Yea….nothing's going to-

Suddenly, a Gremory magic seal appeared on their table, " _Yoh! Anna! Are you there? Please respond!_ "

"Rias?" said Yoh, highly confused.

" _Yoh! Kuoh Academy is being attacked by Kokabiel, one of the leaders of the Grigori! He plans to kill Sona and I so that he can restart the Great War! We can't handle him by ourselves! We're losing the battle now as we speak, so please come and help!_ " shouted the girl in desperation.

"Uuuuuhhhhhhhh…." Yoh looked up at Anna, and he wished he didn't, because Anna was staring blankly at Yoh as if her soul left her body, leaving nothing but a husk, "Can't you guys die…like…some other day?"

" _YOU HAVE TO COME HELP! A MEASLY DATE ISN'T MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS! WE WON'T BE ABLE TO HOLD THEM OFF FOR LONG!_ "

"I mean…" Yoh scratched the back of his head, "Don't you think that Kokabiel is a nice person? Maybe he'll come back tomorrow? Yeah, ask him to attack tomorrow! Any time and I'll come through and help! Doesn't that sound good?"

" _Yoh, please! Anna, please convince him to help! We need-_ " Rias was cut off as the communication seal disappeared, leaving Anna and Yoh in a awkward silence.

"…."

"…."

"…."

"…..Anna-

Anna jumped up out of her seat and grabbed Yoh by the collar of his suit with so much force; she pulled him out of his chair and held him in the air, his feet dangling over the floor, "Every fucking time!"

"Anna..wait. I can handle thi-

"No!" she shouted uncharacteristically, "This is what's going to happen. I'm going to go and handle this. You are going to stay here and wait for me. I will be back in exactly ten minutes TEN FUCKING MINUTES!- and I'll finish this guy off myself. You will sit right here and go nowhere. Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes, but calm down, Anna! When you get too mad-

"I don't care about that anymore." she dropped Yoh on the ground and summoned a magic circle under her, "Order me that fish plate and DON'T ADD ANY PARMASIAN CHEESE SHIT TO IT!" she gave him one last glare of death before disappearing.

"…..damn, that was hot."

 **Kuoh Academy**

Kokabiel, one of the most powerful Fallen Angels in the world, head tilted once he saw an unknown magic circle in the middle of the makeshift battlefield, "Eh, what's this? Did you call for backup, sister of Satan?" he asked Rias.

Rias' tired eyes looked up in hope as Anna appeared in-between them and Kokabiel, "Anna…where's Yoh at?"

"I'm mad at you right now, so shut up." Anna dismissed Rias harshly, "Why do you all look so defeated? You have minimal damage done to you other than Kuroka's sister. She has a very large stab wound in her stomach." she said while looking to Koneko who was currently being tended to by Asia.

"He did it, Anna." said Issei, pointing towards a smirking Kokabiel, "He said that God was dead and he hurt Koneko!"

"God is dead?" asked Anna, a little shock in her voice. However, her surprised look easily went back to her angry glare, "I don't care about that. I'm a devil now, and even when I was human, I would have been damned just because of my abilities as a shaman. All I care about now is killing you." she said to Kokabiel.

"Oh, and who are you, little lady?" asked Kokabiel.

"Anna Kyoyama, soon to be Anna Asakura." she stated with confidence, "Because of your appearance, I've had to leave my future husband at the restaurant that we were currently at because I got a call that you were creating a disturbance."

"And you plan on killing me?" he asked.

"Yes. You've pissed me off and I have around eight minutes to finish you off." she said. Her two shikigami, Zenki and Goki, appeared beside her, with Goki clenching his large battle axe, "In the name of Naruto Bael, you shall die here."

"Naruto Bael?" said Kokabiel, "You mean Naruto Bael, The Compass Needle of Victory? You're his servant?"

"The Compass Needle of Victory?" said Issei, "Naruto-sama has a nickname?"

"Naruto-sama's main weapon of choice was his Power of Destruction in the shape of needles. They would enter his opponent's body and imploded, destroying their joints. It was said that where ever he would point his needles, it would be in the direction of victory, hence the name." explained Anna, "However, I don't use needles to fight-I use spirits."

"Ah, a shaman then." said Kokabiel, "Well then, come and show me your strength, shaman! Show me what it takes to defeat me!"

"Issei, you're with me." said Anna, summoning her wings and floating with Kokabiel, "I'm going to make this one quick."

"You talk heavily girl. You have my interest. Come!" he yelled.

 **Anna Kyoyama, Low-class devil/shaman, [Bishop] with Issei Hyoudou, Low-class devil, [Pawn x8]**

 **vs.**

 **Kokabiel-Fallen Angel**

"I'll be the main attack and you'll be the support." she whispered to Issei, "I want you to charge your Boosted Gear to its max and go full power. I'll stall him and protect you while you power up."

"That sounds like a lot of work on your end." said Issei with worry, "Don't you think that I should enter the battle with you now? I can charge up while fighting him!"

"No, you're too weak to do something like that now. He is one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels. He's strong enough to finish you in an instant. Stay back and let me handle him." she demanded with no room for debate.

"Through making your game plans?" asked Kokabiel arrogantly. He raised his arm up and an army of golden light spears appeared and flew toward the duo.

"Zenki." said Anna to her guardian. Zenki, the red Shikigami, jumped in front of everyone on and summoned a large magic circle that blocked all of the light spears, protecting them from harm. When the hailstorm of spears ended, Zenki disabled his shield and rocketed towards Kokabeil with Goki following.

"Interesting!" shouted Kokabiel as he caught the punch that Zenki aimed for him. He summoned a light blade and blocked the over-head chop Goki had prepared for the Fallen and threw the both away in a show of strength, "You have to do more to damage me!" he yelled.

Anna stretched out her hand and summoned a red magic shield, "Glitter…" and a red smoke cloud smoke and glitter filled the air. Kokabiel, Anna, Issei, and both of the shikigami were caught in the dust cloud and their vision was hindered.

"What are you doing?" asked Issei.

"Zenki and Goki can see through the smoke cloud. We've trained for this." muttered Anna, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. She used her mind's eye to see through both the eyes of Goki and Zenki, who were both headed towards Kokabiel. Zenki was coming in from the front while Goki was slowly making his way behind Kokabiel.

"What a weak attempt at trying to lower my guard!" laughed Kokabiel as he dodged another punch from Zenki. The two entered an intense battle of combat as they went back and forth, throwing punch after punch and countering everything.

"You're good," Kokabiel said with a smirk at the red Shikigami. Zenki didn't say anything and focused on trying to overpower Kokabiel, but the villain was living up to his title as one of the most powerful Fallen Angels ever. He caught both of Zenki's fists and held them with an extreme amount of force. The shikigami started to groan, making the fallen smirk at his pain, "but your moves are too basic for someone of my level."

Suddenly, Goki appeared behind the two with his battle axe ready to slash through Kokabiel. Anticipating the move, Kokabiel fluttered his wings and flew above where the attack was supposed to land, but he used his amazing strength to also pull Zenki where he once was. Goki grunted as he chopped his partner in half.

"HA! Too bad for him!" laughed the fallen as he flew up and out of the red smoke screen. Anna clicked the her tongue on the of her mouth in anger at arrogant look that he was giving her.

"Are you sure that you don't need my help?" asked Issei.

"No. Stay there and wait. I know what I'm doing." she said stoically.

"One of your little friends is gone! If I can kill one, don't you think I can kill the other?" Kokabiel asked.

"Shut up." muttered Anna, stretching her hands towards Kokabiel again. The red smoke screen that Kokabiel exited suddenly moved upwards like it was alive and surrounded him again. Now out of the smoke screen, Goki and Zenki were revealed to everyone. The top and bottom parts of Zenki were glowing white before the closed in on each other fused together, healing him.

"Go." said Anna and the two followed her order and entered the smokescreen, confronting Kokabiel again.

Goki threw his battle axe at Kokabiel, but he blocked it by using his wings as a shield. Zenki blitzed at him and used his stubby, right leg to kick Kokabiel. The fallen grunted in surprise and pain as he noticed that Zenki's strength had increased from before, however, his wings to the brute of the attack and was only pushed back somewhat. Both Shikigamis were in front of Kokabiel and punched him directly in the face at the same time. The dark angel flew out of the smokescreen from the force of the blows. He speared his massive wings out as an air break and recovered from the attack. However, he wasn't given a break as the two ogre-like Shikigamis appeared again in front of Kokabiel in a burst of speed.

"Woah!" said Issei as he watched the two guardians of Anna face off against Kokabiel in the skies. The two were keeping up with the much more experienced angel, even getting a few good hits off of him.

"This shit isn't over." said Anna, commanding her smokescreen to cover the three again.

"This is getting annoying!" shouted Kokabiel as he kicked Zenki away. Goki opened his palm and his battle axe flew back into it, with the axe part point down to the ground. In a burst of strength, Goki lifted the axe upwards, intending to chop off Kokabiel's outstretched leg.

Kokabiel desperately spun in the air in order to dodge the attack and succeeded in saving his leg. However, one of his wings was cut in half by the axe, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Now!" shouted Anna suddenly. Zenki appeared behind the screaming angel and wrapped his powerful arms around him. Goki flew out of the smokescreen safely and flew towards Anna. He opened his mouth and a large red beam of magic shot out of it and towards the smokescreen. When the laser-like beam made contact with the smokescreen, it exploded in a massive display of fire.

"Holy shit!" shouted Issei as he crossed his arms over his head to protect himself. The winds were fierce and it was slowly pushing the boy back.

Anna, however, was watching the explosion with a calm face, her kimono flowing violently as the winds pushed past her. "That had to do something to him." she said.

"Yeah, no shit." said Issei, floating back to Anna's side, "Did you have to go that far though? You could have damaged the school."

"I don't care. Plus, even if I did, I'm sure Rias or the Sitri girl would do something about it." said Anna, focusing on the silhouette in the middle of the black cloud from the explosion. Kokabiel stretched out his wings with such force, all the smoke disperse, revealing that he was burned in multiple parts of his body and his cloak tattered and on fire. The angry face he had spoke volumes as he pointed his finger at Anna.

"I'm going to kill you. Now." instantly, he quick summoned a light spear that phased through the air in such speed that it was almost invisible. Anna's eyes widened and pushed Issei out of the way while Goki jumped in front of Anna. The spear shot clean through Goki like he was nothing and slashed at Anna's side, the pain forcing her mouth open as she screamed in pain.

"Anna!" shouted Issei as he held her close to him. Kokabiel laughed at the two as he levitated in the air. Goki had long disappeared after Kokabiel's spear went through him like an arrow and Zenki was destroyed by the explosion.

"Your screams of pain feel with me joy!" laughed Kokabiel as he summoned a massive light spear over the duo, "While this was fun, I can't let someone who damaged me so much live!"

"I'll fucking kill you, you fucking bastard!" shouted Issei as he held up Boosted Gear. However, before he could active his power, Anna held up her hand, stopping him, "What's wrong, Anna? Let me beat his fucking face in for hurting you!"

"No…this is my fight…I don't want you involved anymore." she finished with a gasp of pain.

"You can't fight anymore!" yelled a concerned Anna, "Yoh would kill me if I allowed you to keeping going. You've done enough! He injured and I've powered up a lot!"

"I think you'll need that power for later." said Anna, glancing to her right. Issei did the same, but he couldn't see anyone in the surrounding area. She focused back on Kokabiel and gripped her injury with left hand, "I want to do this for myself."

"But why?" he asked. She grunted as he let go of her.

"To show that I'm not as evil as I once thought…...I want to protect others too…" she whispered.

" **Mama…"**

Anna sighed and clenched her right fist in anger. Kokabiel was smirking at the injured girl as he started to lower his hand down, causing the massive light spear to plummet to the ground.

" **Mama…"** the deep voice in Anna's head spoke again.

"Yes..." she said out loud. Issei raised an eyebrow at Anna in confusion, wondering who she was talking to.

" **Do you want me to kill him for you?"** asked the voice in her head, **"You were on a date with Papa. I want you to go back with him… Plus he hurt you."**

Anna glared at Kokabiel, "I hate you so much right now." said Anna, "That last shot was cheap. I could have dodged that if the pervert wasn't here."

"Making excuses now? How lame." muttered Kokabiel, "I guess you really don't have anything else left to offer. I enjoyed this for a while, but now it's time to die!" he yelled and threw the massive spear at Issei and Anna.

" **Mama!"** shouted the voice, **"Let me save you! You're stronger than this, Mama! Stop holding back!"**

"I don't want to go crazy…." she said.

"What are you talking about? We need to run!"

She ignored Issei and started to gather her magic. A red veil of aura surrounded Anna, but it was mainly focused on her forehead. She started to growl, similar to a beast, as her magic levels continued to rise. The focal point, her forehead, grew a small red dot that was growing larger overtime.

"Whatever you're doing, it's too late now! That spear is impossible to block!" shouted Kokabiel, mentioning the slow moving projectile.

Anna growled again and started to claw at her face as if she was in pain. Her magic was running rampant around her like dangerous waves. "What are you doing? We have to leave!"

"Run…" she muttered to him, "I'll handle him.."

"NO! I won't let you die while trying to prove a point!" he yelled.

Goki appeared and pulled the screaming Issei away. She made sure to add more magic into Goki's body so that even he could handle Issei's enhanced strength thanks to the Boosted Gear. She gritted her teeth as all of her magic focused into her forehead, entering it with remorse.

"AAAHHH!" she shouted as a red horn started to grow out of her forehead. Everyone, even Kokabiel, looked on in interest at Anna's new body part.

" **I'm coming!"** shouted the voice inside of Anna's mind. A massive magic circle appeared in front of Anna that was comparable to Kokabiel's light spear in size.

"What is that?" said Kokabiel, generally curious as to what Anna was doing.

Suddenly, a large, red foot stepped out of the magic seal, surprising everyone. Then, it suddenly vanished in a blitz of speed. Only Kokabiel was able to keep up with the massive being and watched as it brought its large hands together and slammed them against his light spear, destroying in an impressive show of force.

"What on earth…" Kokabiel backed away slightly when the eyes of the behemoth landed on him. The beast was a giant red oni packed with muscle. It was wearing a white shirt with a menacing, glowing green face on it. On his feet was a pair of white boots, matching his shirt. The giant flexed his muscle and gripped his fist, also flashing the pair of chain cuffs around its wrist.

" **You hurt Mama.** " muttered the oni.

"Oh-Oni…" gasped out Anna. Her red horn was still present and she looked tired from all the energy that she used, "Kill him."

Kokabiel hardly had time to block the fist of Oh-Oni with a magic shield. The shield cracked before being destroyed completely by the force of the giant. Oh-Oni disappeared and then reappeared behind Kokabiel and kicked him down into the ground.

"Damn it!" shouted Kokabiel from his personal crater in the ground. _'I can't move as fast because I'm still injured! How can something so big move so fast?'_

" **You hurt Mama.** " Oh-Oni said again, appearing over Kokabiel, **"It's time to die."**

Kokabiel summoned a barrage of light spears at Oh-Oni, but he blocked or dodged them all in an impressive show of speed and power. Kokabiel hurtled out of his prison and flew out at Oh-Oni with a light sword and stabbed Oh-Oni in the chest.

 **"Gah."** the oni said. Kokabiel grinned and ripped right though Oh-Oni, tearing through its body and exiting through its back.

"Another weakling you summoned. You displease me, little girl." said Kokabiel to Anna. Anna gritted her teeth at Kokabiel with a glare filled with hatred.

"I want you dead, now!" she shouted, "Oh-Oni, finish him now!"

The hole in Oh-Oni instantly recovered thanks to the large amount of magic it had. It spun around and outstretched its arms and glared down at unsuspecting Kokabiel.

Kokabiel instincts told him to turn around, but he was too late…

Oh-Oni's hands zoomed through the air until they were both mashed together with Kokabiel in the middle….

The thunder clap was so strong, it sounded like thunder hitting the earth. A shockwave of wind blew through the area, knocking down trees and damaging some of the nearby buildings. An impressive amount of blood flowed from in-between its palms and landed on the ground with a sick 'splat'.

Anna cringed as a wave of pain went through her body. Oh-Oni started to slowly disappear until it was fully gone, freeing the crushed Fallen Angel from its grasp. Kokabiel plummeted to the ground, back into the same crater that he was once in not too long ago.

"I'm..not a monster…" muttered Anna as she summoned a magic circle and disappeared in it.

 **Aronia de Takazawa**

"She's two minutes late.." muttered Yoh with worry. He was still in his same seat waiting for his fiancée to return. He was worried because Anna was never late. She hated tardiness with a passion and despised anyone that had a tendency to be tardy, so it was worrying for her to be late for anything, especially coming back from her battle with Kokabiel. While Yoh wanted to go and follow his fiancée, he was scared of the consequences behind that action. She told him to stay put, so that's what he did.

"I hope she-" Yoh was cut off as Anna appeared from a magic circle. She landed on her feet, but she was about to fall over on the ground. Yoh, using his blinding speed, caught Anna from hitting the floor, "Anna! What happened!?"

"You love me, right?" tears were pouring out of her eyes as she placed a hand on Yoh's cheek, "No matter what, right? You still love me?"

Yoh's eyes widened once he noticed Anna's horn. However, he focused back on his future wife, "Of course, Anna. I don't care about anything else. I love you and there is nothing that can change that."

"Even if I'm a monster?" she whispered.

"Anna, you aren't a monster. I've told you this for as long as I've known you. You are not a monster, Anna Kyoyama. You are a person with feelings and I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Her tears increased as she clenched his shirt and cried into his stomach. Yoh was rubbing her back and soothing her, telling her everything was okay. Anna continued to cry and Yoh held her closer to him, protecting her from the cold winds. Her hair fluttered with the wind, but Yoh was concerned about that.

"I don't care, Anna…" he whispered, "I don't care…"

 **Whhheeewwww, Yes, I'm alive! Jesus it took a while for this chapter to drop!**

 **Okay, I know what you all are going to say and I completely understand. Its just that I've been adjusting to the college life and its FUCKING AMAZING! I've got a lot of new friends, my dorm is nice, the food here is WAYYY better than high school! I fucking love this place.**

 **Anyway, back to whats important: updates. That weekly update shit? That's over with, I can tell you that now. I won't have any time to do that because of my classes. I've got to stay on top of classes because I need to keep my grades up to keep my scholarship, so sadly, I have to put my focus on my studies first before my story. I hope you all understand that, but I will not be able to do the weekly updates anymore.**

 **HOWEVER!**

 **I will still continue the story! I will update [hopefully] once every week and a half! I want to start this system where I type 5k words every three days. I think that will give me enough time to focus on my classes and this story. I'm not going any fucking where, so just stick with me and motivate me to keep it pushing! NarutoPlug is never gonna leave yall up and dry, especially now that the story will really be getting good!**

 **The confrontation has arrived!**

 **If you've followed the story so far, you'll understand what that means.**

 **Anna's a bad ass bitch in this story no doubt. I'll have to expand on her powers later on, but know that as of now, ANNA IS THE STRONGEST MEMBER OF TEAM NARUTO! [other than Kuroka, or course]**

 **SHOUT OUT TO THE GIRLS! WOMEN ARE THE BEST!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It took me a while to make this one. I made the beginning AN before I came to college and now it's a week later. Sorry bout that. but I'm here now, so review, review, review!**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	14. TheConfrontationPart 1

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, living the college life and having hell'a fun.**

 **So my numbers for my reviews dropped. Like..alot. I guess I waited too long to update, but so far, I've only gotten bout 60 reviews on the last chapter. It's only been a little over 24 hours since I've updated the last time, but that is still a significant drop to what I'm used to. I look to my reviews so I can get new ideas and listen to yalls take on the story. Don't be afraid to review. NarutoPlug answers back to a lot of reviewers, so just review your thoughts and you'll hear back from me….maybe…**

 **A lot of yall like Anna more now. I wanted these last few chapters to be about her, but it didn't go like that. But you all liked her in the last chapter, so that's all that matters. Everyone in Naruto's peerage has a story, which gives you all a connection to them. We've gone through Naruto, Kuroka, Hao, Lee, and somewhat of Orochimaru, leaving Yoh, Anna, and Kisame. I still count Anna in this list because you all don't know so much about her, but you do know that she believes that she's a monster and what not. It'll be explained more later on into the story.**

 **But yea, let's get back into the story**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheConfrontation[Part 1]**

 **The Next Day**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Anna yawned and squenched her eyes from the sunlight coming in through the window. She rolled over and grabbed one of the many pillows on the bed and curled up around it, bringing her knees closer together and slowly falling back to sleep as the comfort of the bed was like a spell to her. It was quiet in the room, she noticed, but she was too tired to voice her opinions on it.

She went back to sleep for a while, losing herself from the tiredness she felt for some unknown reason…

" _I don't care, Anna…"_

Anna's eyes snapped open and she jumped up, looking at her surroundings, "Yoh!" she yelled. She noticed that she was back in their room, but he was nowhere to be found. Panic started to fill her being as she gripped the sheets to her bed, "Wh-where are you…" she muttered to herself, trying to concentrate on Yoh's magic, but her thoughts where to rampant in order for her to zone in on her sensory powers.

"This shit is finna be gooooddddd!" Anna's head snapped to the door when she heard voices outside of the bedroom, particularly Kisame's, "Go ahead and let me get one of them waffles right there! That syrup on that golden waffle of greatness is calling my name!"

"No, Kisame." Anna knew that voice by heart. Her fiancée, Yoh Asakura, was right outside the door, "This is for Anna. I'll make you some later on. Let me have this moment with her."

"Is this how you seduce her into sex? Waffles? Well shit…I'm gonna have to take some notes then because you're always mellow and act like you don't care about the world...You must be getting hella puss-

"Okay, Kisame! I'll see you later!" said Yoh, pushing through the door with a tray in his hands.

"Yoh?" said Anna questionably. She saw the tray of food Yoh had with him, but she was wondering where he got it from. Yoh was a terrible cook and she knew this from past experiences she wishes she could forget.

"Good morning, Anna." he said with a smile and walked to her side of the bed with the tray filled with breakfast foods, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes…but I don't remember much after I came back to you at on the rooftop of the restaurant." said Anna.

"Well, after you finished crying, you fell asleep in my arms, so I brought you back here and we went to bed." he explained, "Your horn receded when you went back to sleep, but I made sure to keep you away from any prying eyes because I know you don't like it when other people see you asleep or sleepy."

She nodded and allowed him to place the breakfast tray on her lap, "But what is this for? You can't cook."

"I've been practicing." he said while summoning a pitcher of orange juice and two glass cups. He poured her a cup and handed it to her, "We didn't finish our date last night, so I thought that I could do a little something special for you."

"But why?" she asked.

"Why not?" his answer actually surprised her, "You're my wife. Why wouldn't I do something special for you?"

Anna stared at Yoh's smiling face for a while before grinning at him herself, "You're too nice to me."

"Eh, just don't expect this all the time. It was hell trying to cook this mess!" complained Yoh with a huff, "I had to go to the store for more eggs because Lee keeps eating them raw and not telling anyone, and I know Orochimaru has been stealing them for sure. He hasn't admitted to it yet, but I just have the feeling that he steals the eggs too. Then, the store wasn't open, so I had to go to the convenience store to get the eggs, and they cost a waayyy more than they should! I'm not a cheap person, but the eg-" Anna used her hands to close Yoh's mouth shut and closed the distance between the two and kissed him.

It lasted for a few seconds, but Yoh felt like he was in devil-heaven for a few hours. He closed his eyes and turned his head sideways, allowing more room for him to capture her lips for himself. She moaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, making sure not to shift the tray in her lap too much. Yoh's hands started to make their way around her waist, bringing her closer to hi-

Something flew towards them and hit Anna on her forehead, causing her flinch back at the interruption. Both Anna and Yoh's heads turned to the door to see Kisame. He had his head in-between the door and doorframe, watching them while holding back a snicker, "If you need them, don't worry about it! I have more where those came from!" and shut the door, running down the hallway in laughter.

The two young devils looked down to see what Kisame and they both deadpanned when they noticed that it was a condom box.

"Oh…" said Yoh, "Well, I don't feel like doing that right now. I'm too tired." said Yoh, stealing one of Anna's waffles and eating it whole.

Anna's eyebrow twitched in annoyance….

 **Kitchen**

Kisame entered the kitchen with no real reason. He knew that Yoh didn't make any leftovers from his cooking for Anna, but he just wanted to make sure there was nothing else in the fridge that he could devour. Orochimaru was drinking a cup of coffee from his new coffee machine since he had to replace his old one. He silently waved at the shark man. Kisame grunted at the teacher, his own form of saying 'good morning' and opened the door to the fridge. He sighed when he noticed that there wasn't anything to eat at all.

"Damn it, what's it gonna take for a man to get some food in here." he said to himself.

"You could always go to the store and buy food." replied Orochimaru.

"I don't have any money, though. I don't work like you do….which reminds me, why do you even work there? We won't be at Kuoh for long so why get a job there in the first place?" asked Kisame.

"I'm actually fond of the idea of handing off my knowledge of science to the next generation. It will keep my legacy going for years to come." answered Orochimaru.

"Eh, you can have that shit. All I want is some fucking food." muttered Kisame, closing the refrigerator door behind him.

"Here." said Orochimaru, reaching inside of his suit and grabbing his wallet. He pulled out a stack of cash and handed to the shark man, "This should be enough for your cravings and to re-fill the fridge."

"Holy shit!" said Kisame, handing the bills with care, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"Good morning." said Hao, stepping into the kitchen. He wasn't wearing his cloak like usual, choosing the shirtless look. He only had on his black, baggy pants and weird Lego sandals on.

"Eh? Oh, what's going on crazy shit." said Kisame, pocketing the cash Orochimaru gave him, "Come with me to the store because I don't know how that shit works."

"You don't know how to buy food?" asked Hao, reaching into one of the various cabinets for a box of crackers.

"No, because I've never been to a fucking supermarket!" shouted Kisame, "Now come on! I'm hungry and I want chicken for breakfast!" Kisame grabbed Hao's arm and started to pull him out of the room and towards the door.

"Wait, I need to put on my cloak!" Hao said while struggling to escape Kisame's grip.

Orochimaru chuckled when they left and enjoyed the rest of his coffee in silence. After he was finished, he headed back up the stairs and towards his master's bedroom. He knocked on the door twice and waited for a reply. After a few seconds and what sounded like feet tapping against the floor, Kuorka opened the door for the chemistry teacher, "Good morning, nya."

"Good morning." he said with a nod, "Is he awake yet?"

"No…He's still sleeping. I'm starting to get worried, nya. If he's sleeping for this long, then he must have really been pushing himself a lot. I feel like we're responsible for the strain on his body…" said Kuroka with worry, staring back at Naruto's sleeping body.

"I guess we are to blame. We did overwork him, but he needs to recover for these 'plans' of his that he talks about. I'm sure he'll be back to his normal laughing self when he wakes up." assured Orochimaru.

"If you say so…" muttered Kuroka.

"I'm off to work now, so I'll be back later on today." said Orochimaru. He closed the door behind him, leaving Kuroka with Naruto. She sighed and got back into bed with Naruto, placing his head on her shoulder and her chin on top of his head. She sighed as the heat he gave off comforted her more than the bed did.

"Someday…this will be regular…" she said into his hair, muffling her words. She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep with Naruto, holding his body closer to her own.

 **Supermarket**

"Why is it so cold over here!" shouted Kisame, shivering as they went down the meat aisle, "All I want is some fucking chicken, not the sniffles!"

"They put the meat in colder temperatures so that it won't spoil." explained Hao, not affect to the cold temperatures of the store. He was pushing the cart that was already halfway full since Kisame want things to snack on for tonight. It was his night with the remote to the television after all.

"For real? That's why the fridge is always cold?" asked the curious Kisame.

"Yes..." said Hao, "Honestly, talking to you is like talking with a child."

"I'll beat your ass like a grown man too if you keep on fucking with me." said Kisame with a growl, throwing a few packs of chicken in to the cart. Hao rolled his eyes but didn't comment at Kisame's jab, having a slight belief that he would do such if he kept talking.

The two continued their stroll around the store, picking up random items until they finally made it to the cash register, "Alright, how does this shit work?" asked Kisame.

Hao nodded his head at the store clerk in charge of the register and started to load all their groceries, "Put everything on the moving belt and the clerk will scan everything for us so we can pay for it."

"Okay, seems simple enough." said Kisame and started to help Hao load everything. However, he felt the eyes of someone looking at him and instantly looked at that direction. It was an old lady looking at him weirdly, "Uh, excuses you, but why the fuck are you looking at me like that."

"Y-you're blue…" said the elderly lady.

"And bitch your old. What's new?" snapped Kisame.

"Kisame, please just focus…" Hao said with a sigh.

"No! She's looking at me because I'm blue! I didn't say anything about her so why she gotta do it to me? Maybe she should take off that fake ass wig! She ain't fooling anybody!"

"Kisame!" shouted Hao.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down if you want to shop here." said the store clerk, reaching for his phone.

"Maybe if I had better customer fucking service, we wouldn't have this problem!" yelled Kisame.

"You're a delinquent. That's what's wrong with this generation…" said the older lady.

"Bitch, I'm older than you! That's what's wrong with YOUR generation! You should be worried about where your teeth is, because I can-

"Kisame!" shouted Hao again, catching the shark man's attention, "Can we please just get out stuff and go! Stop causing a scene."

"Just know that I didn't start it." muttered Kisame with a growl. Hao shook his head and started to bag up all of the groceries.

After paying for it all, the two started to walk towards the exit, "This place is lame…" muttered Kisame, "Fucking trash ass music they're playing…shitty ass customer service…what else can go wrong in here!?"

"Heelllloooo!" said a girlish voice behind Hao and Kisame. They both turned around to see a girl in a magical girl costume with long black hair tied into two pig-tails, "Don't I know you?" she asked, pointing to Kisame with her magical stick.

The atmosphere around Kisame slowly shifted. The pressure on Hao's shoulders started to grow as a heavy KI was released from the shark man. Hao looked to Kisame, wondering why he was getting angry. "Are you okay? Do you know her?"

"We need to go. Now." said Kisame, glaring daggers at the smaller girl.

"But whyyyy!" cried out the smaller girl, "I haven't seen you in so long! The last time I saw you was during the Civil War! How's life treating you?" asked the girl with a large, childish smile.

"Kisame, who is this?" asked Hao.

"Serafall Leviathan."

Hao's heart almost jumped out of his stomach. His mind instantly thought of his master, Naruto Bael, who was back at home...only miles away from here… "Oh no.."

"Eh? What's wrong?" asked Serafall with a cute head tilt.

"What are you doing here in Kuoh?" asked Kisame, but by his tone, he demanded an answer.

"I'm here to pick up some food to make for my So-tan for class observation day at Kuoh! She didn't tell me about it, but I found out for myself! I'll always celebrate my So-tan!" said the cheerful Serafall.

"Hao, let's go." Kisame turned around and made his way out of the store with Hao following him.

"Hey! Where are you going! We still haven't caught up yet!" cried out Serafall, "Are you still with the Old Satan Faction? Hey! Hey!"

The duo made their way outside the store, got all the bags, and teleported back to the house. They had some bad news to tell everyone when they got back.

 **Time skip – Occult Research Club**

Everyone inside the main room of the ORC eyes looked towards the door when the sound of someone lightly knocking against the wooden door reverberated throughout the room. Kiba was the one who approached the door and opened it. Orochimaru was the one behind it, patiently waiting for someone to open it for him.

"Good evening." said Orochimaru with a bow.

"Good evening to you as well." said Kiba with a polite smile as he opened the door for him, "This is a first time for you, Mr. Orochimaru, to actually knock on the door rather than barge in here by your own accord."

"True. I just didn't feel like opening the door this time. Today's classes have me feeling very lazy." the snake man replied, "I came here hoping to see if you all could brighten my mood."

"Good to see you to, Orochimaru." said Rias with a roll of her eyes. While she was somewhat glad to see her chemistry teacher, his reasons being here is what irritated her, "I'm glad that you find out presence entertaining to you."

"Well of course, being around those less intelligent to me is always fun." said Orochimaru with an evil chuckle. His attention was brought to a box on the floor that seemed to be shivering, "What in the world is that?"

"That is my other [Bishop], Gasper Vladi." explained Rias, "He's a little shy, so he likes to hide in his box."

"A box…" muttered Orochimaru, "That is the most pathetic thing I've ever saw in my life."

"EEep!" said the boy from within his box, frightened as Orochimaru approached him, "D-don't come a-any closer!"

"Orochimaru, you should leave our little Gasper alone." said Akeno, entering the room with tea, "If he's uncomfortable, it would only be nice if you left him alone."

"If that's what you want…" Orochimaru said with a sigh, nodding to Akeno in thanks for the tea, "It's just that having a shy [Bishop] is very…counter-productive, especially when you want him for a Rating Game. Where has he been this whole time? This is my first time...uh…being in his presence." he finished.

"He was sealed up inside one of the rooms down the hallway." explained Rias, "His power was too great for him to control and it was too dangerous to have him outside. I was too young to try to control his powers at the time of his reincarnation, so it was decided that he would be sealed."

"You sealed him?" said Orochimaru, but his tone was noticeable darker, "You actually decided to seal him because you couldn't control his powers?"

The atmosphere in the room started to get heavy. Everyone in the room flinched, but they were starting to get used to the Orochimaru's **KI**. Rias gulped before answering, "Y-yes… I was told to do so. But it isn't as bad as it looks! Gasper actually wanted to be in a seal!"

"Really now?" asked Orochimaru, looking down at the shivering box, "Well… I still feel some type of way about that. I'm sure you understand."

"I do and you have all the reason to be angry. Gasper is a naturally shy person and felt at home inside of the seal." said Rias.

"I was away from all the scary people!" said Gasper.

"What is his power that you speak of that was so hard to control?" asked Orochimaru.

"His Sacred Gear, Forbidden Balor View," started Rias, "allows Gasper to stop time of anything inside his field of vision. It was his lack of control and fear of everything around him that came to decision of sealing him because he would spam his Sacred Gear whenever he felt threaten."

"Interesting…." muttered Orochimaru, rubbing his chin while in thought, "Seems like you're in quite the predicament here, Princess…May I offer a hand in assisting the boy?"

"O-of course." said Rias, a little surprised that Orochimaru would actually help her. However, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Orochimaru menacing gleam in his eyes. A snake slowly slithered out of Orochimaru's sleeve and entered Gasper's box, "Orochimaru! No!"

"What is this thingy?" Gasper's nervous voice came from the box, silencing everything in the room. The snake hissed a few times from inside, "Is this…a… a snake?"

"3…2….1…" Orochimaru counted down.

Gasper jumped out of the box with glee as he held the startled snake to his chest, "It's so cute!"

"Eh?" Orochimaru's evil grin quickly turned into a confused frown as he looked down at the boy that was gleaming in happiness at the snake, "No, you're supposed to be scared…"

"I love him!" said Gasper with happiness, rubbing his cheek to the snake, who seemed to be uncomfortable, "I wanna keep him! Can I, Buchou? Can I keep him?!"

"You'll have to ask Orochimaru for that." said Rias with a smile, trying her best to hold back her laughter. It was rare for one of Orochimaru's sick plans to backfire, so she was just enjoying the moment that she knew wouldn't happen often.

Gasper's shining eyes instantly turned towards Orochimaru, who took a step back away from the child, "Can I keep him? Pllleeeeassseee?" pleaded Gasper, slowly approaching Orochimaru.

The snake in Gasper cluches noticed that Gasper's grip loosened a little and exploited his slip up for his freedom. He quickly slithered away from Gasper and back into Orochimaru's sleeve. It almost seemed like that the snake was moving away in fear of Gasper. "This isn't how I planned this to go." muttered Orochimaru.

Rias and her peerage watched happily as Gasper tortured Orochimaru with questions about snakes and invading the snake man's personal space. Orochimaru looked highly uncomfortable around Gasper and tried to push him away, but the young [Bishop] was persistent with his goal of retrieving another snake from Orochimaru.

"Fufufufu, well look at this." said Akeno with a giggle, "The great Orochimaru's greatest weakness is children. I can't say that I'm not amused."

"Can you please go back in the box? Back in the box." ordered Orochimaru, pointing towards the abandoned box, "If you do, I'll give you another one of my snakes."

"Okay!" said the jolly child, instantly back into the box with high expectations.

Orochimaru sighed and grabbed his briefcase, "Make sure you keep him away from me." he said to Rias.

Rias smirked at Orochimaru with arrogance and a bit of playfulness, "I'll be sure to keep him around whenever you're near."

Orochimaru growled out at the red-head but didn't say anything else. Rias finished her laughter and finally focused on the question she's been meaning to ask, "How is Naruto-sama? Is he still sleeping?"

"He was still sleeping when I left him this morning. I believe that he is still sleeping now." said Orochimaru, "I don't expect him to wake up anytime, but knowing Naruto-sama, he'll wake up at the right time….like for the approaching class observation day..." Orochimaru's eyes gained its usual devious look, "I'm sure your parents will be there. I've always wanted to have a 'conversation' with those people."

Rias sighed, "I know… I haven't told them about class observation day yet, so hopefully they don't find out about it."

"Same with my parents…" said Issei with a grumble.

"Alas, we shall see." said Orochimaru with a grin, summoning a teleportation seal, "I'll see you all soon." and with a wave, he disappeared.

"Hey!" Gasper's voice rang out within the room, "I still don't have my snake buddy!"

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Orochimaru teleported into the living room and he quickly noticed the heavy atmosphere. Kuroka, Kisame, Lee, Hao, Anna, and Yoh were all sitting on the couches with a troubled look, puzzling the chemistry teacher. "Hello… this is different. Whenever I come back, it's either someone yelling at someone else or the TV is playing the nature channel."

"Orochimaru… something's happened." said Yoh.

The only [Pawn] of the group raised an eyebrow at Yoh's behavior, wondering what was going on. A wave of panic went through his body as his thoughts went to his master, "Is something wrong with Naruto-sama?"

"No, it isn't that. Kisame and I saw someone today…someone that Naruto doesn't need to see at all because he would react negatively to her…even do something that he'd regret later on."

"And that is?" asked Orochimaru.

"Serafall Leviathan.." Kuroka said through gritted teeth, clenching her fist together tightly, "She's here in Kuoh, Orochimaru. If Naruto even knows that she's here…"

The memory of Naruto going crazy a few weeks back when he was explaining to his peerage members his time while in his seal popped up in Orochimaru's mind. The insane laugh of his master almost made Orochimaru shiver and his anger at the Leviathan started to grow. "This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

"She's here to see her younger sister for the student observation at Kuoh Academy that's happening in a few days." stated Anna, "If she's here, it's safe to assume that Sona's parents will be here as well. You can even go as far to say that Rias' parents will be there as well.

"Also, I've sensed the presence of others in the area. These beings aren't anything to laugh at. There is a Fallen Angel here even more powerful than Kokabiel in town. I've also sensed a few angels here and there. Something big is happening and it's going to start soon." finished Anna.

"Damn it…" muttered Orochimaru, trying to grasp an understanding of what was happening, "The only good plan that I can think of is move to the Underworld for a while. Some place secluded."

"That would work if Naruto would remain asleep." said Kuroka, "But I've noticed that he's been moving around in his sleep, signaling that he'll wake up soon. I don't know when, but it's bound to happen in the coming days. If we were to move to the Underworld, he'll get suspicious of things and try to find out what's happening himself."

"That's true!" said Lee, "But if we keep him here, the chance of Naruto-sama meeting any of the older devils increases day-by-day! It is also important to remember that Sona doesn't know everything of what's going on with her parents and Sona and will start to ask questions. She may reveal that Naruto-sama is here in Kuoh to her parents and the Leviathan!"

"This couldn't have happened at a better time." said Orochimaru with a growl, "One thing is sure: Naruto-sama- CAN NOT! - see anyone from his past! The effects of the meeting on his mental could be devastating. We need to keep him here at the house. For the next few days, we'll be undergoing lockdown. If Naruto-sama wakes up, we'll have to limit him leaving outside to the minimum. If he wants to go outside, convince him to stay inside. He is easily distracted, so we need to keep him entertained while inside the house."

"I'll set up a powerful barrier outside the house to hide his presence and where he can't sense anything outside of it." suggested Anna.

"Good. I'll also have my snakes scout the area for anyone approaching the house. I'll be informed of everything happening outside at all times." said Orochimaru.

"I'll handle food stuffs and anything he wants that requires going outside." said Hao.

"And I'll be security." said Kisame, "I won't allow anyone through for anything. I may have to allow his little devil friends at the school to come in every now and then to lower the suspicion, but it'll be up to you all from keeping them from saying anything that may trigger him."

"I'll be the one that will stay with him." offered Kuroka, "He's used to me being around him all the time anyway, so it'll only keep things normal if I'm with him. I'll use my conversation skills to change the subject if it's anything too touchy or I'll use my sleeping spell on him whenever things get tricky."

"I can continue his training, but it'll have to be something like Yoga that we can do inside. That way, I won't stress his body to much, but he can continue to get a feel for moving his body around."

"This can work." said Orochimaru, "We just have to make sure everything goes how we planned it."

"Yosh! 'Operation: Keep Naruto-sama Away From Bad People!' is underway!" yelled Lee.

 **The Next Morning**

Kuroka was napping right next to Naruto, her purrs and his light snoring was the only noise in the silent room. If anyone were to step into the room, you would think that they were a couple hugged up to each other. Kuroka was hugging onto Naruto, resting her chin on the top of his head. It was complete tranquility between the two as they rested next to each. Kuroka's ears would unconsciously twitch as it picked up noises from the outside, but other than that, the two were perfectly still

A snake slithered underneath the door and made its way onto one of the nearby chairs in the room. It hissed quietly as it took in the scene of the sleeping couple. Its eyes locked onto Kuroka's when the cat girl's left eye opened into it was half-lidded. She heard the snake's hisses and when it entered the room, her sensitive ears being able to pick up on the smallest noises. She gave the snake a light nod so that she wouldn't disturb Naruto's slumber. She knew that it was one of Orochimaru's snakes checking up on them.

The snake hissed at Kuroka again before slithering out of the chair and underneath the door. Orochmaru was waiting for his snake servant on the other side. The snake climbed up Orochimaru's leg and into his sleeve, disappearing somewhere inside his suit. Orochimaru sighed, receiving the information of his servant. "So they're safe…" he muttered as he made his way back down the hallway. He didn't want to enter it because it may awaken Naruto, so he would have to manage with what his servants told him, "I just hope that they can make it throughout the day." he said to himself, referring to his peerage colleagues.

After making his way down the stairs and into the living room, Hao, Kisame, Yoh, and Lee were awaiting him for word on Naruto. "How is he?" asked Hao.

"Still sleeping. Hopefully he remains that way. It would save us a lot of trouble." said Orochimaru, " I have to go now, so please, try not to do anything stupid today. Remember, quiet is the word for the day." he finished as he disappeared in a magic circle.

"QUieT iS tHe WorD fOr ThE Day!" mocked Kisame, "Damn it, these next couple of days is going to be boring. We're basically baby-sitting."

"You know how important this is, Kisame. Just live through it for now. When he awakes up, I'm sure he'll agree on the idea of leaving Kuoh."

"Leave Kuoh?" said Lee in confusion, "But why? Don't we like it here?"

"Kuoh is a nice place, but it's slowly turning into a hotspot for the supernatural." explained Hao, "Ever since you came here Lee, there has been more and more supernatural occurrences here in Kuoh. We need to keep Naruto-sama away from everyone else so he can focus on his recovery. Plus, the only reason why we came to Kuoh was to work on freeing Naruto-sama from his seal and possibly recruit Issei. While we failed on recruit that pervert, our main goal in reviving our master was successful. There's nothing else for us here."

"I guess that's true." muttered Yoh, taking in Hao's words along with Lee, "Eh, I was starting to get used to this place…Kuoh wasn't all that bad."

"It's fucking boring here. I can't wait to leave." interrupted Kisame with a huff, "The only things here is little teenagers that think their tough shit and nasty old bitches at grocery stores. Fuck Kuoh, it's time for me to go back to the Underworld."

"Which reminds me," said Hao, turning to the shark man, "Back when we saw Serafall, she asked you if you were still with the Old Satan Faction. I didn't know that you were alive back then, Kisame. That would mean you've gone up against Naruto-sama during the war."

"Woah, really?" said Yoh, "That's actually very interesting. Why haven't you told us this before?"

"It wasn't any of your fucking business, that's why." said Kisame with a growl, "I mean, yeah, I'm old. So what? I'll still kill anyone in this fucking house if they get on my nerves enough."

"That's not what we're asking. We want to know if you knew Naruto-sama before he was in that seal." said Hao.

Kisame rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Fine! Since your grabbing my blue balls about it, yeah, I've seen the guy on the battlefield a few times. Gave me some of the best fights I could remember. I was with that shitty Old Satan Faction back then because fighting with them gave me a good payday. My job was to basically stall out any fight with Naruto while the rest of the troops fought everyone else. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it didn't. All I know is that one day I said fuck it and left. I got tired."

Yoh frowned, "There has to be more to the story than that…"

"Well maybe I don't fucking feel like telling you it." said Kisame, jumping out of his seat and made his way into the kitchen. Anna was in front of the stove making a large amount of eggs, "Oh, you making some for me?"

"…yes…" she muttered quietly.

"Huh!?" said Kisame, actually surprised, "What do you mean you're making some breakfast for me? Who the fuck are you?!"

"You don't have to eat it." Anna said with a small glare towards the shark man, "I just did it just because."

"I don't know…I think you may have poisoned it or something now that you're willingly making me food. Yoh must have done something right with those rubbers I gave him…"

"Shut the hell up. Nothing happened." muttered Anna, fighting off the small blush that tried to force its way onto her face, "Mind your business."

"Eh, since your making me some food, I won't argue with you today." said the [Knight] as he made his way to the fridge, "Let me just get my orange juice-WHERE THE FUCK IS MY ORANGE JUICE!"

Upstairs in Naruto's room, Kuroka's eyes jumped open when she heard Kisame's yelling. Her first reaction was to cover Naruto's ears and prayed that they could handle the angry Kisame.

"Shut up!" yelled Anna, "Naruto-sama is still sleeping. You'll wake him you stupid idiot!"

"If you're fucking yelling then I get to fucking yell! Lee! Get your ass in here and explain to me where the fuck is my orange juice!"

"YOSH!" Lee teleported into the door way of the kitchen, "I had some this morning before my daily run! It was very good and-

Hao's hand covered Lee's mouth, "Keep quiet, you'll wake him up." he whispered into Lee's ear with a dangerous tone. Orochimaru left alone a few minutes ago and they were already messing up.

"All I know is that if I don't get some damn orange juice in the next five minutes, somebody is gonna get hurt. I don't care if sleeping beauty is up there!" yelled the angry Kisame.

Hao sighed, "Listen, I'll get your orange juice. Can you just remain calm while I'm gone, please? We don't need Naruto-sama to wake up so keep quiet."

"Sure…" Kisame said with a childish pout. Hao sighed in stress again as he teleported away to get Kisame's juice, "I just don't see how you can drink two cartoons of orange just that quick, Rookie. I got that mess yesterday and it's already gone!"

 **Kuoh Academy**

Orochimaru was sitting at his desk, watching his students take their test. Even though he was watching them for any cheating, his mind was elsewhere.

' _Whoever is out there, they're close. Very close.'_ he thought mental. His snake eyes slowly landed on Rias and Akeno to see if they also noticed the nearby magical presence. He was quickly annoyed when he saw that the two weren't even worried. Even Sona and Tsubaki, who were sitting not too far off from the Queen's of Kuoh, didn't seem to be worried that much. _'I know that they sense them, so why aren't they reacting to it like how I am?'_

Orochimaru grunted as he pulled out his phone and made his way through his very limited contact list until he landed on Hao's number. _"I'm still in class. Is everything alright?"_

After a couple of seconds, Hao replied, _"Things almost escalated this morning because Lee drank all of Kisame's orange juice. I had to make a trip to the store to call him down. Other than that, everything is quiet."_

Orochimaru quietly sighed as he thought about the shark man, _'He's always causing problems….but if everything is okay now, hopefully that'll last later on today.'_

The school bell rang, signaling the students that their time was up, "You are free to leave. Place your test on my desk. I'll see you all for class observation day tomorrow."

The students listened to their teacher, saying a quick goodbye to Orochimaru as they placed their test on his desk and left the room. His eyebrow rose in interest when most of the students left, but Rias, Akeno, Sona, and Tsubaki remained, "You all must love my class. I said you're free to leave."

"You've been looking at us throughout the class like you expected something from us." said Sona, pushing up her glasses, "Something on your mind?"

Orochimaru chuckled evilly, "Good Sona. Analyzing my body movements and recognizing that I'm uncomfortable. That's a good trait to have."

"You did seem uncomfortable today. Your eyes were constantly looking out the window a lot. Is something wrong?" asked Akeno.

"I know you all feel that unknown energy nearby." started Orochimaru, "Whoever it is, they are strong and I don't know why they are here. Even with that, you all don't seem to be worried."

"You sense some type of energy?" said Rias, a little confused. Her eyes, along with the other girls, looked towards the window, "I don't sense anything though."

"Same here." said Sona, "Maybe you're just imagining things?"

"You all seriously don't sense that?" he said with disappointment, "It feels like however they are, they're surprising their strength. Thankfully, I've been taking some sensory classes with Anna, so I'm faithful that there is someone on or near this campus that is very strong."

"Well…" Rias' eyes darted away from Orochimaru's, finding them uncomfortable to look at as she admitted her secret, "It could be that guy."

"Who?" he asked, but it was more like a demand.

"Issei was meeting someone in Kuoh for contract work. We didn't know who he was until the he revealed himself as Azazel, leader of the Fallen Angels…"

Orochimaru sighed and ran his hand through his hair in stress, "You have got to be kidding me…"

"Is something the matter?" asked Rias, not used to seeing Orochimaru in his calm and judging demeanor.

"Yes, there is, but I'll tell you about that later. Just tell me what's going on in this town. I've been feeling new magical energies every now in then during the last two days. Is something happening here in Kuoh?" he asked.

"No…nothing that I can think of." said Rias, looking to Sona for confirmation. Sona agreed with Rias with a nod, "I think you're worried for nothing, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru hummed in thought, "I don't know about that, Princess…It would make sense that you all couldn't sense this energy because stronger beings can hide their power away from anything weaker than them. It would make sense that you couldn't sense Azazel if you think about it that way…but something else is troubling me…" Orochimaru thought about his next words, thinking of every situation that could happen with the information he was about to reveal.

"Let us help you, Orochimaru." said a concerned Sona.

The chemistry teacher sighed, "Your sister, the Leviathan is here."

"She's here?" Sona said with surprise, "But why? And how do you know?"

"Kisame and Hao ran into her at the grocery store not too long ago. She said that she was picking up some food to cook for you after class observation day." he answered.

"Oh." she said uneasily, "Even though my sister can be a little annoying childish at times, I don't see her presence here as a bad thing."

"One of the leaders of the Underworld and another THE leader of Grigori here in Kuoh at the same time? No, something is going on here." he muttered, "Nevertheless, even if you do meet your sister, can you please keep Naruto's presence a secret for now? There's somethings that need to be handled before those two could ever meet."

Both Sona and Tsubaki looked highly confused. It only confused them more that both Rias and Akeno both had annoyed faces while Orochimaru was talking. "Sure.." said Sona, even though she was a little confused, "Might I know why?"

"Everything will be clear soon. Just trust me on this one." answered Orochimaru, "Even though I've used you once for my personal gain, I'm going to need you to follow through with this for now. I'll explain everything soon…or if you don't figure it out for yourself."

"We need to get to our last class." said Rias, making her way towards the door, "We'll see you soon, Orochimaru. My peerage is cleaning out the pool here at school today. I plan on having a little pool party after everything is clean. You and your peerage members are more than welcomed to come."

"I may have to take up on that offer." said Orochimaru, his thoughts on Kisame, "Some of us need to get out of the house anyway."

"Then I see you later then." she said with a bow and exited with Akeno right behind her.

"I'll see you soon as well." said Sona as she and Tsubaki bowed at their chemistry teacher before leaving the classroom.

Orochimaru grunted as he leaned back into his chair. _'I don't like this feeling…not one bit.'_ he thought mentally, _'I'm going to have to play this smart if I we want the plan to go through smoothly. I just hope he doesn't do anything crazy with them…'_

 **Time skip – Naruto's Peerage House**

"A pool party?" said Kisame in interest, "It's been a while since I've been in some water. That actually sounds pretty nice."

After school was done, Orochimaru headed home after the stressful day. He made sure to pay attention to who he assumed Azazel's energy just in case he did something funny. However, he couldn't sense him anymore now that he was back at the house. Anna's barrier around the house was too strong and his sensory abilities were too weak for him to focus in on his energy. He was basically blind while in the house, but it was something he had to deal with in order to protect Naruto. His next goal was to make sure that the house remained quiet, but that was next to impossible with Kisame in the house.

"Well, they invited us if you wanted to go. I'll remain here with Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru.

"Sounds nice, but I can't go by myself. That'll make me look lame." Kisame rubbed his chin before an idea popped up in his head, "Rookie! Come here!"

Lee quickly appeared right next to Kisame, "YOSH! Rock Lee is here!"

"Can you two please be quiet." growled out Orochimaru, "It's like you don't care that Master is sleeping right now."

"Whoops…" whispered Lee sadly.

Kisame ignored Orochimaru, but he did lower his voice, "Come with me to the pool party the little red head girl is having…I forgot the nickname I gave her, so we'll just refer to her as little red for now."

"You mean Rias? That means Issei is going to be there. I must go inform Yoh!" Lee darted up the stairs like a speeding bullet, his after image fading behind him.

"Are we sure that he's a [Rook]?" asked Kisame, "Maybe he's a [Knight] because there is no way that a [Rook] can be that fast….Rook…Rock Lee… [Rook] Lee! That actually works!" laughed Kisame, "Because he's a [Rook] and he's a rookie! It only helps that [Rook] and Rock kinda rhyme."

"How amazing…" said Orochimaru with a sweat drop, "Just make sure you don't do anything crazy that will attract attention to yourselves. There are other supernatural beings here in Kuoh."

"And if shit gets funky, I'll handle it." said Kisame, reaching for Samehade, "We'll be good."

 **Time skip – Kuoh Academy Pool**

"You're doing great, Koneko." said Issei. Koneko nodded at him and continued to paddle in the water.

The Occult Research Club finished cleaning out the old pool and was spending the rest of the day off in the water. Rias and Akeno were sitting on beach chairs, watching Issei with an animalistic hunger as they burnt the image of Issei chiseled chest into their mind. Asia was swimming in her own little section near Kiba, who was sitting on the side of the pool with his feet in the water. He was smiling happily as he read his book and drank from a bottle of sparkling water. Xenovia wasn't anywhere to be seen, but nobody noticed her absence.

"Do you want to take a break?" he asked her once they made it to the other side of the pool. She nodded quietly and pulled herself out of the pool. A cardboard box shuffled its way towards the two, "Is Orochimaru back? I really want another snake!" said Gasper.

"He may come soon, Gasper. Just relax and have fun." said Rias from afar.

"Nooo! Taking off my clothes in front of people is so embarrassing!" said Gasper with a shout.

"It's going to take a while to get you out of that box, huh?" said Issei with a sweat drop.

The crew continued enjoying the pleasure of the pool for a while without an interruption. After a few mintues, however, a large, Bael magic circle appeared near Kiba. Kisame, Lee, Yoh, and Anna appeared from the seal together. Kisame was wearing purple swim trunks and had a blue beach ball under his arm. Anna was in her usual short blue skirt while Yoh, still in his black pants, discarded his top for a black muscle shirt. The group finished with Lee….only wearing a orange Speedo..

"YOSH! Let's swim!" shouted the green beast as he jumped into the pool announced.

"What was it that I just saw!" shouted Issei, flushing water into his eyes and banging his head on the pool side, trying his hardest to get the image of Lee's…thing… out of his mind.

"Disgusting.." muttered Koneko, who also saw the large indent in Lee's Speedo.

"Fufufu, seems like Lee came for a good time." laughed out Akeno with a certain tone which made Rias shiver.

"Water! Finally!" yelled Kisame as he jumped into the water. The large amount of water that splashed out of the pool landed all over Kiba and his book. Kiba frowned as he held up his soak book. "Eh, sorry about that." said Kisame, stealing Kiba's drink and downing it in one gulp, "Bring me another one for me, alright?"

Anna shook her head at the shark man before finding her a seat and sat down in it. Yoh was right behind her, pushing a seat next to hers and jumping into it to soak up some sun, "This is a nice pool."

"There are other girls here. Don't take your shirt off." demanded Anna.

Yoh laughed, "You know that they're not paying attention to me. They're all about Issei." he said quickly before the approaching Rias and Issei could hear him.

"I'm glad you all could come out today." said Rias, "I'm sorry for what happened here two days ago. It's just that I didn't know who else to call." she said with a bow.

"It's okay, Rias." said Yoh with a lazy wave, "This is your territory that we're living on, so just consider it as rent for the month."

"You're paying for out next date." said Anna with a blank stare at the Gremory heiress before putting on her sunglasses and leaning back into her chair.

"Of course. I'll be sure to make amends for your sacrifice." said Rias.

"What I didn't know was how awesome Anna was!" said Issei with excitement, "You're amazing!"

Anna shot a sideways glance at Issei before turning away from them, "Thanks." she muttered silently.

"FUCK!" yelled Kisame, "This water feels great! I haven't been in a body of water like this in a long time!"

"YOSH! This pool is excellent for training!" yelled Lee as he swam from one end of the pool to the next at amazing speeds, "I can really feel my muscle getting stronger!"

Lee's swam around and around the water, forming a small whirlpool in the middle of pool. Asia got out just in time, but Kisame was too busy floating in the water in happiness. It was only until he was next to the whirlpool before he noticed anything, "He..What the-" Kisame's body was caught into the whirlpool and couldn't move because Lee was still swimming, "Lee! Stop it damn it!" he said as he body was twirled around.

Of course, the beast didn't hear Kisame's cries as he continued to swim. Everyone sweat dropped at the scene and felt a little bad for the shark man.

"We should have killed him back when we had the chance." muttered Koneko, thinking back to her battle with Lee so long ago.

"It feels like everything is back to normal for once." said Issei with a smile, "Nothing can mess things up now."

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Kuroka, for the first time of the day, wasn't with Naruto. She was hungry and she had to go to the bathroom, so she took a quick break away from her [King] so she could tend to her own needs. Hao and Orochimaru was the only people in the room, but Orochimaru was in his room doing whatever crazed scientist did. Kuroka was in the kitchen getting a snack while Hao was in the living room watching a documentary.

Hao's head turned toward the cat girl as she entered the living room with a tuna sandwich in hand, "This is the first time I've seen you today, Kuroka. Are you doing well?"

"I'm fine, nya. Have any dreams about killing Naruto lately?" she asked with a frown. She didn't like Hao at all. Even though Naruto seemed to be over Hao's attempt at his death, Kuroka wasn't. She didn't have any respect for the boy but she didn't want to say anything around the others because it may add tension on the group.

"Still can't trust me? While I'm not mad at you for how you feel, isn't it getting a little old?" he asked with a small grin.

"I don't care what you think is old or not," she said with a hiss, "you tried to kill Naruto and I will always remember that."

"If that's what makes you sleep at night." he said with a roll of his eyes as he turned his attention back to the TV, "Just know that I don't plan on trying to kill him ever again. I've learned my lesson."

"Just make sure you don't do anything stupid." she growled out, "I'll be watching you."

"Like I said, whatever helps you sleep at night." he said with a wave.

Kuroka childishly huffed and made her way up the stairs, headed back to Naruto's room. She stuffed her tuna sandwich into her stomach before she made it to his door. She perked up when she noticed that Orochimaru was at Naruto's door as well, probably to check up on him. "Hi Snakey, nya."

"Good evening." said Orochimaru with a yawn, an action unlike him, "I just finished an amazing medicine that I have to give to a certain someone and I thought I should come up here and check on you two. I was confused at first when I knocked and I didn't hear anything, but I guess you had to take care of some personal business since you've been in there all day."

"Right, nya! I got hungry and had to go poop." she said with a giggle.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at the younger girl, "You're such a child." he said while opening the door to Naruto's room, "Even though you have a younger sister, she acts more mature than you do."

"She needs to be more loose, nya." said Kuroka with a pout, "She's always quiet when I spy on her….where's Naruto?"

Orochimauru looked at Naruto's bed and his heart skipped a beat. Naruto was gone.

"Holy shit." he muttered, "How did he get out?!"

"I don't think he got out." said Kuroka, her ears twitching to a sound in the closet. She walked to the closet door and opened it slowly; revealing Naruto curled up in his covers sleeping with his head on a pillow he took with him.

Kuroka sighed at the scene as she knelt down to Naruto's level, "Naruto…Naruto, are you awake?" she asked.

Naruto's eyes twitched a little before opening slowly; his first sight was the worried faces of Kuroka and Orochimaru, "My Protégé? Orochimaru? What are you two doing here?"

"Checking up on you." the Nekoshou said softly, "Why are you in here again? I told you that you need to sleep in your bed, not the floor."

"Because I feel comfortable in here." he answered honestly, saddening his [Queen] even more, "I didn't hear anything loud in the house. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Naruto-sama, everything is under control. Kisame, Lee, Anna, and Yoh went to a pool party that Rias was having at the school."

"Oh…that's sounds nice." he said with a yawn, "I'm still tired…I may just go back to sleep."

"Take your time." said Kuroka as she helped him off the ground. He wasn't wincing when he was walking to the bed, which was a good sign of his recovery, but it was also a sign to Kuroka that he would want to leave his bed soon which is what worried her the most.

"Why…why can't I sense anything outside of the house?" asked Naruto, a bit confused as he looked up at the rooftop, "I feel so blinded."

"It's because we sensed some evil presences in town and we didn't want them to know you were here." Orochimaru quickly lied, "Plus, you were resting and we didn't want anyone to come here and make a commotion. Your rest is what is most important right now."

"That makes sense, hehehe…" he weakly laughed. He laid his head back with the help of Kuroka and closed his eyes on content. "I'll be asleep for a while again. I feel better…a lot better actually, but I still want to find Gabriel. She could possibly quicken the process of my recovery."

Kuroka frowned again, but she didn't have any input into the matter. Orochimaru, however, did, "Who is Gabriel, Naruto-sama? You've never spoken about this person before."

"Gabriel is an angel, a Seraph in fact." said Naruto with a smile, shocking Orochimaru at the information, "I haven't seen her a long time."

"You mean to tell me that you know one of the most powerful angels alive?" asked Orochimaru.

"She's a sweet person, hehehe!" laughed their leader.

"Maybe we can heal you with Phenex Tears?" Kuroka butted into the conversation, "Their healing capabilities are unmatched.

"Phenex Tears are strong, but they can't heal things like blood loss and organ loss. My body isn't injured, it's just weak. The Phenex Tears wouldn't help me much here." said Naruto with a yawn.

"Well, do you know where to find Gabriel, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru.

"No, I don't. She likes to travel a lot so I wouldn't know where she is. Even if she was in heaven, I couldn't inside of there now, huh?" he said with a laugh, "I'm sure she'll pop up sometime soon. She does that a lot."

"Even here? In Kuoh…" dragged Orochimaru, his eyes widening as if he came to a realization.

"You okay, Orochimaru?" Kuroka asked.

"Uh..yes." said Orochimaru, shaking his head, "I just had a realization, but it's nothing important. Go back to sleep Naruto-sama. We'll be here protecting you."

"Okay…" said Naruto with a yawn, "Tell the others I said hello." he said as he closed his eyes. Kuroka's hand hovered over Naruto's face as a purple seal appeared in it, sprinkling purple glitter on him. He inhaled it and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Orochimaru looked to Kuroka when he heard Naruto's patterned breaths, "Is there something we need to talk about?"

"No, nya." she said while curling up next to Naruto, "I just don't like that bitch."

 **Old School House**

The group of devils had finished their time at the pool and decided to spend the rest of their time inside the Old School House and snack on Akeno's treats. Those who swam were dried thanks to towels that Kiba provided for everyone and Akeno and Rias were healed by Asia because of the fight they had with each other over Issei's attention.

"These are good like usual, Akeno. Thank you for the snacks." said Yoh with a smile.

"Fufufu, you are welcome, Yoh. I'm here to please~" she said as she batted her eyelids at him playfully.

Anna's eyebrow twitched at Yoh's words, "What do you mean 'like usual'? Do you come here to eat her food often?"

"No, that isn't what I mean, Anna. I've been here a few times… like three or four, and every time, I'd get some food from Akeno-

"So what you're saying is that her cooking is better than mine?" she growled out.

"N-no, Anna. That isn't what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, Yoh?"

"Hey!" shouted Kisame, stopping Anna and saving Yoh from a brutal assault of words, "We are in front of other people. Have some fucking decency for something…fucking dumbasses."

"Since when did you care for decency?" asked Issei accusingly.

"The moment they got on my nerves. It's hard living with a group of people that are so stupid. I feel like a god amongst them." said Kisame with a laugh, "Right, Rook?"

"Absolutely!" said Lee, but he didn't know what they were talking about. He was too busy eating the small cheesecakes on the table. Koneko had fire in her eyes as she watched Lee hog a lot of the food, but she didn't act upon her feelings.

"See? I'm the best." said Kisame with a smile.

"Well I guess it's never boring at your house." said Rias with a smile, "You all probably trash it every day."

"True, but that's what makes life fun." said Yoh with a sigh, "I bet you Hao is at home watching some documentary right now."

"He seems to like those things." said Lee, "I want to watch one with him one day."

"How is the situation with Hao?" asked Kiba with interest "Is everything okay with him?"

"He's okay…it's just that everyone hasn't accepted him fully yet." said Yoh with another sigh.

"Fuck him." said Kisame, "I don't care about that fire-farting dumbass. All I need him for is to buy me groceries."

"I still don't like him." said Anna.

"YOSH! Mr. Hao is a pretty cool person! It's just that I feel a little weird around him." said Lee.

"I guess what he did had some lasting effects to it." said Rias.

"Yea, but we'll get over it soon." said Yoh with a smile, "We trust each other so I'm sure this will pass over soon."

"As long as he buys me groceries, I'm okay with him." said Kisame with a shrug.

"I do want to continue my training with Naruto-sama!" said Issei with a fist pump, "I know that if I continue the way I am, I'll be sure to get that harem!"

"Typical Issei." Akeno said with a laugh.

"I just want this class observation day to get over with." said Rias, blowing one of her bangs off her face, "Even though I haven't told my parents or my brother about it, I'm just have this feeling…"

"That feeling is correct, little sister." said a voice coming from a new magic circle that appeared in the middle of the room. Sirzechs and Grayfia made themselves known as they came from the magic circle, "It's been a while hasn't it, Ria-tan?"

"Well lookie here." said Kisame, standing up from his seat, "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Ah! Kisame and everyone else are here!" said Sirzechs with a clap, "Today must be a good day."

"Brother, why are you here!" shouted Rias in worry because she already knew.

"Why, isn't it class observation day tomorrow?" asked Sirzechs with a smile, "I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures!"

Rias slapped her hand over her face in embarrassment, imagining the torture she would go through tomorrow, "Why me…"

"But, that isn't the only reason why I'm here." said Sirzechs, "This place will be the where the leaders of the Three Factions will be meeting tomorrow to agree on peace between us."

Everyone from Naruto's peerage quickly picked up on Sirzechs' message and applied it to everything they knew before, "You mean…All the leaders will be here?"

"Yes…" said Sirzechs with a sigh, "Even Serafall."

"So that's what was happening." said Anna, standing up from her seat, "We need to go back now and inform the others. It seems our mission will come with more consequences than we thought if Naruto-sama wakes up."

"Is something wrong with him?" asked Sirzechs with concern.

"He's been sleeping for a couple of days to recover his strength." explained Anna, "We've been keeping security around the clock for him because we sensed a lot of different beings in town. Kisame and Hao actually met The Leviathan at a grocery store not too long ago and it put us on edge. If Naruto-sama were to wake up and find out that she was here…"

"That is a scary thought…and I wanted to invite the person that defeated Kokabiel not too long ago. I assumed that it was someone apart of his peerage." said Sirzechs.

"That would be me." said Anna with her usual monotone voice.

"Really? I'm sad that I missed it. I've always wanted to see a Shaman fight." said Sirzechs.

"No matter what you wanted, we need to leave." said Anna.

"Understandable. Keeping you [King] safe and ignorant of everything going on tomorrow is more important for you all than this meeting. I'll check up on you all soon." said the Satan.

"See you guys later!" said the excited Lee as he waved at the group, "Issei, we should hang out soon like we used too!"

"Sure thing." said Issei with a smile as he waved back at the training beast.

"I have a feeling Hao has the TV right now." said Kisame with a growl as they disappeared into the magic seal Anna made for them.

"This is going to be a stressful couple of days. I can already feel it." said Sirzechs with a sigh.

"Rias-sama, does Sona know of Naruto-sama's revival?" asked Grayfia, speaking for the first time.

"She does." answered the Gremory heiress, "That may cause some complications because she's been picking up on certain signals whenever Leviathan-sama is mentioned. She's really questioning if there is something else is amist."

"You mean that Naruto-sama hasn't told Sona about what happened between him and Serafall?" asked Grayfia.

"He hasn't. He only refers to Serafall as a good friend during the war stories he would tell Sona." answered Rias.

"Why would he do something like that…" muttered Sirzechs, rubbing his chin in thought, "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. He's planning something."

"Is it something bad? I've been a victim to his peerage member's manipulation, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was true." said Rias.

"It maybe something bad, but it isn't like it won't be justified. A lot of wrong was done at Naruto. It wouldn't surprise me if he held a lot of resentment for a lot of devils out there…even our own parents who are coming." said Sirzechs.

"Mother and Father are coming?" asked Rias.

"I know our father is, but I'm not sure about out mother." he said with doubt, "But even then, I'm sure you have a lot of things you'd like to ask him."

"Absolutely!" yelled Issei, surprising everyone, "Why was he okay with Naruto-sama being sealed! Whoever helped out should be charged or something!"

"I'm angry at father…but I'm also sacred." said Rias, "I know that this scandal will breakout to the public soon. People are interested in the [King]-less peerage and now that Naruto-sama is free, I'm sure he'll want to have another Rating Game to reveal himself to the Underworld. It'll raise question about where he was and that's when he'll cause uproar in the Underworld similar to how there was one because of Ravel Phenex being saved."

"Seems you've thought this through." said Sirzechs, "I've also thought something similar to that. While I do feel sorry for Naruto, it seems like apologizes are beneath him. It's like this is his way of getting revenge to those that wronged him."

"Do you think that's why he's getting closer to Sona?" asked Akeno, "Just so he could spite Serafall?"

"That's possible. It almost sounds like it's the real reason why he's helping her train." said Sirzechs, "The best way to attack the Sitri Clan is to aim for their heiress. Lord and Lady Sitri are going to be devastated if Sona turns on them."

"Damn, Naruto-sama is like an evil boss…" muttered Issei, "But what would do that long-term?"

"Long-term effects? Probably cause a larger distrust between the low-class and high-class devils. Naruto, during his time at war, was basically the mascot of the low-class devils. He was strong just like a high-class devil, but remained a low-class devil because he knew what he meant to his people." said Sirzechs.

"The low-class devils will probably demand rights that high-class devils are entitled to." said Grayfia.

"Is that a problem?" asked Kiba with a rare frown, "Shouldn't it be like that?"

"I wish it was, but it isn't, Kiba." said Sirzechs, "While we defeated the Old Satan Faction, we still hold true to some of the traditions of old. High-class devils are just born 'better' to most people. Low-class devils are primed from birth to believe that as well. Middle-class devils are at an awkward in-between position since they have relations on both sides."

"So what's stopping the high-class devils from accepting that traditions should change?" asked Issei.

"Nothing but their pride." he answered, "It's just in their blood."

"Seems like some things need some changing…" muttered Koneko into her cookie. Gasper was silently listening from his box, but he made sure he a safe distance away from Sirzechs and Grayfia.

"I know what you all are thinking." said Sirzechs with a sigh, "Since you all are low-class devils, this movement affects you as well. I want to let you know that I'm working on a way to make things better."

"But how can you do that?" asked Issei, "Even if you do make some new law or some shit, it won't matter if the big guys still think the same! There are devils out there going through some fucked up shit and it's treated like its normal!"

"I know…I know.." said Sirzechs with a sigh, "These last few weeks made me realize a lot of things going on in the Underworld…stuff I've tried to ignore for a long time, but I've learned my lesson and this is my main focus for now on."

"Thanks…" Issei said, but he sounded like wasn't fully convinced yet. Koneko, Akeno, and Kiba held similar faces, while Xenovia seemed neutral. She hasn't been a devil for long, but it was interesting to her how the state of the Underworld was at the moment.

"Well, to end things on a light note, I'd like to know the place of where my sister lives!" said Sirzechs with a clap, "Aren't you staying with Issei?"

"Uh-yes.." Rias said awkwardly.

"Then let's go! I'd like to see the Hyoudou Residence!"

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Kisame, Anna, Yoh, and Lee returned to their house not too long ago and demanded that everyone else come to the living room for another meeting. Kuroka, even though she didn't want to, had to detach herself from Naruto's side for a while in order to hear what they had to say. Orochimaru and Hao was already in the living waiting for her.

"What's going on, nya?" asked Kuroka with a yawn, stretching her arms out.

"There's something big happening in the next few days." said Anna.

"And that is? Does it explain all the different beings here in town?" asked a curious Orochimaru.

"Apparently, the leaders of the Three Factions are having peace talks here in Kuoh. They'll be using the Old School House as their meeting place." explained Anna.

"And they didn't invite us!" yelled Kisame, "Well fuck them then! I don't care about peace anyway. I just want to fight people…"

"Anyway," Anna rolled her eyes at Kisame's interruption, "Since we know that the Lucifer and Leviathan, along with Azazel, are in town, we can assume that the leaders of the Angels will be here as well."

"Micheal, the Archangel and leader of the Angels…" muttered Orochimaru, "That actually works out in a way."

"How come?" asked Lee.

"Naruto-sama believes that Gabriel, Micheal's sister, can heal him."

Kuroka's eyes slowly widened as the realization of Gabriel coming back was an actual reality. She unconsciously started to shake as she thought of the other girl that had a connection with Naruto. _'NO, NO, NO! This wasn't supposed to happen! She wasn't supposed to come here!'_

Hao took noticed to Kuroka's trembles, "Are you okay, Kuroka?"

Hearing her name, Kuroka quickly gained back control over her body, "I am, nya!" she said with an obvious fake smile.

"Okaayyyyy." dragged out Kisame, "What the hell is wrong with you now?"

"Its nothing." she said with an eye roll, leaning her weight on one leg while prompting her hand on her hip, "So what do we do now?"

"I say we stick with the same plan." said Orochimaru, staring at Kuroka for a while before focusing back on the group, "So no more pool parties. The only reason why I let you all leave was so that you wouldn't be making all that noise here. Naruto-sama woke up while you were away, but he went back to sleep. That means we have to be even more discreet."

"Alright, so no leaving the house." said Lee, "And I'll be sure not to make a lot of noise as well."

"Good. I guess that's all then. You can continue with whatever you were doing." said Orochimaru, headed towards the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Everyone other than Kuroka focus went to the documentary that Hao was watching.

"How the fuck can you watch all this depressing shit." said Kisame, being wary of his volume, "All these people are dead. What's so great about them."

"Shut up and listen. I'm sick and tired of watching unintelligent sharks eating fish." said Hao.

"Hey! I watch more than just sharks! 'Are You The One?' On MTV is very entertaining!" answered Kisame.

Meanwhile, Kuroka was still standing, biting her lip in thought. She was pacing back and forth while having a mental clash within herself. Everyone in the living room looked at her weirdly, but they assumed that she wouldn't even tell them even if they asked, so they let her ramble to herself.

Kuroku seemed to come to a decision and made her way to the kitchen where Orochimaru was waiting for his coffee, "I thought that you would come seek me." the snake man said with his raspy voice, "You seem distracted. Is it because Gabriel is closer than you first thought?"

"That's some of it, nya." she whispered, her cat ears deflating on top of her head.

"You do know that if she can heal her, I will try to get in contact with her, regardless of your feelings to the situation." he said while pouring him a cup of coffee, "We all know of your feelings towards him."

"I know, I know…" she said quietly, "Even though I don't like it, it's for the best. He has to recover soon so he can keep continue whatever he has planned, nya."

"I'm glad you came to that decision. It's very mature of you." said Orochimaru, "However, I do want to hear the other thing that's troubling you."

"Well…" Kuroka gripped the sides of her kimono and looked down to the floor as she spoke, "Tomorrow is class observation day."

"Mmhmm." said Orochimaru, sipping his coffee.

"And Shirone goes to Kuoh Academy…"

"MMMMhhmmm."

"You knew I was going to ask this, didn't you?"

"I had a hunch." said Orochimaru with his creepy grin, "You do love your sister, so I was almost positive that you would ask if you could go."

"So can I?" she said with stars in her eyes.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at the girl while taking another sip of his coffee, "Sure, damn it. Just make sure that Naruto-sama is okay when you leave the house."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" said Kuroka with a girlish yell, hugging Orochimaru out of nowhere. Orochimaru choked on his coffee when Kuroka's hug turned into a death grip. It was only worse that he was highly uncomfortable with the close contact. _'What's up with kids hugging me lately?!'_ the snake man cried out mentally.

"Oh, I have to go prepare! I need to go pick out some clothes! Bye-bye, Snakey!" said Kuroka, running out of the kitchen and up to her personal room instead of Naruto's.

"I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid." said Orochimaru, taking another sip of his coffee.

 **Time skip – Morning**

Kuroka's golden orbs slowly opened and her first sight was that of her sleeping [King], Naruto, snoozing with a little drool coming from his mouth. She giggled a little and licked his cheek as a sign of affection, "Good morning." she said to him, but she wasn't expecting an answer. Naruto was a deep sleeper when he wanted to, and he hasn't woken up since he went back to sleep. While it was important for him to stay asleep, Kuroka was a little lonely. She always had Naruto around, helping her with training, torturing her on the world, and making corny jokes. She felt weird that the two hadn't had a full conversation in some days, but she knew that he needed his energy.

The Nekoshou released Naruto from her grasp and silently slipped out of the bed, making sure not to disturb Naruto in his sleep. "Sorry, Naruto," she whispered in his ear, "I can't stay for the day like how I usually do, but I'll be back soon." she finished with a kiss to his cheek and made her way out of the room into her own room where she had her outfit for the day already laid out for her. "I can't wait to see the look on her face." she said with a laugh as she slipped out the oversized t-shirt she stole from Naruto's closet.

 **Same time – Hyoudou Residence**

Rias' eyes opened slowly, but she didn't wake up with the usual smile she had whenever her first sight of the day was a sleeping Issei. No, today, she was frowning because she knew what she had to do. "I need answers." where her first words of the day.

Yesterday, Sirzechs and Grayfia meet Issei's parents when they came over. Because the Satan was so charming, the two humans offered Sirzechs and Grayfia a room to stay. Sirzechs said that he wanted to room with Issei because he wanted to speak with him, so the girls were left to another room. Asia and Rias were sleeping in the guest room on the bed while Grayfia decided to sleep on an air mattress.

While they were still awake, Sirzechs told Rias that their father was at a hotel in the city for the night so that she could meet him in the morning before heading off to Kuoh Academy for class observation day. Of course, she was going to take this opportunity to talk to her father about some questions that she needed answering.

Silently shifting out of the bed, Rias stepped out of the bed, revealing her nude form, and headed to her the closet where she hug her Kuoh Academy uniform. She didn't flinch of the sound of Grayfia shifting in her bed; she expected the woman to hear her even if she was being discreet. Grayfia was a powerful devil after all.

"You're going to meet your father, aren't you?" she ice queen asked. Rias didn't look back to her sister-in-law, focusing on dressing herself.

"I am." the young Gremory heiress said, "I'm sick and tired of having questions and not answers. He has answers, so that's where I'm going."

"You do know that there are something's that you don't understand." said Grayfia, "Even though I don't understand why your father had some part in sealing Naruto-sama, I do want you to humble yourself to him while he's explaining himself. There may be a logical reason to his decision."

"If you think there's a logical reasoning in sealing a war hero, then I question your own mindset, Grayfia." said Rias with a small glare at the maid.

"My apologies if what I said offends you, but I just want prepare you for what you may hear." explained Grayfia, "The Sitri sealed Naruto in order to destroy his relationship with Serafall. The Bael possible agreed with sealing Naruto-sama because they didn't want a low-class warrior stronger than them. However, I don't know why the Gremory would agree to something like this. I just want you to know that your brother didn't have anything to do with this decision."

"I know, Grayfia, and I thank you for looking out for my brother. He can be a bit childish at times." said Rias, "However…I can't just let this big mystery continue to be a mystery. I've looked up to my parents for so long, but just knowing that they were into something like this? They sealed a man. Naruto-sama's is possible insane from the loneliness he faced in that seal. Somebody has to explain to me the real reason why they agreed to his sealing."

Rias finished buttoning up her top and turned to Grayfia while summoning a magic circle, "I'll see you later, Grayfia. Hopefully what I learn won't be as bad as I'm thinking it will be." she said as she disappeared.

Grayfia stared at the spot that Rias disappeared to before looking towards the door where Sirzechs entered with a sigh, "She's growing up way to fast. Why can't cute little kids just stay cute little kids?"

"I'm actually surprised that you haven't confronted your father on this subject either." said Grayfia.

"Because I'm also scared to the answer." the Satan admitted, "I'm scared of my image of my parents being destroyed just like how Rias is. Rias only acted quicker than I have and went to go get the answers herself. I planned on confronting him, but when I was approved to by Orochimaru or Naruto himself. But it seems my little Ria-tan has taken matters into her own hands."

"I just don't want this to mess her relationship up with her parents." said Grayfia.

"Sadly, it probably will." muttered Sirzechs.

 **Imperial Hotel Kuoh**

Rias teleported to the top floor of a lavish hotel, not even bothering to check in at the lobby. Sirzechs told her the hotel and room where their father was staying in. He would be expecting Rias to meet him here before they headed to Kuoh Academy, but she would be surprised if he would be ready now, seeing that she came here earlier than planned.

Focusing on her goal of meeting her father, the heiress of the Gremory Clan ignored everything else as she made her way down the long hallway. Expensive painting lined the hallway walls, along with a long carpet stretching down the hallways. Rias passed by a few butlers and maids, but she didn't pay them any mind as she made her stop in front of room 57.

Rias took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She could feel her father's energy inside the room, but she couldn't depict what he was doing. It took some time, but soon enough, the door opened, revealing her father in a black bathrobe. "Rias? You're here so soon."

"Hello, father." she said with a bow. Her eyes widened when she felt her father wrap his arms around her, hugging her closely to him.

"It's been a while." Zeoticus Gremory said deeply. She nodded into his shoulder and hugged him back, generally happy that she was united with her father. Even though she was coming with bad news, this was that raised her and she would respect him as so.

"It has." she muttered into his shoulder, the thoughts of the real conversation she wanted to have with him plaguing her mind.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon, but you can still come in." Zeoticus said, opening the door for his daughter, "Do you want me to call some breakfast up for you?"

"No thank you." she said while sitting on the couch, "I'm not hungry right now."

Zeoticus raised an eyebrow at Rias, feeling that she seemed a little troubled, "Is something the matter?"

"K-kinda." Rias cursed under her breathe for stuttering. She didn't want to be showing weakness at a time like this.

"Rias, it's alright to talk to me. I assume that's why you're over here so soon."

"It is…and it isn't a friendly topic." she said quietly.

"Is it about the Phenex engagement?" he asked with a sigh, "Listen, I'm sorry that I put you through that. I should have taken you into more consideration than I had and I apologize for that. However, that peerage that you hired to fight in your honor? I've got to say, that is a talented bunch. I'm glad you have connections like them."

"Actually, that peerage is somewhat intertwined with what I came to talk to you about." she said with a frown. Zeoticus perked up in interest at his daughter, eager to learn more about the [King]-less peerage. "Father, do you know their [King]?"

"No, I don't." he answered while pouring himself some wine; "I thought you knew that their [King] hasn't fought in any of their Rating Games. Do you know of their [King], because I'd love to meet this person and have a conversation over tea."

"…Father…"

"Yes, Rias?"

"You wouldn't lie to me, right?"

"Of course not, dear. Why would I do anything like that? Now say what you have on your mind. I hate seeing my little girl so troubled about something."

"…"

"Rias, is everything okay?"

"Do you know Naruto Bael?"

Zeoticus almost lost the hold he had on his wine as he that forbidden name. His eyes meet Rias' and he saw the anger in them. His body started to tremble as one of his darkest secrets was brought up after centuries had gone with it being buried. It only made it worse that his daughter was the one to dig up that secret. Zeoticus placed his wine glass down and gripped his knees. This wasn't supposed to happen, especially not like this.

"Rias…" muttered Zeoticus. He couldn't even look his daughter in the eye like he was scared of what he would say to him. "How do you even know about that name?"

"Answer m-my question." she said with a small stutter. Tears started to form in the young girls eyes as she stared her father down with a strong amount of anger. "Tell me who Naruto Bael is to you."

Zeoticus face palmed and sighed, shaking his head in denial, "I can't believe this is happening."

"You did it." she muttered, "You really allowed that man to be placed in a seal for no reason…"

"No, no dear!" said Zeoticus with a surprisingly evident amount of worry, very unlike the kind man, "There was a reason behind this all! Please just listen to me!"

"Then answer my damn question!" yelled Rias with tears pouring down her cheeks, "Who is Naruto Bael to you!?"

Zeoticus stared at his little girl in shock before sitting back into his chair, "Naruto…damn….damn it all…..I didn't want to do it, okay!" he yelled, "I didn't want to seal him!"

"Then why did you agree to it?" she asked with a growl.

"Your mother," Zeoticus started to admit, "Your mother is brothers with Lord Bael….He didn't agree with our marriage. Even thought I tried to prove myself to him so many times, he still didn't see me worth the time. He hated me for marrying his sister and disliked Venalana for marrying outside of the clan. Granted, me and your mother's marriage was arranged, he still disagreed with it. He said that I was too pathetic to marry her. I've always wanted to prove myself to the man, so when I saw the opportunity of getting on his good side at sealing away Naruto, I jumped at the chance."

Rias shook her head in disappointment, "I can't believe this. You would seal an innocent person just so you can suck up to some other man, regardless if that is my uncle! You knew that was wrong and you agreed to it anyway!"

"I know.." he muttered, "But you have to understand the position I was in. Lord Bael, he is basically the ruler of the Underworld. Anything he says is law. I needed to get on his good side for the betterment of the Gremory Clan. To me, Naruto was a small sacrifice that had to be made for Gremory to prevail higher."

"So you didn't even care that he was a war hero? That he was friends with your son?" asked Rias while crossing her arms over her stomach, "This is what you do to raise your political power."

"I know it sounds bad, Rias, but that's just how the world works." explained Zeoticus, "I love your mother and I would do anything to keep her by my side. It was a necessity that I get on his good side." said Zeoticus, referring to Lord Bael.

"I hate that damn phrase…'just how the world works'..tch, it's just how certain people made the world work. That doesn't have to be how it is forever."

"True, but I can't do anything about it. The only people to have such a sway in laws that could actually change the lifestyle of devils are the Four Satans and The Great King. What I did was to protect Gremory." said Zeoticus. His eyes went from sorrowful to curious as he asked, "How do you even know about Naruto, Rias? That's a secret nobody has uttered for centuries."

"He's free." she started, "His peerage? There the one's apart of the [King]-less peerage. They were using Rating Games to grow in fame and collect blood to free their master."

"Blood?" said Zeoticus, "You mean they actually found a way to break the seal?"

"Yes, by using the blood from high-class devils apart of the same clan as those who made the seal is the only way to break it, or so Naruto-sama says. The devils involved with the sealing were Gremory, Bael, and Sitri. His peerage members created a deal with Sairaorg with their Rating Game with them, with the winner getting whatever they wanted from the other. Naruto-sama's peerage asked for his blood. Next, they broke the contract I had with Riser for the payout of a pint of my and Sona's blood. They used that blood, tracked Naruto-sama's seal down, and used a powerful ritual to free him."

"That's amazing." said Zeoticus in awe, "I can't believe all of that was happening….and I didn't even know it was happening…why you didn't tell me, Rias?"

"It doesn't matter why I didn't tell you!" she shouted, "Naruto-sama came out of that seal insane because of the loneliness he faced inside of it. He came out of it cripple because the seal deteriorate his body over time! Do you think I'd tell the person that helped seal him what was happening!?"

"So you knew all along?" he asked.

"No, I only found out about two or three weeks ago." she answered, "It's been a secret that I've been denying because I knew that my parents were better than this. The Gremory are known for treating its servants with love and care, but knowing that there are underhanded things like this going on within the clan…it makes me look at it different…it makes me look at my parents differently."

Zeoticus sighed, "I know you're disappointed, but you have to understand the position I was put in!"

"I don't care." she answered quickly with a dark tone, surprising him, "All this time…..all this time I've had this image of my parents as the people I wanted to be like when I grew up…I held you both on this high pedestal! I thrieved to be like you two! But now that pedestal I had you two on? It was destroyed the moment you couldn't answer me right away! You are a coward! You could have done something different- I don't know what but you should have! Your sucking up to some higher authority caused a man his mind! Do you understand that Naruto-sama is borderline insane now!"

"No, I didn't know that, Rias. I'm sorry that your image of me and your mother is gone, but please! I don't want you hating us for this! I did this for us, even if you weren't born yet! This!-that sealing had to happen! There was no other way, Rias! It was either that or lose your mother!" yelled Zeoticus.

"I can't even look at you the same." the heiress said with disgust, "You…your evil. You, the Bael, and especially Lord and Lady Sitri! They sealed a man, father! You sealed a man! Serafall-sama and Naruto wasn't hurting anybody! The fact that he was sealed is just the most stupid thing to me because she became a Satan, so it didn't matter anymore if Naruto-sama was dating her because her ties to the Sitri Clan were cut! But you all don't see that. You all saw a low-class devil that was stronger than a lot of high-class devils and thought he was threat. You sealed him away so you could deal with him later! Hell, were you all even going to free him?! Were you going to keep him locked up?"

"Rias…..I don't know what was going to happen to him. I honestly forgot about it all. No matter what you think about me, I did what I did for our clan. That's it. Because of what I did, my marriage is protected because Lord Bael is 'okay' with me now and was able to have you. I have two perfect children and if I had to do it again, I would." he stated, "It's just how th-

"DON'T YOU FUCKING FINISH THAT SENTENCE!" she yelled at her father, her magic pouring from her body, "I fucking HATE that phrases! It's so stupid to me! Naruto-sama always said that to me… but I think I finally get it. When he says it, it's because he was suppressed all his life by high-class devils. But when you say it, you look so damn hypocritical to me because YOU'RE one of the ones supporting that messed up ideology! 'It's just how the world works!' If that's what you tell yourself at night when you go to sleep to help you swallow and forget the sins you've committed against your own people, then I can't look up to you anymore."

"Rias…" Zeoticus reached out to his daughter, but walked away from him, making her way to the door.

"You'll always be my father…" she stated with her back turned to him, "I can't say that I hate you…it's because of you and my mother that helped me get this far…but Naruto-sama has helped me realized why change will never happen unless somebody does something different. I was lucky to be born into my family, but I can never look at you and mother the same….that will never change."

"I guess I deserve that…" muttered Zeoticus, standing up as well, "At least you don't hate me. I couldn't ask for more after this roller coaster of a conversation."

"You can come to class observation day if you want," said Rias, "but don't expect me to be all smiles. I'll be ignoring you all day. I don't care if you call my name out…I won't be responding to you for a while now. I need time to think."

"And I'll give you all the time in the world," said Zeoticus with a small smile. However, that smile quickly turned into a frown, "but Rias, I must ask you this. It seems by the way you're referring to Naruto as 'sama' means that you have a great deal of respect for him."

"How can I not?" she asked, "He's still standing after everything he's been through. My respect for him is more than I have for most people now."

"Understandable, but listen to this- how do you know that he isn't using you?" Zeoticus asked with all seriousness in his voice, "If I remember correctly, Naruto Bael was strong as he was charismatic. He could convince an Angel to become a Devil if he had enough time. How do you know that he isn't using you for his own agenda?"

Rias was quiet for a while, seemingly debating her answer. After a few seconds of thought, she answered, "If he is, I don't care." she said, her words surprising her father, "Even if he was using it wouldn't even matter because I know that he plans on doing something big….I don't know if you've noticed it, but don't you think that what happened with Ravel Phenex seemed odd to you? If you know Naruto-sama, then you know that he didn't accept his promotion to become a high-class devil because he knew what he meant to his people. Take that to consideration and add in the factor that he put big brother in such a intense predicament…making him save her life in front of the world…in the same arena where many has died…doesn't it seem like the perfect stage to cause controversy?"

"You don't think-

"That it was staged? It's a hunch of mines, but if it was real, I understand why he did it." said Rias, "I'm young and I have a lot to learn, but I'm not ignorant. Not any longer. As of now, I can have my own outlook on life. If I don't live up to the heiress of Gremory like everyone else is anticipating me to be, then oh well. Things change; that's just how the world works."

"Rias…"

"Good bye." and the girl disappeared from the room, leaving her guilt-ridden father alone for some time.

 **Time skip – Kuoh Academy**

"Can someone answer me this math problem?" asked the teacher in front of the class.

"OH! Shirone can! Pick Shirone! Go ahead, sister! Show them that your intelligent, nya!"

Koneko's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she heard the voice of her older sister, once again, yelling at her to answer her teacher's question. The small girl looked towards the back of the classroom to see Kuroka, suited in a white blouse tucked into a black shirt while wearing black high-heels, waving at her with a camera that was constantly flashing. Some of the other parents giggled at the overly excited girl were here for her sister. Many thought it was cute. Koneko found it as the same part of her back that always itched but couldn't reach to scratch it.

The teacher chuckled at Kuroka's antics, "Koneko, would you like to answer the question for your sister?"

"YES!" shouted Kuorka, "You can do it, Shirone! Big sister Kuroka believes in you!"

Koneko's eyebrow twitched in annoyance…

 **In another class…**

The class that Orochimaru had currently didn't have any devils in it, just humans. He was teaching this class with a small amount of enjoyment because his students were answering everything correctly, impressing their parents while doing so. Orochimaru always felt good when his students answered his questions with confidence, and while he wasn't a showoff, it did feel good to see the parents approving looks to him as he taught. They knew that he was a good teacher by the feedback they were getting from their children, so he was flaunting his teaching skills in front of them.

His eyebrow rose with curiosity when he noticed that everyone in the room stopped moving for some reason, as if they were frozen in place. A cardboard box entered the room and shuffled inside, causing the snake man to groan, "Not this again…"

"Hey, Orochimaru! Do you have another one of those snake thingys!?" asked an excited Gasper, poking his head out of his box.

Orochimaru's eyebrow twitched in annoyance…

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Yoh was having a nice day.

Kuroka and Orochimaru left earlier for Kuoh Academy, so Hao, Kisame, Anna, Lee, and himself were the only people that was awake in the house. Naruto was steady sleeping in his room while everyone else was grouped up in the living room watching some reality show that Anna had turned it to. Even though he hated it, Kisame held in his displeasure for the show because he knew he had to keep his volume down so that Naruto could sleep.

Everything was going peacefully and it felt like nothing could ruin that.

…..but of course, we all knew that wouldn't last for long…

"Hey." he said to his fiancée who was leaning onto him, "I'm about to go to the bathroom."

Anna nodded and released herself from him allowing him to get off the couch and head to the bathroom upstairs. He sighed as he released his waste, feeling like he was losing a ton of weight, "Thank goodness I could hold it in for so long. I didn't want to disturb Anna…she seemed to be enjoying that show…" he said to himself.

After pisssing, checking his phone, and washing his hands, Yoh entered the hallway with a smile on his face, "That was satisfying!" he said with a stretch. While stretching, the sight of Naruto's room caught his eye, "Eh, might as well." said Yoh, headed towards his master's room.

He silently opened the door and yawned, "Hmmm…its smells like outside in here." he whispered to himself as he opened his eyes. His heart dropped once he noticed the empty bed and the opened window. Yoh double checked the room, checking the bathroom, closet, under the bed, and even pulled the covers back just in case Naruto just rolled himself into a bundle. But sadly…

"Where the fuck is he!"

Naruto was long gone…

 **Kuoh – City District**

Naruto, in his wheelchair, was slowly making his way down the sidewalk with a smile. He was wearing black sweat pants and an orange shirt, and there was a jar of pickles in his lap. It was the same pickle jar that Sairoarg left him a few days earlier…

"I hope Orochimaru hasn't had his lunch break yet." said Naruto with a smile as he continued to wheel himself down the sidewalk, "I really want to eat these with him, hehehe~"

Naruto's destination?

Kuoh Academy.

 **Fuuucccckkkkkkk….I missed this shit.**

 **WASSUUUPPP EVERYBODY! Mayne, I'm out here typing this shit at fucking three o'clock in the morning because I wanted to give you all this chapter TODAY!**

 **Yo…this college shit…its taking up even more time than I thought…..like…a lot of time….**

 **I didn't realize that it would be this damn difficult. Well, my classes aren't difficult, but my time management and homework is what's killing me. Pray for ya boy.**

 **I'm still going to be updating this bitch, just like I promised. You guys just gotta be patient with a young brother from the south. I made sure to give yall a lot of words for yall to read since I've been gone for a while. I got ya back.**

 **oh yea, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	15. TheConfrontationPart 2

**(Attention: Yup, I know its been a while. My excuess is in at the end of the chapter. I'm keeping the regular AN I had at the beginning and the AN at the end will explain everything. Thanks for the support.)**

 **Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug and I FREAKING LOVE ALL OF YOU ALL!**

 **Maaannnn when I tell you y'all ran up them reviews! Bro, I didn't know y'all missed me that much! I mean damn!**

 **Let me put into context what I'm talking about. See, remember when I said that chapter 13 didn't get a lot of reviews? Well, as of now, chapter 13 only has 72 reviews as of the time of me typing this AN. Comparing it to previous chapters, chapter 11 has 122 and chapter 12 has 138 (Thanks again for those wonderful numbers)**

 **BUT WHEN I TELL YOU THAT Y'ALL ATE MY SOB STORY UP! Bru, as of now, chapter 14 has 171 reviews! That's more than double the amount of chapter 13! Man I love you people like yall my children! No step child love either. Straight biological. Chapter 14 is second highest in review count (Chapter 1 is at 199) and that's fucking amazing. Thank you all, cuz. I really do appreciate it. The nice reviews I get from my fans means so much to me. I'm basically addicted to reading yalls reviews because I love the feedback. I hardly get any flames on this story too! Shout out to all the cool as Guest out there cuz! Yall some real ones to, on me!**

 **A whole bunch of coonery went down in the last chapter- BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT YA BOY NARUTOPLUG GON BLOW YA MINDS WITH THIS ONE!**

 **I might actually make this chapter 20k words. A lot of you said I should shorten my chapters just because yall understand I'm in college and shit. Thanks for the care, people. I really fuck with yall-**

 **BUT YOU KNOW I GOTTA TURN UP ON THIS ONE!**

 **Shii ion even know what I'm finna type, but ima type some hot fire FLAMES!**

 **I'm NarutoPlug, bitch!**

 **(End rant)**

 **Let's begin.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheConfrontation[Part 1]**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"Hey…you know what type of show they should make?"

"..sigh…what type of show, Kisame."

"Just imagine it….a whole show…just about sharks! That sounds like a money maker to me! I can probably get some of my shark buddies to help out."

"You have shark buddies!? Yosh, that's amazing!"

"Well, duhh! I am a shark demon. I've gotta a few guys out there…like Brendan! I haven't seen him in a while. Hope he's still alive though."

Kisame, Hao, Lee, and Anna were all sitting in the living room, watching whatever documentary Hao had on. Yoh was still upstairs using the bathroom, but they hardly noticed that he had been gone for a while. Kisame was slouched in his recliner, Anna replaced the comfort of Yoh's body by leaning on one of the couch pillows, and Lee and Hao shared the other couch that was facing the television.

 _THUD!...CRASH!_

"What the hell?" said Kisame, looking up to the ceiling, as did everyone else, wondering what the sound was, "Is he shitting out a brick or something?"

"Maybe he had too much of my protein shakes?" suggested Lee.

Their first sight of Yoh was him tumbling down the stairs. He missed a step and rolled all the down to the bottom, finishing off with a pain-filled grown, "That hurt…" he muttered.

"Hmm…I guess its 'Let's Be Idiots Day' in Yoh's world." said Kisame with a laugh, "What's wrong with you?"

"He's not in there…"

"Huh? Can't hear you." said Kisame.

"He's not in there…"

"Can you speak up, Yoh?" asked Hao, wondering why his brother was acting weird.

"I said he's not in there!" the younger Asakura shouted while jumping off the floor, "Naruto-sama is gone!"

"…."

"….."

"….."

"…..He's fucking lying." said Kisame, turning back to the television.

"He's not in there! The window is open and his wheelchair is gone!" shouted Yoh again.

Hao, Lee, and Anna jumped up and ran up the stairs to check. Kisame laughed while he stole the remote, "He's lying. I don't believe it. We would have sensed him if he left..."

"He really is gone!" Kisame heard Lee's voice from upstairs.

"Tch, he's probably in the bathroom." mumbled the shark demon.

"He's not in the bathroom either!" shouted Hao.

Kisame started to sweat a little, "Maybe he's just in that closet. He likes sleeping in there from time to time."

"YOSH! Not in the closet as well!"

Now Kisame hopped out of his recliner, grabbed Samehada, and ran up the stairs to join his peerage members, "The fuck you mean he's gone!"

"Does it look like he's in here, dumbass?" said Anna with a snarl, "He left without telling us."

"Well where did he go since you've got all the damn answers in the world!" shouted Kisame, "He even took his fucking wheelchair! And where's his pickle jar that was sitting on his dresser!?"

"Damn it. We don't know where he is…" muttered Hao, "We need to go out and find him now. Split up and search around Kuoh. If you see him, contact everyone else before talking to him. We need to bring him back here."

"YOSH! Let's go find Naruto-sama!" shouted Lee as he jumped out of the window in search of his [King].

"Hopefully this works…" mumbled Anna as she disappeared. Everyone followed her lead and disappeared in magic circles to find Naruto.

 **A few miles outside of Kuoh Academy**

A smiling Naruto's eyes perked up when he saw Kuoh Academy in the distance, "Finally. Why does this school so far away?" he said with a grumble as he continued to push himself down the sidewalk, giving the occasional wave to any passersby.

Lee, who was jumping from building to building, stopped when he sensed Naruto. It didn't take him long to find his [King] closing in on Kuoh Academy. Lee quickly made a communication seal to his peerage members, "I've found Naruto-sama. He's east of Kuoh Academy and very close. I'll try to slow him down now with my youth!" he said as he teleported to a nearby alleyway.

Naruto tuned his head when he sensed one of a magical presence nearby, "Who is that…Lee?" he said once he saw Lee walk out of the alley way.

"It is I, Naruto-sama! What are you doing out here by yourself? You're supposed to be sleeping." asked Lee.

"I got bored and I wanted to see Orochimaru. He's been working so hard and I decided to share some of my pickles with him. I haven't had any yet, but I feel like Orochimaru is an expert when it comes to the taste of foods." explained the blonde Bael.

"That is true, Naruto-sama, but you need to rest. Orochimaru will return home soon and you can eat all the pickles you want." offered Lee.

"No. I want to eat them with Orochimaru….and where is my protégé?" Lee tensed at his words because he knew that Kuroka was at Kuoh Academy with her sister, "I didn't see her this morning."

"She said she had to handle some business." said Hao, walking out of the nearby store that the duo was passing by. He teleported in the bathroom inside a nearby store so that he wouldn't raise any suspensions by popping out of nowhere. "She'll be home soon, Naruto-sama, but it's time to go back to the house."

"Why are you two stressing to go back to the house?" asked Naruto, "What' so great about it? I've been stuck inside of there for a couple of days! I want some freedom, damn it!"

"Freedom will come later. You need more rest." said Hao, grabbing the handle bars to Naruto's wheelchair and turned him around, "Let's go."

"Whew!" said Yoh who was running up to the group, "How did you travel that far with a wheelchair, Naruto-sama?"

"The rest I've had has helped me regain some of my strength." answered Naruto, "However, I don't want to go home. I want to go to Kuoh Academy."

"Again, I'll say, you're going home." demanded Hao as he started to push Naruto's wheelchair.

Anna and Kisame caught up with the group, but they noticed that Naruto's wasn't as lively as he usually is. He had a frown on his face as he clutched his pickle jar to his stomach. "Everything alright here?" asked Anna.

"He's fine. We're going back to the house." answered Hao. Naruto didn't say anything at all, basically ignoring everyone else in favor of focusing on the road ahead.

"Alright…" muttered Anna, but she started to feel a little uneasy because she felt Naruto's emotions raging inside of him, "Are you alright Naruto-sama?"

"Hao."

The fire [Bishop] halted his movements as a shiver of fear ran through his body. When Naruto said his name, he instantly had a flashback to the time of their fight. However, Hao held strong and looked down at his master. "Yes?"

"Lean forward for me, would you?" asked Naruto creepily. Hao looked at his peerage members with confusion. They all looked back him with similar looks, not knowing what their [King] wanted. Nevertheless, Hao leaned forward, complying with his master's order.

Naruto didn't even turn around. All he did was reach back to Hao and placed his index and middle finger on Hao's temple.

" _Hao."_ while his voice didn't change in tone, the atmosphere around them grew tense and heavy. Hao's breath hitched as he felt Naruto's magic enter his body and magic seal phasing to life over his head, _"You're going to turn around and take me to Kuoh Academy."_

When Naruto finished speaking, the pressure around them disappeared in an instant; the magic seal over Hao's head was also gone. Naruto's peerage members, however, were still frozen in place, not daring to move.

The Bael sighed and sat back into his wheelchair with a smile, not caring about everyone freezing around him, "Alright, let's go!" he said excitedly.

Hao pulled his arms back robotically and turned Naruto around, headed back towards Kuoh Academy. The motion brought everyone else out of their funk and caught up with the two. "Hey, hey, hey! I thought we were taking him home!" shouted Kisame.

"We're taking him to Kuoh Academy." said Hao, not even turning to Kisame to address him, "That's what Naruto-sama wants."

"Yup, yup, yup!" said Naruto happily, "We're going to see Orochimaru."

A wave of despair filled the group, knowing what may happen if Naruto went to Kuoh Academy, "Master, please, we should just go home! Orochimaru will meet us there and Kuroka will come too! Just trust us on this."

"But what about Issei? I want to see him as well." said Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"We can invite him over too." answered Anna.

"We can have a protein party! I'll make the shakes!" yelled Lee.

"Mmmmmm….Nope." said Naruto with a closed eye smile, "Let's keep it going, Hao!"

"Yes sir." Hao said with the same creepy, robotic voice as he continued to push Naruto to the school.

"Welp!" said Kisame with a clap, "I guess that's that."

"What do you mean 'that's that!'" Anna said in a hushed tone, "He can't go to that school! You know who's there!"

"Listen, we can't run from this." answered Kisame with an unusually serious tone in his voice, "They're bound to meet each other sometime in the future…might as well get this over with now. Plus, there isn't any convincing him to change his mind. This happening now."

"I guess so…" muttered Yoh, looking at Hao's back with worry, "I guess Naruto-sama did some weird magic stuff to mess with Hao's mind, huh?"

"Seems like it…and it was a very advanced spell too." said Anna, following the older Asakura, "It's like he has complete control over Hao."

"That guy gives me the creeps." mumbled Kisame, starring at Naruto who was humming a tune, "If he gets healed, I don't know what could stop him….I wonder how he compares to the other Satans?"

 **Kuoh Academy**

Orochimaru sighed as he sat down. He was currently in the teacher's lounge taking his break from all the chaos happening outside. While he didn't have a problem with parents watching their children do well in school, it was the constant camera flashes and disturbances that were getting to him. But even with all that, there was one MASSIVE distraction that was really annoying him.

A cardboard box shuffled its way towards Orochimaru. The top opened up and Gasper popped his head out of it, "Hey…is it time now?"

"No, it is not time, nor will it ever be time." said Orochimaru with a growl, "There isn't any 'Snakey-Time' or whatever the hell you say it is. Just go back to wherever you came from and leave me alone."

Gasper, with a hurt look in his eyes, slowly entered his box and closed the lid. Orochimaru took a deep breath, glad that he had the little vampire quiet finally. He would enter every class he had and stop time with his weird Sacred Gear and ask for one of his snakes. It got old really quick for the snake master.

However, Orochimaru's silence was interrupted by the sound of crying. He groaned when he figured out that Gasper was quietly crying inside his box. "You're crying now. Why are you crying?"

"…I..I'm not…crying.." said Gasper through his hicks.

For what seemed like the hundredth time today, Orochimaru groaned, "Listen, if you just leave me alone for a few hours and let me conduct my work, I'll let you have one of my snakes for a while, alright?"

Gasper hopped out of his box with a beaming smile on his face, tears long gone, "Really!? You really mean it!?"

"Yes, now leave before I change my mind." said Orochimaru.

With a few energetic nods, Gasper disappeared with a magic seal. Orochimaru actually thanked whatever god saved him from the young vampire, "I swear if I was a Christian, I would be thanking that fake god up and down right now." he muttered.

After spending a few minutes of silence by himself, Orochimaru sensed the energies of Akeno and Rias, along with another magical energy he wasn't familiar with. Finding them more interesting than his current predicament, Orochimaru gathered his briefcase and headed out of the teacher's lounge and to the girl's location.

He found the two walking down the hallway with another red head that seemed very…depressed? Orochimaru noticed that he looked a lot like Rias so he assumed that he was Rias' father. "Akeno, Princess… what do I owe the honor?" asked Orochimaru with usual grin.

"Good to see you too, Orochimaru." said with a smile, "And I'm sure you're enjoying today's' chaos as well?"

"Orochimaru probably wants to leave now." said Akeno with a giggle, "He isn't really a 'people' person."

"Actually, I don't mind being around people, it's just what they do in my presence is what makes me mad, like taking pictures every two seconds." said Orochimaru with a frown, "But, I'm almost done with for the day, so that's good." his focus went to the two girls to the older man behind Rias, "And who is this man behind you?"

"Orochimaru, this is my father and head of the Gremory Clan, Zeoticus Gremory." she introduced her father but with a lot less energy than what she used with Orochimaru.

"Ahhh…" said Orochimaru, adding two and two together, "And I assume that he knows?"

"I..I do…" muttered Zeoticus reluctantly, "Rias said that a man named Orochimaru was one of Naruto's peerage members. I guess that's you."

"It is." said Orochimaru with a small glare at the head of the Gremory Clan, "And I guess that you were the one that supported the idea of my master being sealed inside a box for centuries, right?"

"Please, forgive me of that decision." said Zeoticus with a bow, "I understand that decision affected your [King]'s mental state negatively. I take full responsibility."

"You have some responsibility, but not all." said Orochimaru with a sneer, "There are others that I will get answers from. You're punishment, however, will be my master's decision. Whenever you two meet, he'll decide what to do with you."

"Ara, ara, let's calm things down over here." said the newly arrived Sirzechs, followed by Grayfia, "This is a school filled with humans. We don't want any unnecessary fighting to go down now, do we?"

"I honestly wouldn't mind that." said Orochimaru, his golden orbs still focused on Zeoticus, "Just seeing one of the people who is responsible for my master's sealing is really getting to me…" a snake slid its way out of Orochimaru's sleeve and hissed at Zeoticus.

"Orochimaru-sama…" warned Grayfia. Orochimaru rolled his eyes and recalled his snake, but he kept his eyes on the older Gremory, "I want him out of here as soon as possible. His presence sickens me."

"So do I…" said Rias with a similar roll of her eyes. Zeoticus flinched at his daughter's words, but didn't respond to them, "Anyway, how is everybody? I saw Kuroka and Koneko together eating lunch earlier. That's a good sign for them."

"It is," started Orochimaru, "but the little Nekomata is still hesitant. I'd say it would take some time for their bond to heal. As for the rest, they're currently at home, watching Naruto-sama. If he were to make his way here to school," his eyes turned back to Zeoticus, "he'd probably kill your father."

"And that's why we want peace." interrupted Sirzechs, wanting to cease the growing tense atmosphere, "While what my father did was wrong…this isn't really the place to be doing such things, right?" said the Satan with an awkward smile.

Orochimaru grunted and went back to talk to Rias, "Princess, your little devil-in-a-box has been following me around all day and it's getting quite annoying. One would think that you would have better control of your peerage members."

"Sorry about that, "said Rias with a light face palm, "I'll be sure to address this with him later on."

"I'm sure Gasper just wanted to play, fufufu." laughed Akeno.

"He can play on his own time and not mine." said Orochimaru, shaking his head, "But never mind that. I guess that you all have another class to attend?"

"You must be losing it, Orochimaru. Our next class is with you." said Rias, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm alright, Princess." Orochimaru said with a grunt, "I'm just tired. Hopefully nothing crazy happens for the rest of the day…"

The group entered a comfortable silence as they made their way to Orochimaru's classroom. Grayfia, Zeoticus, and Sirzechs sat at the back of the class with the other parents while Rias and Akeno sat at their usual seats. Sona and Tsubaki were already seated and they both at their friends. They didn't want to bow to Sirzechs because they weren't in the right environment to show their respect for the man, but they did slight nod their heads in his direction.

Orochimaru sat down in his chair and opened his briefcase to retrieve some papers he was going to use during class. However, before he could start class, his phone started ringing. He was curious as to why he would get a phone call during this time of day, but he reached for it and read that it was Yoh that was calling him.

Orochimaru turned away from his class and answered the phone, "What is it?"

"Damn, I don't get a hello or nothing?" said Kisame, "See, that's why I don't like your pale ass. You're so upright and-

"Kisame, why do you have Yoh's phone? I don't have time to listen to your meaningless squabble right now."

Kisame clicked his tongue but didn't retort back to Orochimaru, "Listen…I just want to let you know that we tried."

"What does that even mean?" asked the chemistry teacher.

"Just know!" Kisame stressed, "Just know that we tried…..now how do I cut this thing off?"

"Press the red button right there in the middle." Orochimaru recognized the voice to be Yoh's, "You need to learn how to use a phone."

"I can use a phone just fine, thank you very much!" shouted Kisame.

"I know how to use a ph- click!"

Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat when he heard what he assumed to be Naruto's voice. However, the snake man shook his head with a chuckle, "It's nothing, Orochimaru. You're just hearing things."

He took a few quick breaths before focusing on the task at hand, "Good evening, everyone." said Orochimaru, gaining everyone's attention, "As you know, it is observation day, so I want all of my students to be prepared to answer questions about the latest lesson we've gone over- and no doodling. I'm talking to you, Ranmaru."

"Not in front of my parents, sensei…" muttered a blue haired boy with a face plant. Orochimaru's joke gained a small crowd of laughter from everyone.

When everything settled down, Orochimaru small smirk vanished for a more neutral look, "Alright, open your textbooks to chapter 12, lesson 3. Today will be more of review, so I hope you all studied."

"A quick question, if you don't mind." said one of the parents in the back.

"Not at all. Please, ask away." Orochimaru said respectfully.

"How often do you have test in this class? My boy, Jeremie, hasn't had as much homework in this class compared to his other classes. I was just wondering how you structure your class."

"That is a good question and I can see where Jeremie get's his intelligence, Mr. Belpois. I usually have a test every other week or so. We mainly do our work during class because I understand that teens have their outside lives that distract them from their school work. In class, we've have discussions, group projects, and many more study groups that prepare your children for test. I'm proud to say that this class is my most successful grade wise. By the time test come around, my students already have everything they need to know memorized." he answered.

"Alright, thank for that." said Mr. Belpois with a nod, "That was very informative."

"No problem at all. You parents have done an excellent job in raising these young adults. They've come to class prepared everyday…except for Ranmaru."

Again, everyone laughed again at Orochimaru's joke, even Ranmaru's parents. Said boy was hiding his face in shame from all of the stares.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Now then, shall we continue?"

However, another interruption came in the form of someone knocking on the classroom door. Orochimaru moved from the board and to the door to open it, "Probably some parents that got lost, I assume." he said to the class while opening the door.

When he opened the door, Orochimaru was cursed with the sight of a smiling Naruto, in his wheelchair (while holding his blessed pickles) surrounded by his peerage members. "Hi!" said Naruto with a wave, "I brought pickles!"

The dumbstruck Orochimaru's jaw dropped at the scene. His body was shaking as sceneries of an outraged Naruto destroying the school if he met the 'wrong people'. ' _And one of those people maybe in my room!'_ thought Orochimaru as an image of Zeoticus popped up in his head.

"Everything alright there, Orochimaru?" said Yoh with an uneasy laugh.

"What are you all doing here?" said Orochimaru with forced whisper, not wanting his class to know what was going on.

"We're here to see you and eat pickles." said Naruto, rising up his jar, "I wanted to catch you on your lunch break, but I guess I missed it, huh?"

Orochimaru looked on at his master in shock for a few moments before turning back to his class, "Excuse me. Something's popped up and I have to handle it. Just sit here. I'll be quick." he said with a forced grin as he closed the door behind him.

"What's wrong? Do you not want your class to meet me?" asked Naruto with a pout, "I didn't do anything to them."

"Naruto-sama, you're supposed to be at the house in bed. And these incompetent peerage members of yours were supposed to be watching you!" said Orochimaru with anger to the rest of his colleagues.

"It wasn't our fault! Yoh went up to his room to check up on him and he was gone! Boom! Just like that." Kisame clapped back, "We tried to bring him back, but he brain-fucked Hao and now we're here."

"Oh yea, I forgot about that." said Naruto. He reached back to Hao and touched him on his temple.

Suddenly, Hao gasped for breath as he fell on the ground, "What the hell was that!"

"Hey, bud. Sorry about that." said Naruto to his [Bishop], "You were being mean so I had to get a little serious. But everything's worked out now!"

"Where…where are we? All I can remember was us on the sidewalk…" muttered Hao as slowly regained his breath.

"You're at Kuoh Academy now." said Orochimaru with a sigh, "Clearly; you all couldn't follow basic instructions on keeping him at the house. You all probably left him in his room thinking that he wouldn't wake up at any time." he accused.

"I mean…"

"Tch…so.."

"I was watching tv.."

"YOSH!...it's true.."

"I had to take a shit…"

"What are we talking about?" asked the clearly confused Naruto.

Orochimaru face palmed, "Never mind. I guess you're not going to go back to the house?"

"I've been in that bed for a few days! I want to stress my muscle! I don't see why that's so hard to understand…and where is my protégé? Do you know where she went?" asked Naruto.

"She's currently here at school with her sister. It's class observation day and she wanted to spend some time with her." Orochimaru explained.

"Wait…didn't Hao tell me that my protégé had some business to take care of? Why didn't you just tell me that?" asked Naruto with a confused look.

"I just wanted to get you home." Hao quickly lied, "It's dangerous out here for you while you haven't recovered yet."

"Well that's too bad, cause I'm staying!" their [King] said with a huff, "I want to 'observe classes' to! If she can do it, so can I!"

"You mean you want to observe my class…" Orochimaru could just feel like the rest of his day was going to be filled with stress.

 **Moments Later…**

Orochimaru entered his classroom, gaining everyone's attention, "Sorry about that, but it seems like we have a surprise guest."

"A surprise guest?" Rias muttered under her breath with curiosity. However, her eyes widened with shock and fear when Hao wheeled Naruto into the class, with his peerage members following closely behind.

"Wow, Orochimaru. I didn't know you taught so many students!" said Naruto happily while slightly gripping his pickle jar.

Meanwhile, in the back of the classroom, the trio of devils couldn't hide their surprise at seeing Naruto. "Holy shit." Sirzechs couldn't hold back his curse when he laid eyes on the smiling Naruto, "This is not good."

Zeoticus tensed up when he saw Naruto, "He hasn't changed…I can't believe that he's actually out…" the elder Gremory narrowed his eyes at the blonde Bael, "however, he does act the same…he seems more childlike than how he used to be."

"They've summed that up to his time in the seal," explained Sirzechs with a small glare at his father, "Solitude would do that even to the strongest beings."

"I understand that," said Zeoticus, "but it just seems odd to me. He used to be so laid back and neutral. His actions remind me a lot of how Leviathan-sama acts now."

"Call it a coping mechanism if you will." answered Sirzechs, "Those two have been through a lot. It must be their way to suppress their emotions."

"Sensei, who is this?" asked one of the students.

"This is…my adopted older brother…" Orochimaru said with a stress-filled sigh, "I didn't tell him that there was a class observation day going on, so when he found out, he quickly made his way down here."

"Sensei has an older brother!" similar questions from Orochimaru's students filled the room with curiosity of the new information they had on their usually quiet teacher.

"Yup, yup, yup! My name is Naruto Bael! So nice to meet you all! These are my body guards here because I'm handicapped from an accident, so treat me well or they beat you into a pulp!" he finished with a happy laugh.

"Please don't say anything like that…" Orochimaru groaned, "Just go sit in the back and don't do anything weird please. This is supposed to be a formal setting."

"No problem, Orochimaru. I'll be good." said Naruto with an eye smile that actually creped Orochimaru out, "Yoh, can you wheel me to the back?"

"Yes sir." the younger Asakura said, grabbing the handlebars to Naruto's wheelchair and wheeled him down the aisle to the back. His peerage followed suit, keeping quiet and selling their act of being body guards. Naruto waved at the Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki while he pasted by them. They all have him a wave back, however, Rias and Akeno's heart rate was steadily increasing as Naruto made his way to the back of the room with one of the main people involved with his sealing.

"Sirzechs and Grayfia- it's been a while." said Naruto in a conversational tone once he made it to the back of the room, "You look nice."

"Thank you very much, Naruto. You look quite nice yourself." said Sirzechs with a kind smile as he shook the Satan's hand, "I hope your recovery is going smooth."

"It is, but I wish it could speed up." said Naruto while shaking Grayfia's hand, "However, I think I've found a way, a technique that shall remain hidden for now, to heal me faster."

"Always so secretive." said Sirzechs with a smirk, "You know, if you would have contacted me sooner, I would have done everything in my power to free you."

"I know, but once I realized what that box meant and the things I could do, it only made sense to me to stay inside for a few centuries. Of course, it came with a few consequences like my body being weak, but it's nothing that some good ole sleeping can fix." the Bael answered.

"Well I'm happy for you." said Sirzechs, however the nervousness he had kept growing as he introduced the next topic, "Naruto, I'm not sure if you know him or not, but this is my father…Zeoticus Gremory."

"Ahh! Zeoticus. I've wanted to meet you for a while." said Naruto with an eye smile and an outstretched hand.

"Y-yes, it's nice to meet you as well." Zeoticus said with a little hesitation. He was a part of the reason why Naruto was in a seal, so why was he acting so calmly around him? Nevertheless, the two shook hands without any problems, surprising everyone while doing so.

"Yoh, can you park me next to Zeoticus?" he asked his [Knight].

"Uhh…yes sir." he said again but was a little unsure of what may happen with the two being so close to each other. He parked Naruto right beside Zeoticus like he was ordered to and made sure that he was comfortable, "Is this fine?"

"Yes it is. Thank you for that." he replied, "You guys can stand over there in the corner. There are still some chairs for you guys to sit at."

"Are you sure? We can stay here with you if you want?" asked Hao with consideration.

"I'm fine. You all go over there and get comfortable." said Naruto. They all looked at each other, unsure of if they should listen to him or not, but soon enough they all moved over to the corner, leaving the four devils by themselves.

"Orochimaru's really good at teaching." said Naruto, noticing how all of the students were focused on what he was saying and answering any questions he had for them.

"Indeed. It's almost weird to see this side of your [Pawn]." said Sirzechs, still checking out of the side of his eye both Naruto and Zeoticus, "He's usually very strict and straight-forward, but now he seems more calm and neutral."

"Orochimaru has always been a good speaker, but to demand the attention of teenagers about boring ole' science is really impressive to me. I'm glad I added him to my peerage so long ago." said Naruto with a small smile.

The group of devils retired the conversation in favor of listening to Orochimaru teach. Orochimaru, while he was putting up a good front of being engaged with his students, he was more focused on what was going on in the back- as well as the rest of Naruto's other peerage members. Naruto was eye smiling, not caring about anything around him, and Zeoticus was side eyeing the blonde Bael. He was extremely uncomfortable with Naruto not even recognizing his existence as important because he knew Naruto was fully aware of what he did to him; so why was he acting upon it? He was expecting Naruto to go ballistic the moment he came to the back of the classroom, but instead, he was watching Naruto listen to Orochimaru's lesson like he was a student himself.

Sona and Tsubaki noticed how many times Rias and Akeno would look to the back of the class and they followed their sights to Naruto and Rias' father. While they were getting some uncomfortable vibes from everyone other than Naruto, she couldn't put together what was so bad about the two sitting next to each other.

"What is going on with them?" Sona whispered to her [Queen], but she only got a shrug as an answer. She sighed, "I hate being in the dark about things…"

Orochimaru continued to give his lesson without any disturbance and everything seemed calmed. Halfway into class, Naruto spoke, "I'm hungry."

"We're you going to eat those pickles that you brought with you?" asked Sirzechs with a raised eyebrow.

"I was…but I think I want to save these for a special occasion. Is there some food somewhere in the school?" asked Naruto.

"If I remember correctly, there were snacks for the parents at the entrance of Kuoh Academy." spoke Grayfia, "I'm sure that they'll still have some snacks available for you now."

"Really? I want some." he said back.

Hao walked over to his master, hearing his conversation with them, "Do you want me to take you to the entrance, Naruto-sama?" he asked.

"No…I want Zeoticus to take me."

Instantly, a sense of dread ran through everyone hearts, even Grayfia's, who usually doesn't show her emotions to anyone. Zeoticus himself was slightly panicking on the inside, but he held up the front of confusion on his face, "You want me to take you? Why not one of your peerage members?"

"Because I want you to take me." Naruto said simply, "You wouldn't have a problem with that, right?"

While he didn't say it out loud, everyone understood what he was implying. Zeoticus shivered, feeling like Naruto was analyzing his every move with his cold blue eyes. _'I haven't felt fear like this in a long time.'_ thought the Gremory Clan leader as he slowly stood from his seat. "I'll take you."

"Naruto-sama, are you sure? I'm perfectly capable of taking you myself." Hao said with a little sweat dropping down his face. He knew that Naruto being alone with one of those that supported his sealing wouldn't end well and he had to act now in order to stop it.

"Hao…" Naruto muttered Hao's name with a tone of annoyance, "go back over there with the others."

Hao gritted his teeth, but nodded his head and made his way back to the others. Zeoticus stood behind Naruto's wheelchair and grabbed the handle bars with a little reluctance. "We'll be back soon, so don't worry." he said to his son and his wife with a smile, but they both knew that it was forced. Naruto smiled happily as the two slowly made their way out of the room, not caring for all the pair of eyes that were following them.

' _Shit, shit, shit.'_ thought Orochimaru as he watched the duo leave the room, _'Why is my life so stressful?'_

Outside the room, Zeoticus was wheeling Naruto down the empty hallway in silence. Naruto still had on the same smile as usual, holding his pickle jar close to his stomach. Zeoticus' fear of his current predicament was steadily increasing by the moment. He basically had a major part in Naruto's sealing, but Naruto wasn't reacting like how any other devil would if they were to be face to face with him. Just seeing Naruto smiling without any worry was adding onto Zeoticus' fear and he didn't understand why.

"You're tense." Naruto's voice brought Zeoticus out of his inner musings, "Why are you so tense? I haven't even done anything to you yet."

"So you do plan on killing me." said Zeoticus with a small glare, but his heart rate continued to increase.

"No! Why would I do that?!" laughed out Naruto, "I don't care if you live or die! Actually, I'm going to need you alive right now, because you being dead won't help me out at all right now."

"What do you mean?" asked Zeoticus.

"Well, if you die, then Rias would have to take up the role as head of Gremory and I can't have that. She's too young." explained Naruto.

"So I'm just a place holder to you?" Zeoticus almost laughed at that assumption, "I'm sorry for the things that I've done to you, but you aren't important in the devil society. Nobody knows that you're even alive. What makes you say that I'm just a placeholder to you when you're lower than me in social standings?"

"Well, I can't tell you everything right now, but you should know that it's easy to knock someone off their position when push comes to shove." said Naruto with a smile, "You think you have friends that care about you now, but they'll change on you whenever you both come to a disagreement."

"What are you getting at?" Zeoticus said with a dangerous tone, summoning some of his magic, "Are you threatening me and my political power?"

"No, you threatened yourself when you signed onto the idea of sealing me. You killed yourself." he stated simply, "Everyone looks at you like a friend now, but what happens when they find out about what you did to me? What you co-signed on?"

Zeoticus narrowed his eyes at Naruto, "So that's you plan? Exposing to everyone to make me look bad; you're a smart person, Naruto Bael. You should know that it will take something bigger than that to tear me down."

"I am a smart person and I'm glad you recognize that." said Naruto with a playful smile, "Like I said, you're just a placeholder. Someday, let it be a few years from now, or a few centuries, your little girl will replace you one day."

Zeoticus stopped in his tracks, halting Naruto as well. The Gremory Clan leader stepped in front of Naruto with a hatred-fill glare, "If you lay a finger on my daughter, I swear on the originals Satan's name, I'll make you WISH that the only thing I did to you was put you in a box!"

Naruto started to laugh hysterically, but Zeoticus stood his ground, his fear of Naruto long gone, "You think this is funny!? You're talking about my daughter! I don't care what I did to you; you won't hurt her in any type of way!"

"It is funny!" laughed Naruto, "You're screaming! You're hollering! You're doing all of this shit…and your already too late."

"What?" Zeoticus said with confusion.

"I can just sense the animosity coming from Rias." said Naruto with a few extra giggles, "She knows what you did to me. She's knows and I can tell that you two had a conversation about it just by the vibes I was getting from both of you. I caught her taking a few peeks towards us during class, and whenever you two made eye contact, she'd turn away like you were disgusting to her! heheheh! You're saying you'd make me wish a punishment worst than what you put me through, when you're the one that put the nail to the coffin! hehehe! HAHAHAHAHAH! I swear-you high-class devils are so gullible."

"Stop fucking with me!" Zeoticus threw his usual posture out the window when he slammed both his hands on Naruto's shoulders, "What are you talking about!? I didn't even do anything to my daughter! Never!"

"You left her alone in this world." started Naruto with a creepy grin, "You allowed her to live on her own just to please her desire of being free for the minimum amount of time she had before she would be married away to some guy with the power to shoot fire out of his ass." Zeoticus' eyes widened in shock as he started adding the piece together, "You let her live by herself, in a world full of bad people that could manipulate her, fucking her mind up, turn her out, whatever! The point is that you made her available."

"Rias is a smart girl. She knows what to do and what not to do…" Zeoticus said with gritted teeth.

"True, she is, but when you introduce her to a different perspective….like revealing that her father and mother weren't the nicest of people that she thought they always were." Naruto giggled, "First, she meets a group of powerful devils- an unknown group of devils that popped up out of nowhere- and befriends them. They train her. They train her [Pawn]. She starts to feel comfortable around them. They free her from her marriage contract that her parents made for because they thought they knew what was best for their 'little girl'." he said with a laugh.

"Watch your mouth." growled Zeoticus.

"And guess what happens next?" said Naruto, completely ignoring Zeoticus, "She meets the [King]. She comes to learn more about that person and, in return, learns about her parents in return…how interesting it is how her mindset can change in a few months…and it's not my fault. This is your fault." Naruto poked Zeoticus in his stomach, "If you didn't agree to help seal me up, none of this happens. Well…I'd probably still be sealed up, but I wouldn't be targeting you right now if you didn't have anything to do with my sealing…But you did, so here we are."

Zeoticus stepped away from Naruto and put both his hands on the side of his face in stress, "I had to do it…If I didn't do it, my marriage…Venelana…"

"Ahh! So that was your motive!" said Naruto in surprise, "Honestly, I never understood why you agreed to something that didn't have anything to deal with you, but now I understand. You were sucking up to the big bad Bael so that you could stay married to his sister. Hehehe! So what's the lesson in this, eh? Don't marry a lady that you can't handle?"

"Shut up!" shouted Zeoticus in anger, "You don't understand anything!"

"I don't have to fully understand it, and I never will, but I understand the contents of your situation. Would I have done the same thing: no, because I'm smart. I'd probably find another way around that mess you call your marriage. So, all in all, this is your fault andddddd….yup!" Naruto said with a clap, "Fuck you. That's all I've got to say. Any questions?"

"What do you plan on doing with my daughter?" he asked with a heated glare.

Naruto waved off his glare like it was nothing, "I don't plan on doing anything bad to her; I just opened her eyes. She'll become the leader of the Gremory Clan one day and she'll use all the ideology I've taught her to run it. My influence will be at the head of the Gremory Clan."

"And this is how you'll get your revenge? By knocking me off my spot? I want my daughter to be my successor! I want her to be a better leader than I am! Why do-

"If you wanted her to be the next leader of the Gremory Clan, why give her off to the Phenex Clan?" the grin on Naruto's face was full of mischief as he stared at the shell-shocked Gremory, "Hehehe! This conversation is over. I want my snacks."

Zeoticus gritted his teeth at Naruto, staring at the smiling blonde for a while, before walking behind him and pushing him again, "I pray that your plans are shot down to hell."

"Heheheh!" laughed Naruto, "You just don't understand, Little Red, that you and your daughter are only a small part of my plans. I'll make sure that you'll have a front row seat to the shit show coming soon to an Underworld near you. hehehehee! hhehehhhahahahahHhahHAHAHAHAHAHAA!HAHAHA! Oh man, I'm so funny!"

"You're insane. That's what you are." muttered Zeoticus.

"And that's your fault; not mine." answered Naruto, his laughing ceasing in an instant, "You don't understand how it is to see darkness for centuries- and you never will. I won't put your through something like that because I'm actually a good person. Other than having Rias replace you, I honestly don't have a punishment planned for you, so you get a free pass. All I ask is when I need something from you just help me out and we'll be good."

"I'm not helping you with anything. You turned my daughter against me, you-

"Correction!" interrupted Naruto, "You turned your daughter against yourself."

"However you want to spin it," he said with annoyance evident in his voice "my daughter isn't the same anymore and it's your fault. I've made mistakes with my daughter before, the Phenex situation being one of them, but at least I've recognized them and plan on helping my daughter become the greatest leader of Gremory history."

"And I hope you do. It'll only help me in the end." said Naruto with a laugh. The two were now facing the front doors of the Kuoh Academy, "I hope they have some snacks left. I'm really hungry right now; haven't eaten in a few days."

Zeoticus didn't respond to Naruto. He pushed the doors open for the two and continued pushing Naruto outside. There were a few tables outside surrounded by both parents and students enjoying the food. "Some classes must have come out here to eat." Naruto summed up as they approached a table.

"Hello there!" said one of the students serving at the table, "What can I get you?"

"Ohhh! So many snacks!" said Naruto as his eyes danced over all the available snacks, "Zeoticus, what are you going to get?"

"Water please." he asked the student nicely, ignoring Naruto altogether. Naruto pouted at him childish but turned back to the table, "Can I just get some cookies? I'd like some chocolate chip cookies please."

"No problem!" the girl said happily as she gave Zeoticus a cup of water and Naruto a small plastic plate of cookies.

Zeoticus down the water in one go and held out his cup, "Another please."

"Uh, sure!" said the student, trying to keep up a positive look.

Naruto laughed at Zeoticus, "Are you okay, Zeoticus? You look a little pale?"

"Shut up." said Zeoticus as he downed another cup of water and reached out for another one, "You've really run my anger up. I haven't felt like that in a long time."

"Eh, you stick with me and you'll continue to be angry because you won't be able to keep up with me." said Naruto.

"You're in a wheelchair. I think I can keep up with you." clapped back Zeoticus.

"Was that a handicap joke? Because if it was, I do not approve!" shouted Naruto, "I could kill you now if I wanted too! Be glad that I have some cookies in my hand right now or else you'd be dead."

"Uh…" the girl serving them didn't know how to respond to the devils in front of her. She could only stand awkwardly and hoped they weren't actually talking about killing each other.

"Eh, forget you." muttered Naruto, pushing himself away from Zeoticus, "I've had my fun with you today. Maybe some other than I'll enjoy making you feel stupid." he said with a laugh as he wheeled himself down the front yard of Kuoh.

Naruto was casually munching on his cookies while taking in the scenery of all the parents and students chanting amongst themselves. It seemed like a regular day with people talking without a care in the world. "This is nice…" he muttered to himself, "Peaceful…haven't seen something like this in a long time."

"Nya, come on, Shirone. Let's go get some cake!" said a familiar voice.

Naruto turned his head to see Kuroka holding Koneko's hand while walking to a table with snacks….well, Kuroka was actually pulling Koneko along with her. Koneko looked quiet uncomfortable around her older sister but didn't voice her opinions. "My protégé?" Naruto said.

Kuroka's ears twitched at hearing a VERY familiar voice and her whole body froze, confusing Koneko. Slowly, Kuroka turned her head to the direction where she heard that voice, and sure enough, Naruto was looking at her with tilted head, "Oh shit…..nya."

"Hey, it is my protégé!" Naruto said as he rolled up to the two Nekoshou, "Oh! You're here with the little one as well! Hello there, Koneko! How are you?"

"Fine." Koneko said quietly, ripping her hand out of Kuroka's loosened grasp, "You?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Still in this wheelchair as you can see." said Naruto with a smile. His attention turned from Koneko to Kuroka, "What are you doing out here? Hao said that you went to go handle some business somewhere. Why didn't he tell me you were here with your sister...?" Naruto's face scrunched up as he went to thinking, "Was…was he lying to me?"

"No, no, no, no!" Kuroka waved her hands frantically, "Hao wasn't lying! I didn't tell everyone where I went! I just wanted some privacy, nya! Hao and everyone else wasn't lying! We're all good, nyayayayay!" she laughed awkwardly.

"Oh, that's good then." said Naruto with a smile, "Because you know how much I hate liars!"

"Nyaya, yup….yup…" Kuroka scratched the back of her head awkwardly, feeling guilty at lying to Naruto. However, she swiftly changed the course of conversation, "What are you doing here, Naruto? You're supposed to be in bed!"

"Eh, I woke up this morning and felt like getting out and about. I've been in bed for a few days and I was sick of it. I'm glad I did get out because I met someone who entertained me for a while!" he said.

"Who, nya?" asked Kuroka.

"Zeoticus Gremory, Rias' father and one of the three responsible for my sealing." he answered with a smile.

Kuroka's curious face quickly switched to one filled with hostility as she hissed quietly. Her eyes scanned through the crowd until they landed on a male red-head not too far from them. "That's him, isn't it…" she said with venom.

"It is, but don't worry, my protégé! We've already had our conversation just a few minutes ago. Everything's fine." he said with a wink.

"Are you okay, nya?" she asked, "I know that….Shirone, maybe you should get yourself some cake." Kuroka looked down at her sister with a small smile, "I'll join you soon."

Koneko understood that she wanted sometime alone with Naruto and silently nodded before heading off to one of the tables herself.

Kuroka turned back to her master with a sad frown, "Naruto, I know you hold a lot of anger inside of you…anger that you try to hide from everyone else. I don't want you to hold all of that in until you exploded. You shouldn't be around people like him." Kuroka finished with a snarl while referring to Zeoticus.

"Come on, my protégé! You know me! It's all smiles and candy when it comes to Naruto Bael. No hostility at all!" he said with a large smile, showing off his pearly whites.

"You're lying, Naruto. You've always told me that you hate liars, especially those that lie to themselves." Naruto's smile actually faltered at Kuroka's words, "I'm worried for you, nya. Talk to me."

"I'm fine. Why doesn't everyone understand that?" asked Naruto, his smile slowing vanishing, "There isn't anything wrong with me. I'm not angry at anyone."

"So you don't hate the people that sealed you? How do you really feel about Zeoticus...about her?" Kuroka finished with a whisper, knowing the consequences when referring to Naruto's past lover.

Naruto quieted down as his face scrunched up with a small glare. He turned away from Kuroka, not wanting to see her golden orbs filled with worry, "I…I don't want to talk about this right now." he mumbled.

Kuroka frowned at Naruto's troubled face, but she didn't push him any further, "Alright. We can talk about it whenever you ready, nya. Just know that I'm here for you."

"I know. Thanks for that." he said with a small smile, "I'm really gratefully that you accepted the position of my [Queen] three years ago."

"Honestly I should have accepted it longer ago." she said with a giggle as she began to push Naruto to the table where Koneko was munching on some cookies, "I was stupid back then."

"You still have a few screws loose if you ask me." said Naruto with a laugh.

"Shut up!" shouted Kuroka, slapping him on top of his head, but she couldn't help but join in on his laughter. Koneko watched as the two laugh happily between themselves because she couldn't relate to their 'happiness'. The image she previously had of Kuroka being an evil, murderous, senjutsu-crazed teenager was totally destroyed over the weeks of her observing Kuroka from afar.

"I still haven't eaten my pickles yet." muttered Naruto after he got done laughing with his [Queen], "I still don't even know how they taste."

"We can eat them when we get home, nya." said Kuroka, grabbing a plastic plate with cake on it and handing it to Naruto before getting a plate herself, "Honestly, they're not even that good; too sour for me. Yuck!"

"It's because you have a poor taste in things." Naruto said with a smile, "Pickles are probably the best food in the world! Ohhh, I want one right now!"

"You're such a child, Naruto-sama." said the surprise guest Anna, who walked up behind the two and grabbed a plate for herself, "I don't understand you at all."

"Hey, Anna! How's your day been?" asked Naruto with curiosity, as if he hadn't seen Anna all day.

"Good." said Anna while rolling her eyes, "Orochimaru's class dismissed a few minutes ago and the next one is starting soon. The others will be out here soon."

"That's nice. I think I'll sit in for Orochimaru's last class before deciding on what to do next." he said after some thought.

"Alright. I'll call the others and tell them that we'll meet back up in Orochimaru's classroom." said Anna while pulling out her phone.

"Naruto-sama!" Naruto turned around to see Rias, Akeno, Sona, and Tsubaki walking up to the blonde Bael, "We weren't expecting you to be here today. I thought you were still healing?"

"I was, but I got tired of being tired and hopped out of the bed, hehehe!" he said with his usual laugh, "It's good to see you all, though."

"It's good to see you out of your bed, Naruto-sama." said Akeno.

"Yes, while it is good to see you out of the house, is it safe for you to do so, Naruto-sama?" asked Tsubaki.

"Oh yea! I'm as strong as an ox right now!" said Naruto. He tried to prove his strength by trying to push himself out of his wheelchair, but tired himself out after a few seconds, "Whew! I need to get back in the gym."

"At least his humor hasn't left." said Sona with a smile, "It's good to see you again, Naruto-sama."

"Aww! You girls are making me blush!" said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head with a cheeky grin, "I'm not that important."

The group continued their conversation, but was interrupted when Zeoticus approached them, "Excuse me for interrupting your conversation. I just wanted to pull Rias aside for a split moment."

"Sure thing." said Naruto with a grin. Zeoticus ignored Naruto fully and walked a small distance away from the group with Rias.

"What is it, father?" she asked while crossing her arms over her ample breast.

"Listen, I'm about to leave. Something's…popped up that I need to take care of." he said, "I'm sorry that I couldn't stay for the rest of the day."

"Sure…I understand." Rias said with a nod. Zeoticus, internally, was saddened that he didn't get a major reaction out of her since he was leaving early, but he knew that Rias had a lot on her mind when it came to him.

"I'll be sure to talk to you soon." he said with a small smile, "I love you."

"Love you too." she answered back, but she didn't have much emotion in her words.

"And….and I know you don't want to hear this, but watch your back around him." he said, causing Rias to frown, "He's planning something, Rias. I know that I'm the wrong person to hear this from, but he-

"It's time for you to go. Now." she said sternly, not leaving any room for argument.

However, Zeoticus persisted, "Rias, please listen to me when I tell you that man is bad news. He's using you! He doesn't care about you or any of your peerage members! Just please listen to me!"

"I've already told you that I don't care if he's using me or not; he's helping me realize how shady our society really is. He's taught me a lot during these past few months I've known him and his peerage members. If you have negative feeling for him, just remember that none of this would have ever happen if you didn't sign off on the decision to seal him." she said calmly, "Now leave."

Zeoticus stared at his daughter with sad eyes, "I'm sorry that I've made you feel this way…Just know that I love you and that I'm proud of you- no matter what you do."

"Thank you." she replied plainly.

Zeoticus sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, "Good bye, my daughter." he waved at her before headed back to his car that he parked outside of school grounds.

Rias contemplated her conversation with her father for a while before returning to the group, "My father had to leave early. Sorry about that."

"No worries." said Sona, "So you plan on going back to Orochimaru's class again, Naruto-sama?"

"That's the plan. After that, I'll just find something to do." he replied.

"Would you like me to give you a tour of the school? I'm sure that would be a good way to kill sometime." she asked.

"That sounds great! My Protégé, would you like to come?" Naruto asked Kuroka.

"I'll come, but for now I'll be with Shirone during her last class before I meet up with you all." answered Kuroka while straightening her skirt, "Is that okay, nya?"

"Sure thing! Maybe then we can eat my pickles together." he said with a grin, "Alright, back to Orochimaru's class!"

"I'm sure that Sona and Tsubaki can escort you there." said Rias, "I have some work to do before meeting back with you all later."

"Understood, I'll see you all later." said Sona, leaving with Anna and Naruto. Rias and Akeno headed to the Old School Building and Koneko and Kuroka joined back up with Koneko's class.

Sona dropped Naruto off before headed back to her office with Tsubaki. Anna wheeled Naruto into the classroom and joined back with the rest of Naruto's peerage members who all looked relieved to see him okay.

"If I was a Christian I'd be thanking god right now…ow!" Kisame said before getting a headache from mentioning god, "Fucking bastard…"

"Are you alright, Naruto-sama?" asked Lee.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." said Naruto with a wave, noticing that Orochimaru was teaching another class, "Just went and had a nice conversation with Mr. Zeoticus…then I got cookies! I remember that part specifically."

"Well…" Lee looked back at his fellow peerage members with unease before continuing, "He didn't do anything to you, right?"

"Oh no! Nothing of the sort. He doesn't have the balls to do so." Naruto said with a chuckle, "I handle it guys. I'm fine."

"I swear you are one of the most scariest being in the world because I don't know when your serious and when you're just playing." muttered Kisame.

"At least nothing crazy popped off." said Yoh, sitting back down in his chair, "I want some cookies now that Naruto-sama had some…"

The group sat in silence as they watched Orochimaru teach his last class for the day. When he finished, He couldn't meet up with the others because he had to entertain parents who had questions for him It took a few minutes, but after a while, the only people left in the room was Naruto and his peerage members.

"Today has been stressful." mumbled Orochimaru as he organized some papers into his briefcase, "It's finally over…I assume that you had a good day today, Naruto-sama?"

"Yup, yup, yup! I'm glad that I decided to leave the house today." said Naruto.

"You mean sneak out the house." Anna stated stoically. Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly because he knew what he did was wrong.

"Next time, I'll tell you guys when I want to go somewhere. That's a promise, too. Believe it!"

"Whatever you say, I just want to go home and jump in the bed." grumbled Kisame, "I haven't felt this stressed out since back in the day when I was still fighting in the war."

"Those were the good ole' days, eh Kisame?" said Naruto.

"The days where I could beat your ass? Yeah, they were." Kisame said with a shark-like grin.

"You two were really enemies back during the civil war?" asked Lee, always interested in one of his peerage members' history lessons.

"Yup, yup, yup! Back when I was a rising solider in the Anti-Satan Faction, I was always called whenever Kisame was on the battlegrounds we always cancelled each other out." explained Naruto.

"Best fights of my life. We'd fight for hours, sometime even days, while everyone else fought against each other. It was like we had our own private battle during a whole war." said Kisame, "Ahhhhh, I wish I could go back to that!"

"Then what made you join Naruto-sama, Mr. Kisame?" asked Lee.

"Cause I felt like it. That's it!" said Kisame with a huff, "Orochimaru, hurry ya' ass up! This kid is asking to many questions!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if the dumbass joined Naruto-sama because he was lonely." Anna said with a small smile, a rarity coming from her.

"You know what…I can see that happening." it was Hao's turn to grin at the shark man, "You're just a softy. You talk about murder all the time but even you need someone to depend on."

"I swear to everything I love-WHICH IS A VERY SHORT LIST!- if you keep on talking about this, I'm slicing your legs off while you sleep!" Kisame erupted with a fit of rage.

Naruto was laughing at his arguing peerage members, "Hehehehe! You guys are so funny!" he said with a giggle, "No, Kisame didn't join me because he was lonely. He just wanted a change."

"Stop fucking talking you blonde idiot!" Kisame shouted.

"Hey, my hands are up!" laughed Naruto, holding both of his hands up in surrender.

"I need a vacation from you all. A long vacation." said Orochimaru as walked up to the group, "What do you plan on doing now?"

"Sona should be here any moment now to give me a tour of the school. I guess she's running a little, but she'll be here soon." Naruto said.

"I've always wanted to tour Kuoh Academy!" shouted Lee, "I feel like we're here so much but we've never toured around the actual school."

"That is true." said Yoh while rubbing his chin, "Hopefully we can run into one of those tables with the cookies too…"

"I also saw my protégé here as well with her little sister." said Naruto. Everyone except for Anna tensed up because they thought that Naruto would figure out that they lied to him earlier, "They seemed happy. I'm happy for her."

"And so are we." said Yoh with a sigh of relief, feeling like they just dodged another bullet, "It's been quieter while she's been gone; and since she wasn't at the house this morning hogging one of the couches, I got to sprawl out one of them myself while watching TV with everyone else."

The group's attention was changed when they heard someone knocking on the door. Sona entered the classroom and bowed, "Sorry for being tardy. I heard that there was a commotion going on at the gym and I had to send someone over to handle it."

"No problems, Sona. Are you ready to give the tour?" he asked the younger devil.

"Of course." she stated while walking to the group, "Can I push you while touring? It'll make things easier for me."

"Sure thing." said Naruto. Sona nodded and got behind Naruto. She pushed him outside the room with everyone else following behind the duo, "Have you enjoyed your day so far?"

"I have. Kuoh is such a nice place with a lot of nice people. I'm glad that I finally got out of the bed and came here. I just wish my peerage members would stop being so uptight about it." he said while looking at his peerage members.

"We're just looking out for your ungrateful ass." said Kisame while rolling his eyes.

Naruto smiled, "And I thank you all for your service."

"You have one of the best peerages I've ever seen, Naruto-sama." said Sona as she took a turn down another hallway.

"I know. That's why I handpicked them. I love these guys….and girls." said Naruto, "Best group of people in the world."

"Oh Naruto-sama!" cried out Naruto with a river of tears pouring out of his eyes, "Such words! I am not worthy enough to hear them!"

"I sometimes wonder why you reincarnated this fool, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, but he couldn't help but smile at his master's words.

"Lee's a nice person. I don't see why I wouldn't reincarnate him into my peerage." he said as Sona opened the doors to what seemed like a cafeteria, "Ohhh, this is nice!"

"This is our cafeteria, as you can see. While I feel like the food here cost more than what it's worth, it pretty good. I'm sure you'd enjoy it." said Sona.

Yoh's eyes were looking around the cafeteria until he found a specific table that had a few servers….and they were serving exactly what he was looking for-

"Cookies…" he said robotically as he made his way over to the table, "I'll catch up with you all later."

"I'm going to go with him to make sure he doesn't do anything to stupid." said Anna, "I'm sure that you all can watch Naruto-sama while I'm gone."

"Like you all did when he was at the house. I'm sure I could do a better job." said Orochimaru with a small glare. He was still angry at the fact that they left Naruto alone this morning.

"It's in the past. Get over it." she replied blankly as she followed her fiancés that was under a cookie-induced trance, "I'll meet up with you all later."

"I can take you to the pool area next, Naruto-sama. After that, we can visit some classrooms, the art room, and then finish with the gym. Are you alright with that?" Sona asked respectfully.

"Yup, yup, yup! Let's get to it!"

 **Same Time – Outside of Gym**

"So this is the gym, nya?" Kuroka asked her little sister as they standing outside the gym doors.

"Yes." Koneko answered silently. Throughout the day, Koneko was getting used to having her sister around, but she was still wary of her. While she hasn't shown any of her past homicidal tendencies she had in the past, Koneko was still on guard in case anything went left.

Kuroka frowned as she looked down at her tensed little sister, "You still don't trust me, nya? You should know by now that I'm not going to do anything naughty."

"I don't know that. You've been confusing me all day and I'm not so sure if your just acting like you're in control or you actually are in control of your powers." said Koneko.

"Shirone, I've already explained to you today that I've always been in control." said Kuroka, "I killed my old [King] because he was going force you into his peerage and hurt you. I wasn't going to have that happen anytime soon so I killed him."

"I still don't understand why you didn't take me with you….why did you leave me?" Koneko said with a little emotion showing.

"I couldn't take care of you, nya." Kuroka stated, "I knew that I couldn't have you running around with me all over the world. You needed a place to grow and I couldn't provide that at the moment. I dropped you off at the Gremory estate because I knew that behind their kind smiles that they're just regular, power hungry devils. They wouldn't turn away a Nekoshou for anything."

Koneko didn't say anything in return to her sister's revelation. She was too busy trying to figure out all the confusion in her head. She always had this image of Kuroka being a power-hungry, maniac killer; but now she could only see Kuroka the Nekoshou that left her so long ago.

"I know it might be a little confusing for you," Kuroka said as she bent down to her sister's height, "but I'm not want they told you that I was. I never was. I just had to leave for a while for your best interest. You have a nice little group that you've grown up with and I have Naruto. Everything is turning out for the better. Wouldn't you say the same, nya?"

"What does he mean to you?" Koneko asked her sister with interest, surprising the older Nekoshou, "What has that man done for you?"

"You mean Naruto?" asked Kuroka. She received a small nod of confirmation from Koneko, "Naruto…naruto is a very special person…It's a long story and you should ask Rias to understand more about him. We don't have much time with each other and I don't want to spend it talking about someone else. Just know that he's a good man, no matter if he does seem a little crazy, and if it wasn't for him, I would have been dead a long time ago."

"He seems nice…just a little weird." stated Koneko with a mutter, causing Kuroka to giggle.

"He is a little weird, but that's what makes him unique. It's one of his qualities that made me grow to love him." Kuroka confessed.

"You love him?" Koneko asked curiosity.

"I do, nya." she said with a small smile, "Once you get to know him, you'll understand why I'm attracted to him…but he's mine and I'm not sharing! Not even with you, nya!"

"Ok." said Koneko with a sweat drop.

"Alright, enough of this lovey-dovey stuff! I want to see the gym, nya!" said Kuroka loudly. Koneko shook her head at her sister before pushing the doors open to the gym. The two entered the gym and were met with the sight of a crowd of boys surrounding what looked like a little girl, confusing them both.

"What is going on in here?" Kuroka said out loud. The only response she got was shrug from her sister because even she didn't know what was happening.

"Please turn this way!" shouted a guy with a flashing camera.

"No, over here!"

"You so amazing!"

"Another picture! Another!"

"Don't worry everyone!" shouted the girl with a magical girl costume on, "Miracle Levia-tan is here to save the day!"

"Save my day, Levi-tan! I need your blessings!" shouted a taller boy with hearts in his eyes.

"Here you go!" said the girl, flashing her wand in his direction. A small stream of glitter came from it and hit the boy right in his face.

"I've…I've been blessed…" he muttered before falling out in shock.

"Me next! Please!

Seeing this, all the boys went in an uproar as they wanted to be 'blessed' by their savior, Levia-tan. Kuroka and Koneko sweat dropped at the scene is disbelief. While they couldn't get a clear view of whom the boys were surrounding, it was unbelievable that they were acting like this only for one girl that claimed to have magical powers.

However, there attention turned from the mad group of boys to Sanji, who just entered the gym from the side door and was walking up to the crowd, "Alright! This is it for now, everyone! You have to leave by orders from the Student Council President! The gym is closed for the day!"

Using his impressive crowd control abilities, Sanji was able to clear the guys out of the gym. While they did shot curses at Sanji, the crowd slowly made their way out while taking their final pictures of the costume girl.

"See you all later! Remember! Levia-tan loves you!" said the small, black haired girl with bust that didn't fit her body.

"Honestly, Leviathan-sama, you shouldn't be doing such things. You're just causing trouble for you sister." said Sanji with a light face plant.

"Leviathan-sama?" Kuroka ears perked up when she heard Sanji. "Who is he talking…."

"I need to go see my So-tan anyway!" Serafall shouted with enthusiasm, "Why didn't she tell me it was class observation day!? I want to see my sister!"

Koneko focused shifted from the shouting Serafall to her quiet sister. Her hair was covering her face, so she couldn't read her facial expression; however, she could feel Kuroka's magic start to rise from within her. "Kuroka?"

"I'm going to have to cut our day together short, Shirone." Kuroka said with a tense tone, far different from her usual voice, "I need to handle some business right now."

"Are you sure?" while Koneko was relieved that she could get away from her clingy sister, she had been trying to run away from her all day, but now that she was acting like this, Koneko wasn't so sure anymore if leaving was the right choice.

"Go ahead, Shirone. I'll see you soon." Kuroka gave her shorter sister a small smile, but Koneko she was faking it based off her clenched fist. But, not wanting to push her any further, Koneko nodded and made her way out of the gym.

Once Koneko closed the gym door behind her, Kuroka's face was flooded with an anger she turned to Serafall who was talking to Sanji about something. Her golden orbs locked onto to Serafall as she slowly made her way to the two devils.

Serafall raised an eyebrow when she noticed Kuroka approaching her. Her instincts kicked in as she felt that Kuroka was dangerous with how she was looking at her, but she continued up her magical girl act, "Sanji-chan, who's this?"

Sanji was going to answer, but Kuroka cut him off, "Sanji, leave now."

"What?" he said with confusion and a little anger of his own. He didn't like taking orders from someone he hardly knew, "I need to escort Serafall-sama to her sister right now."

"Sanji…" Kuroka side-eyed the [Pawn] with a growl, "Leave."

A shudder went throughout Sanji as he gazed at Kuroka's eyes. Everything around him was black and the only thing he could see was her golden eyes shooting daggers at him. His breath hitched and he clenched up when what felt like a tongue grazed underneath his right ear, tasting his skin. A dark, deep, growl came from behind him, but the massive amount of fear that he was feeling stopped him from making any movements. The long, hot tongue moved from his ear to the back of his neck, before withdrawing from the boy.

Sanji's eyes burst open as he gasped. He looked around him to see his was back in the gym, but Kuroka wasn't focused on him. Kuroka and Serafall were having a stare off, with Kuroka giving the Leviathan her strongest glare. Serafall was looking at Kuroka with narrowed eyes, not too sure what was happening but knew that Kuroka was a threat. The young [Pawn] gulped as he finally had the power to move. He took his opportunity and made his way out of the gym as quietly as possible, not wanting to attract any attention to himself as the two she-devils continued their stare down.

Kuroka gritted her teeth at the Maou, flashing her small fangs at her, "I've…I've been waiting to meet you for a long time…"

While she was confused, Serafall didn't show it on her face as she spoke, "I don't even know you…but you're letting off a lot of KI at me. Why?" she asked with a serious tone, her playful demeanor long gone in favor for a more mature look.

"Because I want to kill you." Kuroka admitted without hesitation, surprising the Satan, "I want to kill you so many times over. You don't know how many times throughout the years I've dreamt of killing you, waking backing up, then going back to sleep just enjoy the same dream. Over and over and over again!" Kuroka stepped right into Serafall's face, "You…you don't deserve to live."

"Don't tell me what don't deserve!" Serafall snapped, "I don't even know you. I suggest that you leave my presence now before I have to resort to my old ways. You must not know enough about me if you're approaching me like this."

"I know damn well enough about you!" shouted Kuroka while stopping her foot into the ground, her sandal broke through the gym floor and cracked the concrete beneath it, "The legendary Serafall Leviathan, praised as one of the most beautiful and strongest female devils alive…and a secret coward that can't make decisions for herself-

Serafall pushed Kuroka away from her and summoned a magic seal from her feet. Ice danced on the gym floor in quick speed, incasing Kuroka's feet. However, the Nekoshou acted like she didn't even notice it. "You are pushing it!" shouted Serafall, "I'm not a coward and if you continue talking like that I will apprehend you!"

"You never deserved him." Kuroka growled out. That caught Serafall's attention as she looked at Kuroka with confusion.

"Who are you talking about-

"You know who the fuck I'm talking about!" she yelled, "The only person that took the time out of their life to get to know your ungrateful ass! The person who gave their heart to you and you stomped into the ground like it was nothing! The man that you loved but try to forget about everyday!"

"I never loved anybody! What the hell are you talking about?!" Serafall shouted in anger as she stepped up to Kuroka, "I don't know who you are but you're not going to accuses me of something I've never done. I don't even know who the hell you are!"

Kuroka's facial expression was one of disgust as she stared Serafall in the eyes since they were both the same height, "You really tried to forget, huh? Is that how you made it this far without killing yourself in guilt?"

"If you don't tell me what you're talking about, I'm leaving. I don't care what type of pent up anger you have for me, but it's over something that never existed." growled Serafall as she poked Kuroka in her chest.

Kuroka smirked as she muttered, "Naruto Bael."

Serafall's mental barriers came crashing down as he eyes widened.

 **Outside the Gym**

"Hold on…let me think…" muttered Naruto as he rubbed his chin in thought, "This…this is….Ah! The football field!"

"No you fucking idiot, it's the gym." Kisame said as he looked down at his shocked [King], "Are you really that stupid. It says 'Gym' right there in bag ass letters."

"Naruto-sama isn't stupid." Sona said to the shark man with a glare, "He just didn't notice."

"I really thought this was the football field…This place is so big…" Naruto said with disbelief, "I'm glad I graduated…or did I?"

"Let's just continue to pointless tour." said Orochimaru with a roll of his eyes, "We need to get him home soon."

"Of course." said Sona. She was about to continue pushing Naruto, but he raised his hand out to halt her, "Is there something wrong, Naruto-sama?"

"Do you smell that?" he said as he took a few whiffs of the air.

"Uh…" Sona sniff the air and was confused as she didn't smell anything, "No sir, I don't."

"I smell beef cooking up." he said as he glanced around the area, "Somebody is mad nearby."

"I swear my leader is a fucking idiot…" said Kisame with a face plant.

"That's Naruto-sama for you." said Hao with a sweat drop.

"Can we please just hurry this upppp…" said an impatient Orochimaru.

"Alright, bossy." said Naruto with a pout, "Let's go, Sona. So this is the gym we're outside of?"

 **With Kuroka and Serafall**

Serefall's eyes dilated as she stepped back from Kuroka. Her body was shaking as images of a blonde Bael flashed throughout her mind uncontrollably, "H-h-how….how do y-yyyou know that name?" she managed to get out.

"Why wouldn't I know that name that you've tried to forget?" asked Kuroka with a head tilt, "He is m [King] after all and the man that saved me.

Serafall head snapped up at Kuroka, "He's your [King}]!? That means he's alive right!? Please tell me that he's alive!"

"He's alive…" muttered Kuroka with a glare, "but when he sees' you? He'll kill you." the ice around Kuroka's feet melted, revealing that they were surrounded by a blue flame that died down once all the ice evaporated. Kuroka took her first step toward the shaking Satan with confidence as she continued, "He's not the same man anymore. He's different. VERY DIFFERENT. Because of you, he lost his mind inside of fucking box because he was stuck in there for centuries. CENTURIES!" Kuroka shouted, causing Serafall to flinch.

"He was sealed…" she mumbled under her breath. Kuroka growled out and grabbed Serafall by her shirt and pulled her closer.

"No thanks to you!" she yelled, "He's gone crazy! Insane! He tried to hide all the hurt and pain inside his heart, but it's there. A massive ocean of anger and hatred and sadness! Everything you could think of and it's all you're fucking fault!" she threw Serafall to the ground and stood over her, "He told me everything that you and the rest of your kind did to him. If I was strong enough, I would kill you right here on the spot! But with him, there's no doubt in my mind that we can kill you and your useless existence! His nightmares can cease the moment you die!"

"I didn't want it to be like this!" Serafall cried out. She couldn't control the outpour of tears flowing from her once sparkling eyes, "I didn't know! I didn't know!"

"I don't care that you 'didn't know'" growled Kuroka as she grabbed Serafall by the hair. The Nekoshou squatted down and held the Satan up to her eye level, "You were the start of this all. YOU caused all of his suffering! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" she yelled, "If I were you, I would have-

Kuroka stopped herself from saying anything else and looked away from Serafall with a hiss, "Damn it…" she muttered under her breath. She dropped Serafall and stood back up, "When I'm stronger than you, I will kill you. That's a promise, nya."

The two went quiet for a while. Serafall was collecting herself, trying to take hold of the big revelation given to her. Kuroka was trying to calm down and not attack Serafall. She knew that she would lose if she fought her here and now, but the temptation was growing with every second because she knew that Serafall wasn't mentally ready for a big fight. However, the Nekoshou held strong, her thirst for blood being quenched as she watched Serafall cry her eyes out in glee.

After some time, Serafall stood back up. She rubbed her eyes free from any tears, but they were still red, "I'm...I don't…..I don't even know what to say."

"You can say less, nya. Your voice is annoying to me." Kuroka said with salt, checking her nails nonchalantly.

"At least he's alive." Serafall said while taking a exhausting in relief, "He's alive."

The noise of the gym doors opening and laughing caught both of the girls' attention, "It's so big in here! I think I can hear my echo."

"Yes, Naruto-sama, you can." said Sona with a small smile, finding Naruto's child-like personality funny.

Orochimaru eyebrow rose when he noticed that Kuroka was in the middle of the gym. She was standing in front of someone but Kuroka was in the way so he couldn't get a proper look at her. He did notice the small crater in the ground was near to Kuroka's feet. "What's going on in here?"

The Nekoshou frowned at her [King], who was looking at Kuroka with worry, "Are you alright, my protégé? I thought you were with your sister?"

Said [Queen] bit her lip in as she thought about her next decision, "I'm sorry…" she mumbled as she summoned a magic circle and teleported away from the scene.

Naruto scratched his head in confusion "What's wrong with..with…..…."

"Holy fuck." said Kisame, taking in the sight of a certain Satan.

Serafall and Naruto's eyes met for the first time in centuries. Naruto's right hand that was scratching his head slowly descended down to his lap and his mouth was slightly ajar as he took in Serafall's form in disbelief. Both of Serafall's hands covered her mouth as another round of tears started to gather in her eyes as she stared at her long lost past lover. They were both frozen as they stared at each other, not knowing how to react to seeing each other in so long.

"Sister?" said Sona, not even noticing the growing tension in the room. Sona's eyes lit up as an idea formed in her head, "Sister, look who I have with me. It's Naruto-sama, one of your friends from the past. Aren't you glad to see him?"

Sona wheeled Naruto towards Serafall at a small pace. She raised an eyebrow at Hao, Kisame, and Orochimaru as they were signaling her not to move forward, but she kept going anyway. She parked Naruto three feet away from Serafall and moved towards her sister, now in between the elder devils. "Sister, aren't you happy to see Naruto-sama again? He told me that you two were friends during the war against the Old Satan Faction. I was thinking that maybe you two could catch up on old times again, hm?" she asked.

Serafall's focus jumped from her little sister and then back to Naruto in a hurry. Naruto's shocked was long gone, being replaced with a neutral look as his eyes met Serafall's again. She flinched at his cold, hardened stare but couldn't pry her eyes away from him, "It's really is you…" she whispered, but just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Naruto didn't respond, however, finding comfort in his silence. He moved his left elbow to one of his arm rest and propped his palm underneath his chin. The lack of anger, interest, or any emotion other than boredom made Serafall even more uncomfortable with the situation.

Sona's confusion was growing because she didn't understand why Naruto was talking, "Naruto-sama, are you okay? Haven't you wanted to meet my sister for some time now?"

"Sona." Serafall shivered at the deep tone in his voice, "Me and your sister are going to have a quick chat alone. I'll meet back with you later."

"A-are you sure?" asked Sona with a bit of unease. Just a few seconds ago, Naruto was happy and all smiles, but now he seemed serious.

"I'm sure. Leave us." he stated that left no room with argument.

"Uh, y-yes sir." she said with a quick bow and headed back towards the doors. She checked over her shoulders to see that two were still staring at each other awkwardly. "What's going on between those two?" Sona asked Orochimaru once she made it to the group.

Orochimaru sighed, "You'll find out soon. There's no stopping this now. Let's just leave for now and catch up with them later."

"I guess." the Sitri heiress agreed, but with uncertainty as she gave them one last peek before heading out of the gym, leaving Naruto and Serafall alone.

Serafall felt like the invisible weight on her shoulders grew even heavier as a small smirk grew on Naruto's face. He started to tap his feet as if he was waiting for her to start their long awaited conversation.

"Wh-where?" Serafall clenched her fist as she felt stupid about her question, "Yo-your [Queen] told me that you were in a seal all this time. Is that true?"

"Hehehe!" Naruto giggled, scaring Serafall, "Yes, it's true. I've been in a seal all this time."

"I didn't know…" she squeaked out as her tears crawled down her cheeks, "I didn't know that he was going to do that, Naruto. I promise you that I didn't know. I thought that he would just..ju-just keep you away from me or something? You know? I..I didn't know that he w-was going to put you in a seal! I didn't hear from you in so long *hick* and..and!...I thought that you were just far away! Maybe somewhere on countryside somewhere! I wanted to look for you but I didn't know where to start!I convinced *sniff* co-convinced myself that you were okay! I tried to replace you with things or hobbies! Whatever t-that there was to get you off my mind, but it didn't work! It would never work! I-i….please say something! Anything! I want you to tell me that what your [Queen] said wasn't true! Please!" she cried out.

Naruto's smirk didn't leave his face, "What are you wearing?"

"What?" she asked while whipping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I asked what are you wearing."

"This?" she said as she pulled at her jacket, "This is…a persona I made…Magical Girl Levi-tan…" she said with a small, sad laugh, "It helped take my mind off the more than anything else…I actually like it."

"This isn't the Serafall I remember though." said Naruto as he pushed himself out of his wheelchair, surprising the Satan, "The Serafall I remember, while she did have that childish side of hers, wasn't running around lying to herself all day. She was strong and not a coward when it came to how she felt. She knew when to handle business and how to command your units to battle in any situation."

Naruto stopped in front of the smaller Serafall and looked down at her, "I don't know who this crying mess is in front of me."

"I've changed." she mumbled under her breath. She tensed when Naruto's finger cupped her chin and moved her head so that she was back to looking up at him.

"These clothes need to go." he said as he snapped using his free hand.

Suddenly, red light appeared around the edges on all of Serafall's clothes. Naruto's Power of Destruction slowly danced all over her clothing, eating away at the material and turning it into nothingness. Serafall's blue eyes didn't tear away from Naruto's eyes as she felt her clothes slowly dissolve away. Her heart rate quickened when she stared deep into Naruto's eyes and a small blush dusted over her cheeks. _'We're close…'_ she thought as she felt his body heat, _'It's been so long…'_

She didn't even care that all of her clothes were now gone. She stood nude in front of her ex-lover, inside of a trance created by his eyes that mimicked the ocean.

Naruto smirked as he glanced down at Serafall, "This is something similar to the Serafall I once knew…" he said with a deep voice that sent shivers down Serafall's spin.

"What….what are you going to do?" she asked.

Naruto's smirk never left as his hand lowered down to Serafall's chin to her neck. He held it in a loose hold, not even applying any pressure to it, "Seeing you has brought up some…emotions that I've held dormant."

Serafall gulped, "D-ditto."

He chuckled at her wording, "You don't care that I have my hand around your neck?"

"I don't…I trust you."

"You trust me? Even after all that's happened?" he asked. He lifted fingertips off of her skin but his palm remained. His palm started to slowly move down, now right above her chest.

Serafall's blush started grow, "Yes…even after everything that happened. I've missed you so much. Nothing can replace you, Naruto." it felt good for her to say his name like that, without fear that there might be a negative consequence to it.

"Tell me what you did to try and find me." he said as his palm continued downwards. Serafall held back a moan as his palm was in-between her breast.

"I-I tried to…find you o-on the edges of the Bael Terrt-tory." she gasped out. As his palm continued its journey down her skin, one of his outstretched hands shaved over the top of one of her nipples and it sent a jolt of electricity throughout her body, "I moved to a f-few other outside territories….mmm…no luck."

"Did you search here in the human realm?" he asked as his palm was out of her breast and now at the top of her toned stomach.

"a..ah…No…" she managed to get out, "I knew th-that they wouldn't banish you to the hu-human realm. You're too strong to be banished here because then you were susceptible to taking with other factions."

"Smart." he said as his hand was now in the middle of her stomach. Serafall teeth were gritted harshly as she was trying to remain calm but the stimulation of Naruto's hand was heating her up. Her face was fully flushed and her breathing was ragged. "What do you want me to do now, Sera?"

Serafall's heart jumped at hearing the nickname he gave her so long ago. His hand started to slowly down now, but it was towards the bottom of her stomach, "..a..I want you..to come h-home.."

His hand stopped moving, which scared her because she thought that she said something wrong. His smirk was gone, but he didn't seem mad, "Home? What home?"

"Well…you once told me that wherever I was…that was where home was." she bravely moved her left hand up to his cheek and rubbed his whisker marks, "I want you to come back with me."

"I have a peerage now."

"They can come with you. You can bring whoever you want, as long as your with me." she said, "I've done so much wrong to you, Naruto. I want to make it right-starting now. Come with me."

"Go with you?" his hand started slowly moving down again, dangerously close to her privacy, "Are you sure?"

"Y-eyeess." she moaned, not strong enough to hold it back anymore, "Come with me…Naruto…"

"I think….." his hand stopped, disappointing her immensely.

' _Noo…keep going…'_

"I think….that you're very funny."

Serafall opened her eyes, forgetting the bliss she was currently feeling. Naruto's smirk changed from cocky to evil as he his hand jumped up from her naval back to her neck. This time, however, he had a grip on it, "You think that I'll go back? With you all people!? hhehehheh…..You are so funny!"

"Na-na-Naruto?" she said with a little fear in her voice.

"I can't go back with you, Sera." he said while shaking his head, "I'd probably kill you in your sleep."

"Bu-but I thought-

"I thought that you loved me just like I did, but I guess that was the worst assumption of my life." he stated with a growl, "But now? I don't need you….I don't care for you…I can live WITHOUT you. hehehehehehe! You...You thought things would go back to how they were?! Things can NEVER go back to the way it was!"

Serafall's eyes were frantically moving, trying to find any deceit or hidden smirk on Naruto's face. She wanted him to say that he was just playing and that he would go with her. The chances of that dream, however, were dropping by the second, "Please, Naruto! I know that I don't deserve you, but I want to make things right!"

"You want to make things right? Then stay out of my way. I'm doing something right now and I don't need you or emotions to fuck with my plans." he said as he bent down to Serafall's height, "You'll see more of me, but we will be enemies. Nothing more. The emotions that I that came up earlier? They're the emotions that I've held dormant for centuries. My hatred I have for you and the Sitri…I'm trying my best not to…do something to you now…" he said with a laugh before closing in a kissing her on the cheek, shocking her more than anything else that he said, "For old times' sake. Hope you enjoyed." he then pushed Serafall off of him, "No go put some clothes on. I'm cold as hell in this gym and you're naked! You'll catch a cold if you stay like that, heheheheh!"

Naruto turned away from the shock-ridden Serafall and hopped back into his wheelchair and placed his pickle jar back into his lap, "Oh, and one more thing." he said as he turned back to Serafall, "When Sona asked what happened here, you are to tell her everything-past and present."

Naruto summoned a magic seal beneath him and was about teleport himself, but Serafall jumped behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, "Naruto, please don't go! I don't want it to be like this! I don't want you to hate me…even though I deserve it, but I know that you also think about the past too! If you're anything like I am, then I know it haunts you as well…"

Naruto's evil smirk slowly faded into a neutral look as he closed his eyes with a sigh, "Things won't be the same. They will NEVER be the same."

"I know," Serafall's words were muffled because she was speaking into his shoulder, "I have a lot to work on…and it seems like you have a lot of healing to go through. I want to be there. Just let me help you…please.."

"I don't need your damn help!" shouted Naruto as he tried to pull Serafall's arms off of her, but she tightened her grip around him and held him close, "Get off of me! I don't want you near me! Serafall, get off of me now!"

"NO! You need this, just like I do…" she whispered. Her words ceased his struggling as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. Serafall tilted her heads upwards and stared back at his ocean blue eyes, "You feel alone, just like me.."

He gritted his teeth and turned away with a grunt. He snapped his fingers and instantly seven magic circles appeared around them. All of Naruto's peerage members appeared with serious looks on their faces, except for Yoh as he was turned in the wrong direction while stuffing his face with cookies, "Eh? How'd I get here?"

"Get her off of me." Naruto demanded, "Get her off of me now!"

Kisame, not even wondering why Serafall was naked, grabbed Samehade off of his back and pointed towards Serafall, "Don't have to tell me twice!" he shouted and blasted towards the girl.

Serafall, using her quick agility, jumped back from the harm Kisame's sword, but was now face-to-face with Lee. He tried to catch her with a quick jab and kick combination, but she dodged both while she summoned her wings, flying up in the air.

"Naruto, I don't want it to be like this!" Serafall said as she used on of her arms to cover her breast. She crossed her legs together to hide her privacy from the newcomers.

"Stay. Away. From. Him." Kuroka growled out as she held out her outstretched arm up towards Serafall. Blue flames appeared on each of fingertips to enhance her demand.

"Take me home." said Naruto, but his facial expression was unreadable because his hair was overshadowing his eyes.

"Let's go, everyone." said Orochimaru as he summoned a magic circle big enough to teleport.

Serafall looked on in desperation, not wanting her past lover to leave, "Naruto, don't go! We can fix this! I promise you on my title of Leviathan!J-just please don't go."

"If I ever see you around him again, I will not hold back." Kuroka growled out with as much hatred as she could muster. She stepped into the magic circle and they all slowly disappeared from sight, leaving a naked, crying Leviathan all by herself.

 **Timeskip – Three Hours Later**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Naruto was sitting in the living room, facing a blank television. His face was scrunched up in an angry scowl and his fists were clenched tight against the arm rest on his wheelchair. He was deathly quiet, ignoring everything else in favor of continuing his long-last glare at the blank television. His pickle jar was still seated in his lap, but it seemed like he wouldn't be opening that anytime soon.

Kuroka sighed as she looked at the scene, before entering the kitchen where everyone else was at, "He's been like that for three hours…"

"To be honest with you, I expected worse." said Orochimaru, sipping on some freshly made coffee, "I thought that we were going to have to repair the whole entire school if those two were to meet, but he actually handled himself well. Maybe this is a good sign of recovery."

"I think he's just holding it all in." suggest Anna as she ate from a bagel, "He's the type to hide all of his feelings just so his friends won't be worried for him. While that is a selfless act, it can also be very poisonous for a person to hold in all that hatred and anger."

"He's going to snap soon. There's no denying that." grumbled Kisame, "And we don't know when that can happen. He's shown us time and time again, that he just sit in the same fucking position for days without doing anything. I don't see how he does that shit, but I feel like it'll be a long time before we get a response from him. "

"I'm leaving."

Naruto's voice made them all jump in shock as their eyes shot to the kitchen door. Naruto, still in his wheelchair, had quietly wheeled himself to announce something to his peerage members. "Don't follow me. I don't know how long I'll be gone for."

"A-are you sure, Naruto?" asked Kuroka as she slowly approached Naruto, "Maybe you should stay here, nya? You haven't had a chance to eat your pickles with Orochimaru today anyway."

Naruto glanced down at his pickle jar before taking it in-between both of his palms. With a burst of his Power of Destruction, his pickle jar and everything within it was destroyed by his power magic, not leaving any residue of any kind. "No more pickle jar. I'm leaving." he stated simply as he teleported away.

"Well that went great." said Hao after a few seconds of Naruto leaving, "Now's there's a wild, insane, blonde Bael out on the streets…should we go follow him?"

"I don't believe that to be wise, Mr. Hao." said Lee with sad frown, "I think that would do more harm than good going against his orders. I think….I think we should let him be for now."

"It's all her fault…" everyone's attention turned to Kuroka, who's arms were shaking and fist were clenched. A small stream of tears started to pour down her face, but anger was the only emotion evident on her face. "It's all that bitches fault…"

 **Kuoh Park**

Naruto was sitting alone in the darkened park. There were a few lamps that lit up the pavement in the ground, so he had light, but he didn't care about that. There wasn't anyone else out in the park, with the only noise coming from the central fountain that was nearby by and crickets hiding within the grass.

Naruto was leaning his head into his palm as he looked down at a particular rock on the ground. It was larger than the rest of the rocks in the park, almost replicating a small boulder. However, what was different about this rock was that the top part of it was smooth and flat. Engraved into the rock was a name that he hadn't even thought twice about in a long time.

' _Amano Yuuma.'_

The site where Naruto was sitting was the same area where Issei was killed. It was also the same place where Lee had his first big battle against Rias, Kiba, and Koneko. This rock-turned tombstone was the one Lee made for Issei's first girlfriend in honor of her.

"That wasn't even that long ago…" he mumbled to himself as he stared at the name. The anger that he once displayed on his face was gone. He seemed calm now as he took in the sight of the tombstone. "While you don't have any significance in my heart…I don't even know why I'm here with you right now."

Naruto glanced at some of the dead flowers that were littered around her tombstone. _'Issei…'_ was his first thought. The boy must've visited this sport frequently in the past, but hasn't been here in a while since there weren't any fresh flowers on her grave.

The young Bael sighed as he lifted his head up, "When are you going to reveal yourself to me?"

It was quiet for a while, but the sound of someone landing a few feet behind Naruto made him turn his head to see who it was. It was a teenage boy with a distinct silver hair. He was wearing a green v-neck shirt underneath an open, high-collard leather black jacket. He followed that with burgundy colored jeans and black shoes. The boy stood up from his crouched position on the ground and looked towards Naruto with glee, "I've been waiting for this."

"Waiting for what?" Naruto looked away from the silver-haired boy with disinterest.

"I want to fight you." he answered, "I saw you enter Kuoh Academy today, surrounded by all of those powerful devils. You're different. I can feel it. You're strong, unlike that pathetic Red Dragon Emperor."

"…Issei's still learning, but he's stronger than you believe." Naruto replied.

The silver-haired boy shook his head, displeased with Naruto's reply, "No matter. I don't care for him right now. All I care about is fighting you."

"Why?" asked Naruto, slightly glancing back at the boy.

The teenager grew a smirk as his eyes met Naruto's, "Because you have that look. You're different…Very different. I know that the wheelchair has to be some type of façade. This will be a battle that I can enjoy."

"And what if I don't want to fight?"

"Then you'd be lying to yourself. I can almost see the hatred rolling off your back right. You're holding in a lot of anger aren't you? Don't you think you deserve something to let loose on?" the boy said with outstretched arms, "My name is Vali Lucifer and I challenge you!" eight bat-like wings came out of Vali's back. He stretched them out to present their glory to his soon to be opponent.

Naruto stared back at Vali with disinterest at first. However, as he took a look at the moon in the sky, an image of a smiling Serafall angered him. His fist clenched and he gritted his teeth. He sharply stood up from his wheelchair, making Vali smile at his success. "You know what….I need to kill something right now."

"So you want this to be death match?" Vali said with his every-growing smirk, "I couldn't ask for more."

"I just don't care anymore." said Naruto as he stretched out his limbs, "I've been through a lot recently and I need a release. I don't care who you're allied with, the consequences that could come from killing you- I just want to fight and kill something. I'm sorry that you'll be the target of my anger tonight, but this is what you want, right?"

"Damn right. Let's do this." said Vali, summoning up his power.

Naruto took a deep breath as he focused on his magic, "I need this…" he mumbled to himself, "Just let loose this one time….this one time…"

Naruto opened his eyes while he reached into his pocket. His eyes gleamed red for a second before returning back to his natural blue. Out of his pocket, he pulled out his spell tags with a large smirk growing on his face, "You can have first move if you want."

 **I know…**

 **I fucking know..**

 **It's been almost a month people.**

 **Here's a piece of advice to those who are thinking about going to college: DON'T START A FANFICTION BEFORE YOU GO!**

 **Yall, I'm so sorry about the wait. College is REALLY taking up all of my time. It took me so long just to get this out because, literally, a lot of my classes shot essays down my throat at the same time. Like my professors don't care that I have A FUCKING SOCIAL LIFE!**

 **And then these females out here playing with a youngins heart cuzzo. Its bout to be winter time and I need to boo'd up cause ion like cold weather. I swear females are so confusion (except for all the females that are loyal to this story! Thanks for the support)**

 **I wanted to get hella deep in this chapter and leave all the action for later. I gotta make the next fight between Naruto and Vali epic epic, ya diggg. He had to get out the wheelchair for this one! NO FUCKS GIVEN ON THIS ONE! I gotta keep the hype up for the next chapter!**

 **Yall know my cliffhanger gang on point- fuck you talking bout.**

 **If you all have any suggestion on what you want to happen next, any characters to make an appearance, or just want to congratulate me on updating (because it took a lot out of me! I have an essay due in the morning but I'm doing this for yall!) then just hit me up in the reviews or pms. I check this shit everyday because I love reading the feedback I get from yall, no cap.**

 **All this new music then dropped too this year. This Lil Baby x Gunna go harder than the meteorite that whipped out the dinosaurs.**

 **I know my review count gonna drop cuz it took a while for this chapter to come out, but I understand that. I honestly don't know when I'll be able to update next (REMEMBER THAT I'M IN COLLEGE! I think a lot of you think I'm lying about that) but it will happen. I'm not abandoning this story for nun, so you will hear from me soon, NO CAP!**

 **Chat niggas we lit (if you know where that's from, we instantly cool)**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	16. StandAlone

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, eating good and counting my guap.**

 **Loved the reaction you guys had for the last chapter. I swear I have the best fans on FacFantion – FACTS! I love you guys/ galls and I'm putting in all of this work for yall. I love reading all the great reviews, it warms my heart for real, for real.**

 **I'm sorry if I haven't replied to your reviews. It's a lotta of yall coming in with your thoughts on the chapter, but I can't reply to everyone because it takes up hella time. I just want you all to know that if you reviewed then I did see it, read it ten times, cried a few times in happiness, and kept it going because I want to read everyone's thoughts because I love you all and I want to know your opinion on the chapter before continuing on the next one.**

 **But fuck all that smushy smushy shit!**

 **IT'S TIME FOR SO ACTION!**

 **Boy I can't wait to type up this fight scene coming up! I'm getting hype just thinking bout it!**

 **I gotta go hard on this one, NO CAP!**

 **LET'S GET STRAIGHT TO IT! YAAAAA DIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGG!**

 **BreakThrough**

 **StandAlone**

 **Kuoh Park**

Vali was standing strong with a large smirk on his face as he stared at his competition that was Naruto Bael. He was itching with excitement and his blood started to pump even more when his eyes met Naruto's deep blue ice. The Bael had an emotionless look but it still put fear into Vali, which only fueled his excitement even more.

" **Vali,"** said a deep voice from within Vali's mind. A picture of a large, menacing, white dragon with golden horns and blue eyes appeared in Vali's mental. **"Be careful of this person. I'm getting a very ominous vibe from him."**

' _I'm getting that same feeling as well, which means I know that he's strong! He's something that I've never experienced and it's going to be something nobody in the world can copy!'_ said the teenager.

" **Understandable, but I want you to think with your mind instead of your lust for battle during this fight."** said Albion, **"He's…interesting…Don't underestimate him."**

"Agreed…" said Vali silently while summoning up his magic.

However, before he could attack, Naruto interrupted him, "Before we begin, can we change the scenery? I don't want to battle in a place where humans come to all the time. I know a spot outside of the city where we can battle to our hearts content. Are you fine with this?"

Vali speculated over the idea of changing location for a small while, but he nodded his head in agreement after not finding anything wrong with moving the fight elsewhere. "Good. Follow me." said Naruto as he disappeared into a magic seal he created. Sensing out where he was going, Vali slowly followed the blonde Bael to their battleground.

 **Outskirts of Kuoh**

Vali appeared from his magic seal and was welcomed to the sight of Naruto using his spell tags to create a barrier around them. His eyes glowed red for a few seconds and his tags flew to life, flying in random direction out around them. A large blue dome surrounded them after wards, encasing and protecting the outside world from their fight.

"That should do it." Naruto muttered with a sigh. His instincts quickly alarmed him to move and he listened, summoning his wings and flying away from where he once was. Vali slammed down where Naruto once was with blue wings of energy sprouting out of his back. The earth below him had a deep fissure, a display of force that Vali put into his landing.

"I'm sick of waiting! Let's battle now!" shouted the young Lucifer. Naruto narrowed his eyes, looking down at Vali, before calling upon his magic. A red hue surrounded the Bael as he recalled his wings, his body dropping to the ground. The moment Naruto hit the ground, he rocket towards Vali. The teenager smirked and propelled himself towards Naruto with equal speed, ready to start off the fight.

 **Naruto Bael, Full-Blood High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Vali Lucifer, Half-human/half-devil**

Vali shot his right arm through the air and towards Naruto once they were close enough to where it would connect. However, Naruto summoned his wings again and quickly spun under and past Vali. Vali looked back to Naruto once he landed on the ground, but the sound of something fizzling in front of his caught his attention. He turned around to see one of Naruto's spell tags was smoking before it exploded right in his face.

Naruto calmly watched the explosion behind him, waiting for some type of reaction from Vali. His patience was awarded when he saw Vali fly out of the smokescreen with a magic seal he used as a barrier from the explosion, protecting him from the majority of the blast. Naruto crafted a ball of his Power of Destruction in his hand and threw it at Vali. The boy recalled his barrier and held his hand out to the approaching orb, "Divide!"

Naruto's eyes widened with surprise and curiosity as he saw his ball, which was already small, half in size and power. Vali slapped the rest of the orb away, protecting him from being destroyed past an atomic level as the orb exploded somewhere behind him.

"Divine Dividing..." Naruto muttered to himself as he looked up at Vali's wings.

Vali stretched out his wings, showing them off to Naruto, "That's right. I'm sure you know how it works, so I'm not going to explain it to you. Just be wary around me!" he yelled as he flew down at Naruto.

Quickly reacting, Naruto flew away from Vali while reaching into his pockets for something. Vali raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he watched Naruto pull out more spell tags. There were five in all and Naruto wrapped them around his left arm while he was still being chased by him. They locked themselves around Naruto's arm with the help of some magic and a blue hue of magic coated Naruto's body.

' _What is he doing?'_ thought Vali suspiciously, but he didn't give Naruto anymore time as he boosted his speed to the max, blitzing in front of Naruto and kicking him viciously down on his back while shouting, "Divide!"

Naruto gritted his teeth at the pain of Vali's strength but focused more on his spell tags than the pain coursing through him. One of his spell tags on his arm started to crinkle as it lost magic before falling off of his arm.

Naruto landed on his feet and jumped back as Vali slammed to where he once was again. While he was glad his attack landed, Vali was confused on why he didn't receive as much magic as he thought he would. He looked at the falling spell tag that was once attached to Naruto's arm and then back at Naruto. The blue aura that surrounded him seemed weaker than what it once was.

"A barrier…" Vali connected the dots and gritted his teeth in annoyance, "Your protecting yourself from my dividing."

"Well of course." said Naruto as if he was talking about the weather, "While I can walk by myself, when it comes to fast pace fighting, I'm going to need some magic to help me move around. I'm going to need all the magic I can spare in order to defeat you."

" **So he was injured in the past. That's why he was in that wheelchair when we met him."** explained Albion in Vali's mind.

"So you're weak. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in that revelation. I thought that you would be stronger and that the wheelchair thing was really an act." said Vali.

"Please," Naruto waved off Vali's jab, "I can tell that if I play my cards right, I can leave this fight with minimum damage done to my body."

"We'll see then! I'll put that to the test with my Balance Breaker!" yelled Vali as a blue light encased his body. White armor with blue jewels grew from the light, giving Vali a fearsome look that would scare high-class devils. Magic was oozing from Vali's armor as it brightened the area up with a glow similar to the sun.

"Let's go, Naruto Bael!" he shouted as he jetted towards Naruto with speeds even greater than before. Naruto tensed up and quickly titled his head to the side, dodging a punch that would have surely cracked his head open. Vali's next move was to knee Naruto in the stomach, but Naruto turned sideways and palmed Vali's chest area with a PoD-powered hand. Vali was pushed back slightly but it didn't harm him as much as Naruto wanted it to. The young teen quickly countered with a tackle at Naruto, but he jumped over the White Dragon Emperor and shot a beam of Power of Destruction down at him.

"Too weak!" yelled Vali as he used one hand to block the attack while flying up to Naruto's position in the air. He flew next to Naruto with a kick to the stomach prepared for him, but Naruto reaction time was too great, allowing him to spin out of the way and counter with a kick to the side of Vali's head that rang bells in his mind.

"Damn it." growled Vali as he held his head because he was disoriented for a while, "For a guy in a wheelchair, you sure can kick."

Naruto didn't respond with words, rather, he coated his fingers with his Power of Destruction and pointed his right hand at Vali. A barrage of red needles headed straight towards Vali, causing him to ignore his pain in favor of dodging the needle storm coming from Naruto.

"Half Dimension!" shouted Vali as he was still dodging the needles. They all instantly halved in power and Vali took advantage of that, taking a sharp turn towards Naruto and his needle storm. The needles bounced off of Vali's armor harmlessly, allowing him to approach Naruto safely for combat. "Take this!" he yelled as he engaged Naruto in a rigorous combination of punches and kicks. Naruto, being agile, was able to dodge them all and counter whenever he could; summoning a pair of red arms from his back to block some of the punches.

"Divide! Divide! Divide!" every time one of Naruto's arms touched him, he would divide and absorb their power instantly. He noticed that the power that he was absorbing wasn't much, but he was satisfied with the fact that he was weakening Naruto nevertheless.

A quick burst of speed caught Vali off guard when Naruto used his red arms to push Vali off of him and used his real arms to conjure up a large orb of his Power of Destruction to shoot at Vali. Vali grinned and held out both of his hands to block the orb. "Divide!" he shouted and Naruto's attack shrunk in size as Vali absorbed the ball, but he suddenly coughed up blood and his stance weakened as his body felt like he was burning.

Using all the strength he had, Vali ignored the burning pain coursing throughout him and swiped through it with ease. He couldn't celebrate his small victory because Naruto flew right into Vali with a kick to Vali's mid-section. A combination of spit and blood shot out of Vali's mouth as he rocketed down into the ground in a massive crater.

"Gaahh…" Vali groaned as he held his stomach. His armor had a massive crack in it, all because of Naruto's kick. He was sure that his back was also messed up from the drop down to the ground. He flinched when he recalled his armor because his body was still burning. "What's going on with my body?"

"I've fought people similar to your style of absorbing magical attacks." Vali looked up to Naruto who was still in the air. He had his arms folded over his stomach and was looking down at him as if Vali was insignificant to him, angering him even more. "I was blessed being born in the Bael Clan, which gave me my Power of Destruction. You'll have to watch how you absorb it because it can literally kill you from the inside out if you take it lightly."

" **He's right."** said Albion as Divine Dividing's wings sprouted from Vali's back. A lot of blue and, surprisingly to Vali, red glitter flowed from out of Vali's wings, clearing out his system of Naruto's Power of Destruction. **"Absorbing pure Power of Destruction is a very risky task. Your body was literally being destroyed from the inside out because you absorbed too much of that deadly ability at one time."**

"That's never happened before." said Vali with a groan as he pushed a boulder off of him, "But, I think I can adjust to it."

" **The only way you can continue to absorb his power safely is if you were to clean it out of your system the instant you absorb it. However, if his Power of Destructions remains in your body for a certain period of time, it's over."** explained Albion.

Vali grinned with glee as he summoned his Balance Breaker once more, "This fight is even more interesting than I thought it would be!" he yelled as he focused back at Naruto, "I'm ready whenever you are."

Naruto smirked a little at Vali while dropping his arms to his sides, "You really are strong. Most people would be on their ass from absorbing that much of my Power of Destruction. I guess being able to release that energy is the reason why you're still able to move, but it doesn't matter. You're my stress ball right now and I don't care how much force I exert." Naruto dropped to the ground not too far from Vali, "Come."

Summoning a massive amount of energy that he didn't even know he had, Vali disappeared from sight. He appeared behind Naruto with his arm cocked back, intending to deliver a devastating blow to his back. Naruto quickly twisted his body and summoned a magic seal as a barrier, blocking the blow. He used his shield to push Vali away from him and then shot five red missiles from each of his fingers on his right hand.

Vali slapped them all way before heading right towards Naruto. He blocked another ball of destruction Naruto made and countered with a right elbow to the face. Naruto ducked under the hit and covered his hands with his Power of Destruction, giving the illusion as if he had red claws. Jerking upwards, Naruto scrapped into Vali's new armor, slashing through the metal and tearing into his skin.

"Gotcha!" Naruto wasn't prepared for Vali to recover so quickly by grabbing both of his hands and stomping on his right root, "Divide! Divide! Div-

A multi-colored beam of magic shot Vali right his injured chest. Naruto had quickly made a magic seal from his opened mouth and used the force of the shot to release himself from Vali's grasp. He jumped away to create some space between the two. He noticed that two of his spell tags that were attached to his arms were crinkled and fluttered off his arm. "Damn it, he got me."

"Fucking bastard!" Naruto looked up to see that shot a blast that was mostly blue, but had a hue of red energy surrounding it as well. Thinking quickly, Naruto summoned multiple magic barriers to protect him from the heavy blast that broke through the first barrier like it was nothing, but was halted by his second barrier.

' _His attacks are getting stronger…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he poured more magic to his shields, making them stronger, _'and he's using my Power of Destruction against me, fueling his attacks with it to make them stronger and to avoid getting killed by holding it for too long…He's good.'_

"Half Dimension!" suddenly, all of Naruto's super-powered barriers halved in size, and then again. Vali appeared from his magical blast, flying right through it and all of Naruto's weakened barriers. "Eat this!"

Naruto's body hunched over with a sickening crunch as Vali's fist dug into his stomach. "Divide." was the last thing the Bael heard as his body flew away from all of the force of the blow. His body sprung around wildly in the air with no self-control. His body flew so far, that it hit the barrier protecting the outside world from their fight.

Blood shot out of Naruto's mouth as his body rebounded off of his barrier and to the ground below. His instincts cried for him to move, but he was paralyzed from all the pain coursing within him. Vali flew down next to Naruto's body and kicked him under his chin. Vali caught Naruto by his neck before he could fly off and held him against the barrier harshly, "Finally got you."

Naruto couldn't reply as he felt like his windpipe was getting crushed by Vali's hand, "Seems like you only have two more of those little tags that protect you from my dividing. Say goodbye to those- Divide! Divide!"

Both of Naruto's remaining spell tags crinkled up from Vali's division and fell from Naruto's arm. The blue hue that was once protecting Naruto was now gone, exposing him to anymore of Vali's division. "I guess this is how you go out, huh? You were talking all big before the fight. Now look at you. I thought that this fight would last longer than this."

Naruto gritted his teeth and tried to pry Vali's hand off of his neck, but he was too weak to do so. _'Damn it! My stamina! I...I can't last anymore of this!...plan B..'_

"You were tough to figure out, but once I did, you were nothing compared to my Sacred Gear." Vali said with arrogance, "Maybe one day when you heal of your injuries, you can face someone like me."

"You tal…talk..to mu…much…" Naruto gasped out.

Vali growled at Naruto before deciding to put the final nail in the coffin, "You won't win if I half all of your magic! Say goodbye! Divide!"

However, before Vali could divide all of Naruto's power, a massive amount of PoD flooded from Naruto's body, encasing him in a red cocoon. Vali instantly tried to pry his hand off of Naruto, but it was too late as he already divided and absorbed Naruto's PoD…

"AAHHHH!" Vali shouted as he released Naruto and jumped away from him. Vali's Balance Breaker armor was slowly turning red and a massive dust cloud of red glitter was shooting out of his wings, trying to clear out all of the Power of Destruction Naruto sent into Vali. "AAAHRRRRHHHH! DAAMMNN IT! YOU FUCKING-ARRGHH!..fucking BASTARD!"

Naruto dropped to the ground with a cough as he rubbed his throat. He recalled his PoD as he tried to gather his breath. "That…got em'…heheheh…" Naruto said with a weak laugh as he watched as Vali suffer from overloading.

" **Vali! VALI! Can you hear me!"** Albion shouted from within the screaming boy's mind, **"You need to shoot everything out of your system now! You can't handle all of his power within you! Your wings aren't doing enough so you need to do it yourself!"**

"I'm going to kill you!" shouted Vali as he took off his helmet, revealing that half his face was red and both of his eyes were bloodshot, "I'm going to kill you, Naruto Bael!" Vali was surrounded dozens of magic seals, all pointed in every direction. They all glowed with life as a mixture of red and blue orbs were charging growing bigger and bigger by the second.

' _Shit!'_ thought Naruto as he knew that he had to move or be obliterated by a mixture of Vali's and his own power. Concentrating heavily, Naruto closed his eyes and focused on his heart rate, "I'll probably be in bed for the next two weeks after this, but I don't have a choice…"

Naruto concentrated on his heart rate, feeling all of his blood flow within him. He took in a deep breath before speeding up his heart beat, the same technique that he learned while in his seal and the one he showed his peerage members when he was freed. His veins started to throb under his skin as blood was overflowing his body; his muscles flexing with more strength. Naruto opened his bloodshot eyes and stood back up from the ground, _'I can't stretch this fight out any more. If things keep on moving as they are, I'll faint of exhaustion. A few more minutes to end this…'_

"AAAHHHH!" Vali yelled his loudest battle cry as he released everything he had. All of the magic seals released massive amounts of magic, all shooting in different directions, tearing through the ground and nearby forest like it was wet paper.

A wave of Vali's deadly magic was headed at Naruto, but he looked at the deadly flood like it was nothing as he coated himself in his PoD, shaping it into a new form, "GoD…" he muttered quiet before being caught by Vali's blast.

The massive explosion lasted for about thirty seconds, blinding a tired Vali for a while. After it was done, he fell to his knees and recalled his Balance Breaker, too tired to sustain the form for the moment. "Dam..damn it…" he said while placing his hand on his head. His head was burning as if he had a fever, but it wasn't anything close to how he felt not too long ago. "Was…was that all of it..Albion?"

" **You're safe now. Most of that poisonous magic is out of your body."** confirmed Vali's partner, **"Focus on where he is now. I don't know if that killed him, but it had to injure him in some form since he looked like he was going to pass out before he surprised you with his last move."**

Vali replied to his partner with a grunt and stood up to find where Naruto was. The area around him was destroyed, but he couldn't see everything since there was a massive smokescreen blocking his vision from everything. "Stop hiding and come out!" shouted Vali into the distance. He flinched and placed a hand on his injured stomach as it throbbed in pain. It wasn't bleeding as much as it once was, but he was surely going to have to heal the wound soon or else he would die of blood loss.

"Duba, duba…" was what Vali heard coming from his right side. He turned and narrowed his eyes when he saw a red glow through the smokescreen.

"What on earth is that…" he mumbled to himself as prepared for the worst.

"Duba, duba!" a loud thunderclap was heard throughout the battlefield and all of the dust was blown away from strong winds coming from the now revealed red robot-like armor. Both of its hands were clasped together, so Vali assumed that the force from the robotic-like thing's clap scattered the smokescreen away. The robotic-like red armor was around 6 feet in height. It didn't have any major features to it other than stubby shoulders that were linked to massive, gauntlet-like arms. Its legs were short and then, but it had large feet that looked heavy. On its stomach, the word 'GoDs' was written in blood red, even darker than the red that covered the armor. For its head, there was a transparent, red dome that encased Naruto Bael, who was staring back at the Lucifer with blue-eyes that were glowing red around them. "Duba, Duba!" shouted the again with a red veil of power erupting from its body.

" **Vali,"** spoke Albion from Vali's mind, **"That armor is pure Power of Destruction. Don't try to absorb any of its power. You can't handle another power overload from something like that because it will literally kill you from all of that Power of Destruction clumped into one. I don't know how that man is doing it, but he's created the perfect defense for someone like you; no more dividing from here on out."**

"You really are something special, huh." said Vali with a weak grin as he stared down Naruto inside of his golem, "Pushing me to these limits…even canceling out my go-to move of division. I'm glad that I got to fight you today….and just to think that this isn't even your full power! I can't wait to see you at your full strength!"

"You talk too much." said Naruto from within his Golem of Destruction. His PoD was literally pouring from his golem, melting the ground he was standing on like it was nothing. "I told you that I've fought people of your style. I have experiences that you'll never come to understand because you're dying here tonight. I don't like the fact on how much you've damaged my body. I'll be in bed for weeks from this battle."

Vali chuckled at Naruto's statement, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. You're just to interesting to leave alone. This is a battle I'll never forget." he summoned his Balance Breaker again, covering up all of his previous injuries underneath its armor, "I will be leaving this fight. You're the one that's going to die here. This is a death match, remember? You think you're going to win with the state you're in? I can tell that your running out of gas, probably your past injures catching up to you. These next few minutes are all you have let."

"I've always hated hypocrisy." laughed Naruto, "You're not too far from fainting yourself. I'll be sure to finish you off soon…" Naruto gained a deadly look in his eyes as his golem crouched down, as if he was about sprint in Vali's direction. Naruto's **KI** filled the area and it made Vali shiver. The stench of death was evident in the air and it was all coming from Naruto as he prepared for the final moments of their fight. "I'll show you how strong I am…that my experience far exceeds yours…"

"Duba…"

Vali's eyes widened in shock when he heard Naruto's golem behind him. He couldn't even react when it dropped a double-handed sledgehammer down onto his head, before kicking him away with the force to destroy a skyscraper.

"GAahh!" Vali yelled from within his armor as his body roughly broke through the ground. He didn't have any time to rest when Naruto's GoD appeared right over him with its arm cocked back and ready to deliver more pain. Vali countered by summoning a lot of magic barriers in between the two, but they proved to be nothing against Naruto's golem as he smashed through each barrier without a problem.

"Shit!" Vali shouted as he blasted through the rocks that was encasing him and quickly flew from the scene. Naruto's GoD was right behind him, however, flying through the air and shooting a multitude of red missiles at him. Vali twisted and turned throughout the air, dodging them all with ease, but he knew he couldn't keep it up forever because his stamina was steadily falling at a fast pace.

" **Vali, don't win this fight with power; win it with endurance!"** shouted Albion as he watched his partner take a power missile to the chest. The explosion cracked his armor immensely but he didn't have any time to recover it. **"He's sick! He can't keep up with you if you keep running away from him. Remember that he wants to kill you and he will do so if you give him the opportunity!"**

"I'm not running away from anybody!" shouted Vali as he took a sharp u-turn and headed straight for Naruto.

"Stupidity." mumbled Naruto as he dodged a kick aimed for his mid-section. He grabbed Vali's arm and slammed him down into the ground, creating a large crater, before conjuring up a massive ball of destruction and throwing it down at him. Naruto even followed up with flying down into the ball, intending on crushing Vali with the weight of his fall.

"No! This isn't how I die!" the young Lucifer screamed as he shot a large, blue beam of magic at Naruto and his approaching attack. It held it off for a few seconds, but Naruto rocketed through his own attack and through Vali's, crashing right into Vali with a Power of Destruction enhanced tackle.

A massive explosion of red followed, destroying the ground and leaving a massive crater of nothingness. Vali and Naruto were both at the bottom of the pit, but Vali's Balance Breaker was heavily damaged, broken everywhere, while Naruto was safely protected inside of his GoD that looked good as new. Vali's helmet was destroyed, revealing his face that was painted with injuries, dirt, and blood. He coughed up a mixture of spit and blood as he tried to push Naruto off of him, but the golem was too heavy for him to move on his own. "Damn it…" the Lucifer muttered as his arms were burning from overuse.

"You will die now." Vali's attention was turned back to Naruto. He could see Naruto's head through the transparent shield that was protecting him. "This was all fun and games, but I need to leave now. This match has lasted longer than expected for me."

Naruto, using his golem's arms, slowly pushed himself off of the smothered teenage, but his eyes widened in shock when he coughed up blood and his GoD was fluctuating. After a few seconds of struggling, Naruto's Golem of Destruction dissipated and he landed right beside Vali in a coughing fit of spit and blood.

"D…damn…No.." Naruto said in-between coughs. _'I've used up to much of my stamina. My body can't handle the strain anymore.'_

Naruto turned his attention to Vali chuckling. His chuckling was growing in volume until it was a full, almost crazed, laugh. He calmed down after sometime and watched as Naruto's coughing spell slowly decreased in intensity. "You're an idiot." he mumbled to the blonde Bael.

Naruto glared at Vali, but he ignored it, choosing to stare up at the night sky, "Few have pushed me…pushed me this far. I've enjoyed myself tonight."

"By the way you're speaking, you believe that this is over?" asked Naruto, wiping his bloody mouth with his tattered sleeve.

"If you have any more tricks, then please show them now." said Vali with a chuckle, "I'm actually expecting you to have some type of backup plan. You seem like that type of person anyway."

"You'd be right." answered Naruto as his eyes glowed red. Vali's eyebrow rose with curiosity as he watched the barrier surrounding the duo slowly fizzle away. Naruto's spell tags that constructed the barrier came flying back to the blonde and attaching themselves to his right arm. The same blue hue from earlier appeared around Naruto before disappearing inside his body. He groaned as he pushed himself up from the ground, even though he had some trouble with all the pain flooding his system.

Vali chuckled, not even worried that Naruto could move now, "So you absorbed the magic from the barrier to help you move? That's not something you see every day."

"This battle is over." said Naruto as his wings fluttered from his back. He slowly flew up in the sky, making sure the distance between himself and Vali's body was safe. Naruto stretched his right arm at Vali and conjured up a ball of destruction, "This should finish you."

"Heh…you're right about." groaned Vail as he slowly forced himself back on his feet. He was clutching his chest, the same place where Naruto made a clawing post out of it. "Well go ahead. Finish the job. I can't move…but I do have some magic left in me. If you mess up, I will counterattack." Vali's calm face switched into a deadly glare at Naruto, "and I will use that opportunity to kill you."

Naruto matched Vali's glare with his own, "I don't miss." he whispered as he sent his ball of destruction down at the waiting Vali.

Vali was looking death in the eyes, but he wasn't worried at all. He summoned all of his remaining strength to jump out of the way, but halted when he saw something flashing out of the corner of his eye.

A golden spear of light flew through the air at amazing speeds, intercepting Naruto's ball of destruction. It cleanly ran through it as if it was nothing and shot past Naruto's head, only missing it by a few inches. "Alright, that's enough of that." said a manly voice from above the battling duo, "Why you two have entertained me for the night, there shouldn't be any meaningless death here."

Naruto growled at the fallen angel that interrupted them. The man, who was very tall, had black hair with golden bangs and a black goatee. He was wearing a plain V-neck maroon long coat with two black belts around his waist, but the feature that stood out the most was the twelve, jet-black, wings that certified his dominance over the two. Naruto couldn't feel his magic energy, but he knew who he was just off of those wings, "Azazel…"

"Oh! So you've heard of me!" said Azazel with a smile, "Yes, I am Azazel, leader of Grigori and that's my apprentice over there that you're trying to kill." Azazel floated over to Naruto, now face-to-face with the Bael, "I'd appreciate it if you would stop. I'd hate to kill you now, Mr. Devil, and create more tension between the Three Factions. I'm here for peace talks and I don't need things like this stinking everything up."

Naruto gritted his teeth as he stared Azazel, who was looking at him with a small, cocky smirk. He knew he couldn't fight off the leader of the Fallen Angels. He could barely keep himself up in the sky!

After that thought ran across Naruto's mind, his body gave out on him and he started to plummet down to the ground. He couldn't stop himself as his body was about to crash into the ground because he couldn't move. However, before he hit the ground, Azazel caught Naruto's left leg, saving him from a world of hurt. "Hmmm…seems like he's done." he said as he lightly tossed Naruto to the ground.

Naruto hissed in pain as his body landed on the ground harshly, but the pain was nothing like how it would have been if Azazel didn't save him.

Azazel walked over to Vali to give him an once-over, "Seems like he did a number on you, too. But, since your still standing, I think that you won…or did you lose because I saved you from his last attack?"

Vali rolled his eyes at the Fallen Angel leader, "I could have dodged that and then counter attacked. I say that I'm the victor." he said with a grunt.

Before they could continue talking Naruto's coughing interrupted them, "Yo..you think you won?" Naruto said with a bloody chuckle. He rose his fingers up, "I always have a backup plan." he whispered as he snapped his fingers.

 _Pop!_

Vali switched from looking at Naruto with curiosity to being confused as his body slumped down to the ground. He could feel his arms and legs, but he couldn't move them at all. "What's going on!?" he said in distress.

Naruto laughed at Vali, "You think you were goi-going to dodge that last attack?" asked the Bael with a weak smile, "You still had some of my Power of Destruction inside of you from absorbing it earlier. I focused the remainder of it to your joints and imploded them, destroying your joints with them. I was going to activate it the moment you tried to fly off to dodge that last attack. You would've have died and I'd be at home by now…" his blue eyes then darted to Azazel's surprised face, "But we had unwanted company interrupt me."

"Wow." said Azazel as he rubbed his chin hair, "Seems like this guy had everything planned out. You hear that? You lost! Ha! And to think that you were talking heavy when you left."

"Shut up and help me out." said Vali through gritted teeth, hating that he thought that he had everything under control, but he was being played the whole time.

"Sure thing, little guy." said Azazel as he picked up Vali by the collar of his shirt. He turned back to Naruto and saw that he summoned a wheelchair but was struggling to get in it. "Do you need any help?"

"Shut up.." Naruto said, similarly to how Vali just did, "I don…don't like you." he gasped out once he made it into his wheelchair.

Azazel cocked an eyebrow up, "Why? I never did anything wrong by you."

"Your face pisses me off." Naruto answered plainly.

"At least he understands…" Vali said with a sigh.

Azazel rolled his eyes at the two, "Eh, like I care about what you two. However, it doesn't surprise me that you lost to him. One of his peerage members was able to defeat Kokabiel, so it makes sense that you would struggle with him."

Naruto looked at Azazel in confusion, "What are you talking about? My peerage members never fought against Kokabiel."

"Oh yea they did." said Azazel, "I sent this guy over to bring him back to me, but it he told me that a girl that we later found out to be a part of some peerage here finished him off. He was damn near death, but we saved him in time. That girl was too strong to be a part of any of the younger devil peerages here, so she has to be with you." he explained.

"But…why didn't they tell me…" Naruto face scrunched up in rage as he started thinking, "What are they planning..."

"Well, the only thing I have left to do here is offer you an invitation." said Azazel, ignoring the rage that was present on Naruto's face.

"Invitation? To what?" he asked, placing the newly-found information in the back of his mind for now.

"There is a summit between the Three Factions. There will finally be peace between Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels. Since you are the [King] of the girl that stopped Kokabiel from killing to prominent devils that could have resurge war, I believe that it's only right that you join in on the peace talks." Azazel explained.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he thought about the invitation, "When will it be?"

"In two days. I'm sure that would be enough time for you to recover somewhat from today's battle, right?"

Naruto summoned a magic circle underneath, preparing to the leave the two, "I'll think about it." he said as he disappeared from the scene.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Kuroka sighed reached into the fridge for the cartoon of milk. Her worries for her master were increasing by the hour because he hadn't returned home yet. It was midnight and she was planning on going out to find him herself, but she also remembered his words, warning them not to follow him. She was having in internal battle within herself on either should she go out to find him or just let him be for a while.

However, before Kuroka could continue with her battle, her ears perked up once she heard a thud coming from the living room. "Yosh! Naruto-sama, what happened!?" screamed the voice of Lee that put Kuroka on alarm. She dropped the cartoon of milk instantly and ran into the living room to see what happened. Lee, who was waiting up with Kuroka, had a badly-injured Naruto in his arms that fell out of his wheelchair once he teleported into the living room.

"Naruto!" she yelled, teleporting by his side and checking his injuries, "Can you hear me, Naruto!? Please say something!"

Their blonde [King] was having trouble bleeding because he was coughing up blood rapidly. The commotion that they were causing alerted everyone else in the house and soon enough Naruto's whole peerage was downstairs by his side.

"Now what the fuck did he get into now!?" shouted Kisame as he looked at his [King] with worry.

"I knew we should have followed you…" Orochimaru said through gritted teeth as he looked on in anger as Anna started to heal Naruto's injuries with a full body magic seal that floated over his body and releases a purple light that rained down on his injuries.

"This will take some time." Anna muttered as she continued to heal his injuries, "I need someone else to set up the barrier around the house."

"I can do that," said Kuroka, "but I want to find out who did this to him and kill them now!"

"Yo..You…..fu..cough…" Naruto's voice caught the attention of everyone, "Yo..you fought Kokabiel..a-and..cough..didn't t-tell me?"

Anna's eyes widened and she almost lost concentration on healing Naruto's injuries, "How do you know about that?" she said, generally shocked.

Naruto didn't answer vocally, only glaring at the blonde devil-shaman, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Naruto-sama, we didn't want to disturb your rest." answered Hao.

"I've been awake for almost 20 hours now. Why wasn't I informed that there were fucking Fallen Angels in this town!?" Naruto yelled with anger. Anna's quick healing was helping him speak better, so they all felt the ferocity in his words.

"We didn't want to worry you Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, "We just wanted you to focus on getting better. That's it."

"You knew…" Naruto growled at his peerage members with hatred, "You knew that she was here, didn't you? You all knew that she was here!" he screamed and they all knew that he was talking about Serafall.

"Naruto…" Kuroka reached out to her [King] but he slapped her hand away in a fit, breaking Kuroka's heart in the process.

"So you all are going to keep secrets to huh?! Just like they did! You're going to turn your backs on me and leave, huh!? Never again! NEVER AGAIN!" Naruto was convulsing as he tried to summon his magic to attack, but snakes halted his movements as the wrapped around his body tightly.

"Calm down, Naruto-sama! We're not doing anything like that!" shouted Yoh as he tried to fix Naruto's misunderstanding.

"Let me go so I can fucking kill you! Get me out!" he continued to trash against his bonds, but he couldn't break free because he was still weak from his fight with Vali.

"I need him still so I can heal him!" shouted Anna.

Kuroka, jumping to action, made a magic circle in her and held it over Naruto's face. Purple dust flew down and entered his nostrils when inhaled. Naruto instantly felt the effects of Kuroka's sleeping powder and his eyes were fluttering as if he were trying to stay awake.

"Fu…fuck…" he groaned as he tried to stay awake. But he knew it was inevitable that he would go to sleep soon, so instead of fighting it, he turned to Orochimaru. "Yo…find..find her….f-f-find Gabr-riellllll…nnow..w….." he stopped convulsing and his eyes fully closed as he fell into a deep sleep.

Orochimaru sighed as he recalled his snakes, "How did this mess get turned on us?"

"Naruto-sama is very mistrusting…" Yoh muttered silently, "That damn seal…it really did a number on him if he actually wanted to turn on us."

"He's just not himself…." Kuroka said in between her sobs. She was absolutely hurt by how Naruto slapped her hand away, but she felt even more guilty than hurt because she remembered how she left Naruto to go and join Ginta's peerage. "He'll be back to normal….once he wakes back up."

Kisame groaned as he sank into his recliner, "Seems like we've got to go find this Gabriel bitch now. Isn't that one of the Seraphs? That means she'll be in town soon for this little get together the Three Faction leaders are having, right? I so we go fucking kidnap that bitch and bring her here!"

"We can't kidnap a Seraph." Orochimaru said with no room left for argument, "We wouldn't have to anyway because Naruto and Gabriel are friends from what he's told me. All we need to do is find her, tell her the situation, and then bring her here so that she can hopefully heal him." Orochimaru looked at everyone in the room, specifically Kuroka because he knew that she had some negative feelings about the Seraph, "Does anyone have any problems with that?"

"Yosh! No problems what so ever!" shouted Lee with a salute.

"Seems like that's our last option. Naruto-sama needs something to boost his spirits. Being fully healed and seeing a long time friend could help him somewhat." said Hao, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Seems we need to start looking in the morning then. Won't find any Angels out and about during midnight." said Kisame with a grunt, "I'll wake up at the crack of dawn to start the search."

Everyone was agreeing to the plan, talking amongst themselves on where they would search in the coming morning; however, there was one specific person that wasn't participating in the conversation. Kuroka was hugging on Naruto with a weak grip, staring down at his face with sadness. Her cat ears were drooping and her tails weren't moving at all. She was rubbing his face in thought with a troubled look on her face, something everyone noticed once they turned to the Nekomata.

"Kuroka." Orochimaru said with a small glare, knowing that the girl was having second thoughts.

"…..Yeah…." she said quietly, her eyes still set on Naruto's face.

"You know that you'll have to ignore your personal feelings for him so that he can get better, correct?" he asked, "This is for his benefit and he ordered us to do so. Whatever your feeling right now will have to wait."

Kuroka didn't answer immediately, finding Naruto's sleeping face to be more interesting. However, after sometime of thinking she mumbled, "Do we….isn't there another way?"

It was Anna's turn to speak, "There isn't another way. Even if there was, we were given specific instructions to find Gabriel. That's what we're going to do- like it or not."

Kuroka hissed at the shaman with ferocity, "That's easy for you to say because you're not in love with him! You have Yoh! He's all I have and we're going to go find the same bitch that's been getting in my way all these years!"

"All these years?" Kisame said with a laugh, "What are you, 19? 20? You hardly have any years, little girl. I don't care if you are his [Queen], you're still a little girl that's putting her feelings first before the actual mission. Heh…Wouldn't surprise me if you tried some funny shit to stop us from finding this Gabriel girl…"

"She'd better not." Orochimaru said, his voice having a slight edge to it, "Our priority is finding Gabriel so that she can heal him. That's it. If you have any personal emotions that will hinder you from accomplishing the mission, then I suggest that you stay here while we go out and search."

Kuroka hissed again, a bit louder this time, "You all don't understand….she'll replace us…..She'll be his main focus while we're just a thought in the back of his mind…once she shows up…" she gripped her loose kimono as past memories of a smiling Gabriel and Naruto ran through her mind, "You won't be his priority anymore."

"I don't care what he cares about the most." answered Orochimaru, "What I care about is following his orders. Now if you can't do that, then stay here with him in the morning while we search for her. Are we understood?"

The snake man and cat girl had an intense staring match. Tension and KI started to fill the atmosphere around them as Kuroka's anger started to rise. However, she held it all in and snapped her head away from Orochimaru's glare, "Fuck you…Fuck all of you!" she shouted as she stood up, holding Naruto's body and went up the stairs to his bedroom.

Orochimaru growled a little as Kuroka left them, "That little girl…..she's going to be a problem."

"She's just letting her feelings get in the way of realizing what's important, Orochimaru." said Hao, placing a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder, "This will pass over in due time. What we need to do now is find out where Gabriel is."

Orochimaru sighed and shook his head a little, "You're right. We head out at the crack of dawn. If I remember correctly, Gabriel has a hobby of looking around any new town that she's in, touring the sights. If we just stick to looking inside the city, or finding any other Angel leaders, than we should be close to finding her."

"YOSH! We'll find Ms. Gabriel in the morning and bring her back to Naruto-sama! Operation Heal Naruto-sama is a go!" shouted Lee happily as he ran up to his room to sleep for the remainder of the night, excited that in the morning that he'll meet an actual Seraph of Heaven.

 **Timeskip - Underworld**

 **Sitri Mansion**

Sigil Sitri, head of the Sitri Clan, was having a good day.

Actually, the day just started, but Sigil woke up happy. For some odd reason, he felt like today would be a good day. The day started off great when he woke up to the most beautiful women in his eyes, Amur Sitri, the mother of his children and love of his life. He had a nice bath prepared for him by his servants, set at the right temperature for him to soak any troubles away. His breakfast was excellent as well, and only sharing it with his wife was even better. He didn't have much clan work to do for the day, so he was enjoying the peaceful times with his wife in their garden.

Sigil was wearing a simple black tuxedo with a blue shirt underneath his jacket, accompanied by a pair of reading glasses in his jacket pocket. He had smooth black hair that was underneath a small top hat, giving him an old-fashioned look. He was a man of average height, standing at 5'8. He didn't have much muscle, seeing as Sitri's didn't use physical force to fight, but what he lacked in muscle he had in knowledge. His mind was a library filled with battle strategies, spells, history, everything needed in order to win a battle. He wasn't the head of the Sitri Clan without reason, after all.

"Hydragae…" his deep voice revered throughout the garden as he knelt down and plucked one of the millions of Hydragae's surrounding them in a sea of blue, "Just amazing…" he took in a deep breath of air and smiled, "I enjoy this time with you, my dear. I can't remember the last time we've had a day where we could just walk throughout the garden."

A soft, melodic, laugh came from a beautiful woman from behind him. Her hair cascaded down her back like a river, ending with small curls at the end. She was wearing a long navy blue, v-neck dress that exposed some of her breast with certain parts of the back cut out, followed by a pair of all white heels that had blue diamonds covering the top-half of the shoe. She opened her eyes to reveal shining violet eyes, similar to Sona's own. This was Amur Sitri, Sigil Sitri's wife and mother of Serafall Levithan and Sona Sitri. "It surely has been a while. We could get some good reading down out here as well."

"Absolutely." he said as he grabbed his wife's hand and lead her to a large, white gazebo in the middle of the ocean of Hydragae's. There were a few chairs inside the gazebo and the couple took the pair that were nearest to each other and sat down quietly. Both summoned a book for themselves and smiled to each other, "For a good read…" they said quietly as they gave each other one final smile before diverging themselves into the printed pages of their massive books.

The scene was quiet…but stunning. A wife and husband….enjoying each other by just being near each other. A picture perfect scene that couldn't be disturbed at all…

…

…

…

But we all know how that goes….

After a few minutes of quiet, peaceful reading, one of the maids of the Sitri Mansion approached the two, catching their attention. The maid bowed her head to the two before speaking, "Excuse me, Lord Sitri…Lady Sitri…but you two have visitors awaiting you."

"Visitors?" Lord Sitri's black eyebrow rose with curiosity, "I wasn't expecting anyone today."

The maid smiled at her master, "Very familiar visitors, Lord Sitri. You're daughters have come to see you."

Joy filled both parents' eyes as they looked at each other with a growing smile. Lady Sitri was the next to speak, "Well bring them here! I haven't seen either of my daughters in so long." she said happily.

The maid bowed once again before headed back to the mansion to retrieve the parent's greatest accomplishments. The two couldn't even return back to reading their books because of the anticipation of meeting their daughters after so long. The two parents couldn't go to Sitiri's class observation day in the human realm because they had a lot of work dealing with the clan to handle, but they were planning to make a surprise visit soon. However, their daughters pulled a fast-one on them and were here to surprise them. It was something they weren't anticipating but were glad, nevertheless.

"My daughters." Lord Sitri stood from his seat as his two daughters, Serafall and Sona slowly made their way into the gazebo. He stretched his arms out and offered a hug to the both of them. "Come here, you two. I haven't held my little girls in so long!"

Both Lord and Lady Sitiri's were awaiting their daughters to jump into their father's arms, but they noticed the atmosphere surrounding the two, confusing them somewhat. Felida's arms slightly dropped down once he noticed the frown that his eldest daughter had and the anger that was radiating from Sona. "Is something wrong?" he said with a tone a worry in his voice.

"Sit."

Now, the two really didn't know what was going on. Their daughter, Sona Sitri, just told them to sit down? What was happening?

"Sona, what's wrong? Aren't you happy to see us?" asked Lady Sitri. She turned to her eldest daughter next, "And Serafall? What's wrong? Why do you look like that?"

"Just…." Serafall had to look away from her parents, almost like she was ashamed of the sight of them, "Just sit down for now. Mother…Father.."

The two parents looked at each in confusion before slowly nodding. The family took their seats, with the daughters sitting opposite to the parents. Lady Sitri gulped as she felt uncomfortable as the tension of the atmosphere was starting to get to her. She was worried for both of her daughters because they never acted like this. Serafall was always had her bubbly attitude, dotting on Sona any chance she could get, while Sona was always strict and trying to push her older sister away from her. It was their conflicting personalities that separated the two, but she loved that about her daughters because she knew that they loved each anyway. So, start off the conversation, Lady Sitri took in a deep breath before speaking, "So what is going on between you two? You two didn't get into a bad fight, right?"

"I need to ask you two a question." Sona said with all-seriousness in her voice. While she did have a mean glare on her face, the two Sitri parents could tell there was more anger behind that glare. "I want a solid answer and nothing that would sway the direction of the conversation."

"Alright. That's acceptable." said Lord Sitri with a nod, but he didn't like where this conversation was headed in.

Sona sighed before continuing, "I want to know the honest truth-no lies…." she looked up at her two parents' with a glare that almost made them flinch, "Who is Naruto Bael to you?"

Both Lord and Lady Sitri's jaws slowly dropped as they looked at the youngest in disbelief. Did she say that name? That name that was long forgotten in the back of their minds!

Lord Sitri's turned to Serfall, but the Leviathan avoided making eye contact with her father, finding the floor more interesting at the moment. His heart felted like a belt wrapped around it and was constricting it tightly as he tried to digest the words that his daughter uttered from her mouth.

"You do know him…" Sona said with a growl as she analyzed her parents' shocked faces, "You had something to do with his sealing, didn't you?"

"Wha-wha-wait!" said Lady Sitri in panic, "How do you even know of him?" Lady Sitri then turned to Serafall, "Did you tell her?"

"She didn't tell me anything." answered Sona, countering her mother's accusation, "I'm just adding all the pieces together."

Sigil stood from out of his seat in an outrage, "How do you know his name then, young lady?! You are to tell me and your mother this instant!"

"Because he's alive." Sona said, surprising the two devils even more, "He's alive and I've talked to him plenty of times….and I think I've figured something's out."

Sigil gritted his teeth slowly sitting back down in his chair. He sighed as he took off his top hat and placed it on a nearby table, "He's alive…." he mumbled to himself, "He's actually alive…"

"Tell me everything-now." demanded Sona, "I've had my speculations about what's been going on and I wanted answers."

Lord Sitri sighed as he straightened himself out on his seat, "Alright…since there is no more hiding this any longer, I'll tell you everything, but before I do that, tell me how you know him." he said without room for debate.

"Gladly." answered Sona confidently, "While I haven't known him for long, I've known his peerage members for a few months." she began, "They came to Kuoh not too long ago. One of Naruto-sama's peerage members is actually my chemistry teacher…but anyway, they settled in Kuoh with a secret purpose. They refrained from telling Rias and I their true intentions, but what their grand plan was to revive Naruto-sama from his seal. They needed the blood of the clans that sealed him- Bael, Sitri, and Gremory- in order to free him. They got Bael blood by defeating Sairaorg in a Rating Game, and received my blood, along with Rias', as an award for freeing Rias out of her marriage contract with Riser by defeating him."

"You mean the [King]-less peerage?" asked Lady Sitri with curiosity, "That's his peerage?"

"It is. He's been ordering them from his seal for a long time now. They got all the necessary blood, retrieved Naruto-sama's seal, and freed him." she explained, "He's been out for a few weeks now, keeping a low profile."

Lord Sitri groaned as he placed both of his hands on the sides of his head, "This cannot be happening right now…He's really free…" he looked over to his oldest daughter to see her guilt-ridden face, "And I'm sure you had something to do with this as well."

"I….I didn't…" she answered hesitantly, "I just found out that he was..still alive yesterday…I meet him a-a..and…he's changed…."

"He's going to come for us…" Lady Sitri said with worried eyes, "He's going to come back for us. I know it! He probably wants us dead for what we did to him!"

"And that's why I'm here." Sona said as she laced her fingers together and rested her chin on top of them, "Now that I know that you helped in his sealing, all I want to know is why you did it. Was there a reasonable cause? Did he do something illegal and that was his punishment? I want to know everything-and don't even think about lying!" she yelled with anger, "I can go back to him at anytime and ask him these same questions and I know for sure he'll tell me everything! So tell me now! Why did you do it!?"

The elder Sitri's were quiet for some time, processing their current predicament with their youngest daughter. It wasn't something they were expecting from her when she came with her older sister, and it wasn't a conversation that they hoped would never happen. Sigil sighed from within his chair as he answered his daughter's question, "So you don't know of it all…sigh…..and its seems that you've talked to him quite a few times if your calling him 'Naruto-sama.'"

"He's a war-hero that should be respected." Sona said, "Now talk."

Lord Sitri groaned again before continuing, "Naruto…He was special. He wasn't supposed to be as strong as he was because he was born a low-class devil with insignificant parents. Somehow he hid the fact that he had the Power of Destruction for most of his young life and enlisted into the army when he was of age. It just happened that he was a part of the legion that your sister, Serafall, was also in."

"You're not telling me anything new." she said with a growl.

"It's all important, which is why I'm telling you." he answered with a little anger in his voice, "Anyway, Naruto was rising in the ranks because of his formidable strength that was paving a way to each of Legion 56. Serafall was making her own advances in the war, and soon enough, Serafall was the leader of Legion 56….and Naruto was her right-hand man."

The sound of sniffling was heard coming from Serafall. The Leviathan covered her face with her hands as she tried to hold in her sadness, but it wasn't working as she silently cried to herself. "Damn it..damn it, damn it, damn it…" she mumbled to herself.

Lord Sitri ignored his crying daughter and continued on with his story, "What you may not know is that Naruto and Serafall…there were in a relationship…"

Sona's head jerked up at hearing her father's words and instantly turned to Serafall. Said girl was quietly crying into her palms, hiding her face from her sister. "You…you two were in a relationship!?"

"He didn't tell you that, did he?" asked Lady Sitri.

"No, he only told me that he was good friends with my sister and that they fought together in the war..but this!" Sona stood from her seat and paced around, "This is crazy! Now I'm not only mad at them, but I'm also mad at you!" she yelled while pointing her finger at her crying sister, "Why in the hell would agree to sealing Naruto-sama! You two were lovers and you threw him away? For what!? Explain yourself, now!"

"Sona! Don't be so mean to your sister!" said Lady Stiri.

"You think this is mean?" Sona turned to her stunned mother, "What's mean is sealing someone away for….I don't even know why you sealed him up, but I bet you with everything in my body is was for some stupid, selfish reason, right? Even us Sitri's fall to our devilish instincts of selfishness. So please tell me why you decided sealing him was the correct way to go about things?"

Sigil chuckled, "You're going to hate us even more after hearing this….we sealed him because we didn't approve of their relationship. While Naruto was a strong devil, he wasn't fit to be with Serafall, a contender for one of the spots of the four Maou-

"Because he was a low-class devil, right." said Sona with a small smile, but it wasn't because she was happen. She shook her head in disappointment at her parents, "Disgraceful. This is really how you two made decision? What happened to all of those talks of treating all devils fairly, huh? You didn't approve a relationship that didn't have anything to do with you because Serafall was going to be promoted Leviathan anyway, which means she wouldn't be attached the Sitri Clan anymore."

"Correct, but if she were to hold such a high position, we wanted her to be with someone of more…prestige." Lady Sitri knew that it sounded wrong, but there wasn't any better way of explaining what happened to Naruto, "Naruto was a good soldier, but we didn't want him to be anything more than that. He was strong- so strong that it actually scared the higher-ups of the Bael Clan who also supported the idea of getting rid of him."

Sona then turned back to her sister, "And you let all of this happen? You let them seal a man that you loved?"

Serafall's crying had quieted overtime, but she still had her face covered with both of her hands. She couldn't look her sister in the eye because she was scared to face the anger that was bound to be present. She didn't want to see something like that- her dear sister whom she loved more than anything in the world, glaring at her like she was an enemy.

Nevertheless, Serafall spoke, "I….I choose my…m-my clan over my love for him….I was primed since birth to love my clan more than anything…I wasn't given a choice in the matter."

Sona, in a fit of rage, walked out of the gazebo and down the pavement the lead back to the mansion. Lady and Lord Sitri quickly followed their daughter in order to explain themselves, but Serafall didn't move, deciding to stay in her crouched position in her chair.

"Wait, Sona! Please, just listen to us!" shouted Lord Sitri as he caught up to his daughter.

"I've listened enough." she said plainly as she continued to walk, not even turning around to face her parents, "You two are liars….manipulators…I can't believe that you two were the same people that raised me to believe that devils, no matter their social class, were all the same…Hypocrites of your own ideology…"

"Sona, listen!" Lady Sitri grabbed Sona's shoulder, halting her, "We know that this is hard for you to taken in. Now that I look back to that day, I hate that I approved of sealing him, but you have to understand the predicament that we were in. We had to continue to hold our social standing amongst the other clans and Serafall being in a relationship with Naruto was hindering that! That's how it works and it was a sacrifice that even you benefited from!"

"Oh, by living in a huge mansion, so big that I haven't been in half of the rooms in there in my whole life!" snapped the girl as she turned back to her parents, "I have benefited from that decision by living a lavished life, but this is the way to get to that position? By sacrificing the life of those that actually cared about you!? Naruto-sama probably loved Serafall, but you all ruined it….She allowed it to be ruined! I can't stay around people who preach one thing and do another!"

"Sona, my daughter, I've come to regret that decision to seal up Naruto so long ago. I wasn't thinking clear and succumbed to pleasing those in a higher position than me to keep a good image among the other clans. Naruto is a wonderful person, but at the time, it just seemed like the reasonable thing to do." Lord Sitri tried to explain to his daughter, but it only fueled to the anger that Sona was feeling.

"So who was it then!?" she asked, "Who was it that you were trying to please?"

"Lord Bael…" he answered, "The Great King. Basically the ruler of the Underworld, Lord Bael didn't like how strong Naruto was or his relationship with Serafall. He thought Naruto wasn't worthy for Serafall's hand…and at the time, I agreed. Since our desires were similar, we teamed up to get rid of Naruto Bael."

"But why seal him?" asked Sona, "Why not kill him? Sealing him, even if he was in a incredibly strong seal, is still risky because there's always the chance of that person of escaping."

Lady Sitri stepped up, "We don't know. We were given specific instructions by Lord Bael to seal him and not to kill him. His intentions have remained hidden to this day."

Sona gritted her teeth in anger at her parents, "I just don't understand…why does it matter what other people think?! Naruto-sama was a war hero, but you still couldn't recognize him as a man worthy enough for Serafall? Do you want her to be married to one of those women-beating heirs to some other clan like how you tried to do to me numerous of times!?

Lady Sitri gasped, "Sona! We would never give your hand away to some like that!"

"But you don't trust me enough to find my own partner in life?" she asked angrily, "You two have done all this work in order to make my life perfect, right? It doesn't matter who I want to marry, but who you all choose for me to marry to keep our prestige image?"

"I know that it sounds bad," said Lord Sitri, "but that's just how the world works, dear. We can't change it, so we adapt to it. If I could change it, I would- I promise you."

"Liar." Sona countered, surprising her father, "You had a chance to change the system by accepting Naruto-sama to be with my sister, but you didn't do that. I don't believe any of those words you just said. You could have changed how this biased system works, but you were just too scared to do so."

Lord Sitri looked away from his daughter in shame, knowing that her words were true, "Maybe…but sealing Naruto up…even though I regret it, we've benefitted from it. Our relations with other clans are all positive because they see that we have close ties to Lord Bael, and it only helps that one of my daughters is the Leviathan. It was an unfair sacrifice, but a sacrifice needed nevertheless."

"I can't believe you…" Sona said in disgust, "I can't believe any of you… You actually believe that mess that you're spitting?"

"We have to, my daughter." Lady Sitri muttered, "It's just how things are…"

Sona turned her back on her parents and summoned a magic circle beneath her, "If that's the case, you two must really hate the fact that my dream is to open up a Rating Game school for all devils- no matter their social class. I will be breaking the tradition of keeping the classes separate, so does that make you uncomfortable? Do you hate me for that?"

"We would never hate any of our children, Sona. You know this." Lord Sitri answered.

"Sona…" the voice of Serafall interrupted their conversation. Serafall had made her way out of the gazebo and down the pathway where the three were having their current argument, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have done it-I should have protected him like he did me during the war.

Lord Sitri's eyes narrowed at his daughter, "Serafall…"

"I tried to explain myself to him…but he doesn't want to hear it. He's different..he's changed. I can't help him anymore because he doesn't trust me…and he has all the right to do so…just watch over him for me, please?" she said with tears forming in her eyes again.

Sona stared at her sister for a while in thought before nodding her head at her. Serafall gave her sister a weak smile and waved at her. Sona turned back around and activated her teleportation seal. "Good day." she said as she disappeared. She had school to go to anyway.

 **Same time – Kuoh Mall**

"Damn it…" muttered Kisame as he walked through a crowd of people. He was by himself because he heard a tip about a woman that was in the area that seemed to fit the criteria of an Angel to the standards of Gabriel. According to the man that Kisame asked, the woman he saw was "the most beautiful person in the world that it hurt his sinful eyes just looking at her". It was the first tip he had for the day since he started searching for the Archangel and he hoped that this was a solid lead so he could get this search over with.

"All these damn stores with ugly clothes…who the fuck would buy any of this bullshit!" he shouted, garnering a lot of attention while doing so, "Uhhhh, what the hell y'all looking at! Get on some where!" he said with a wave of his hands.

"Such indecency." said a man in a business suit as he pasted by Kisame.

Kisame quickly turned around and followed the stranger, "Eh? What was that? I didn't quite hear you 'Mr. I can tell anybody what I want without getting my ass whopped' because if you think you wanna disrespect me – The Great Kisame! – you've got another thing coming!"

"All I'm saying is that your being too loud, which is a distraction of the people here!" shouted the man.

"Oh! So you get yell, but I can't get to yell?! Is it because I'm blue!? Huh? Is that it!? Well I got something for you-you piece of shi-

"Gentlemen…" a soft, angelic voice said coming from behind the two. Kisame and the man turned towards the owner of the voice to see who interrupted them; however, the stranger grew hearts in his eyes once he saw the goddess of a woman in front of him.

"Oh..Oh my….such beauty…" the man muttered as he took in the sight of the gorgeous blonde.

" You two shouldn't fight your problems out but talk them out to avoid conflict." she said with the purest of smiles that melted hearts, "That way, the world can be a better place and we all can get along!" she said happily.

"Uhhh…wait a second!" Kisame looked around him to see that he was surrounded by males of all ages with hearts in their eyes, "What's going on here!?"

"She's perfect.."

"Amazing…."

"I'd leave my wife and three kids for her…"

"I'd give her ownership of my car just so I can hold her hand…"

"I can die happy now that I've seen her with my own eyes…"

"I wanna know her name."

"What's her name?"

"Give us your name! Please I need to know!"

"What's you-

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!"

All of the men were snapped out of their trance and their love was replaced by fear as a death-like feeling filled the atmosphere. Kisame was radiating his KI at all of the men that were getting to close to him and it was getting on his last nerve. "I don't care what the hell you want with her, I was here first so get the hell outta her before I turn your teeth upside down you dick heads!"

"Please sir," the mystery goddess said while placing a hand on Kisame's shoulder. Instantly, all of Kisame's KI vanished and was replaced with a feeling of content and softness as she spoke, "Saying such vile words isn't good for the soul. We should replace those words with nicer words if we want to make the world a better place." she gave an innocent eye smile that shot love-filled arrows into the hearts of all of the surrounding men, "Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Oh…she's an angel…." they all muttered as they fainted at her beauty.

"Oh my…" said the lady, placing a hand over her mouth as she watch them all faint for some unknown reason, "I hope they're alright…Maybe I should bless them?"

"Not today you're not." said Kisame as he grabbed the unknown girls hand and led her away from the scene, "Got me doing all this bullshit…fuck you, you blonde haired-devil…" Kisame muttered under his breath, referring to Naruto.

After they were a good distance away from where they once were, Kisame stopped and got to take a good look at the woman in front of him. Her blonde, curly hair was one of the things that stood out the most to Kisame as it was radiant with light. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties with piercing blue eyes that was almost hard to look at. She was wearing a luxurious robe that covered all her body, but her beauty was evident as everyone would turn in her direction whenever they would pass by.

' _Alright, so she has to be Gabriel…but just to make sure…'_ Kisame coughed to get the woman's attention, "Uhh..hey…I didn't mean to-ya know, pull you through the crowd like that. I just needed to talk to you."

"Do you need help with anything? I could pray for you?" she asked with a head tilt that made her look even more innocent.

"No prayer is needed." Kisame said, causing the woman to pout childishly, "I just make sure…you are Gabriel the Seraph, right?"

"You know who I am?" she asked with curiosity, "Well, who are you?"

"I'm….a friend of…one of your friends." he said awkwardly.

"What does that mean?" she asked with interest.

"Uhhh…do you remember your friend Naruto? Cause he-

"Naruto!" Gabriel's bright eyes grew even brighter as her happiness increased, "I haven't heard of him in so long! I was busy and had to leave him and….and….the little girl that was with him. I've forgotten his name, can you jog my memory for me?" she asked.

"You mean that bit-I-I mean…Kuroka…ugh.." Kisame wheezed out Kuroka's name like it was poison, "I really hate that girl…"

"Yes! Yes, it's Kuroka! I haven't seen her in a while, too! Oh can you take me to them mister? I really want to see them again!" she asked with the same energy.

"Yes! Yes I can!" _'Alright, that was easier than I expect! And I get to rub in everyone's face that I was the one to find her!'_ Kisame thought with a dark chuckle.

"Oh, but wait… I should bring gifts!" Gabriel said happily, "I need to find something for the both of them to enjoy so that they can accept my apology of being gone for so long. Will you help me Mr….Excuse me, I don't want to sound rude, but what is your name?"

"Kisame. Just Kisame." he answered, "Now what are trying to buy them? And I'm not helping either since you know them so well!" Kisame said with a huff.

"I know what to buy for the both of them!" she said with a smile that radiated a painfully strong light of innocence at Kisame, "I need to go the supermarket!"

"Not the fucking supermarket…" groaned Kisame.

"What's wrong with the supermarket?" she asked him.

Kisame sighed, "The supermarket is full of stupid people with no common sense-especially the old ladies." he growled.

"Well I'll be there to help you deal with those people." she said with a smile as she grabbed Kisame's hand, "Let's go, Kisame!"

"Hey, hey, wait a god-damn min-"

Gabriel stopped and turned back towards Kisame with a glare that reeked of death. Kisame actually shivered as Gabriel's once happy eyes were now cold, similar to how Naruto's would change with his personality, "What did you say?" she asked with a low voice.

"Uhhhhhh…..i-I said..uh….Look..look what my mom made me…"

"Oh!" instantly, the sense of death vanished and was replaced with the atmosphere of a happy Gabriel, "And what did she make you?"

' _Damn it, Kisame! Think, think, THINK!'_ he screamed in his mind before an idea popped up. He reached back and grabbed his Samehade, "Well, you see this guy right here? There's more to him than what people suspect…"

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Kuroka's cat ears twitched once she heard Naruto deeply inhale in his sleep. She was the only one at the house currently. Everyone else went out to go find Gabriel with hope that she could help fully heal Naruto. She understood why they were doing it, but she didn't like the fact that it had to be Gabriel to be the one to come and heal Naruto. She was sure that there were other ways to heal Naruto, but the Three Factions made it convenient to find Gabriel since she was somewhere nearby.

Kuroka sighed as she stared at Naruto's sleeping face. _'You've been through a lot, nya. I just wish that you would open up more….and stop acting like you're okay…"_

She closed her eyes and mediated for a while. Pulling senjutsu from the atmosphere around her, Kuroka's keen sensory abilities expanded, allowing her to feel out the area around them. She sensed some of Orochimaru's snakes outside in the grass watching over the house, but other than that, there was nothing of significance that caught her attention. However…

Kuroka sighed as she opened her eyes, "Why are you fake sleeping?" she said out loud.

The sound of Naruto chuckling weakly filled the room as the Bael opened his eyes. He smiled at Kuroka and waved, but she didn't return it, choosing to glare at him rather than wave back. "You look mad." he said with another chuckle.

"Because you're worrying me." she answered honestly, "What you did before you feel asleep….you're really worrying me, Naruto…..and its scaring me, nya."

"Oh that?" he said with a raised eyebrow, "I was just tired and was spitting bullshit, hehehe! Nothing to worry about."

Kuroka narrowed her eyes again at him, "You're lying…I can tell that your lying, Naruto."

Naruto's grin slowly faded away, feeling the vibe of seriousness that Kuroka had. He sighed and turned on his side to face Kuroka, "We're really about to have this conversation now?"

"I feel like if we don't have it that it'll keep torture you mentally." she answered, "You really don't trust your peerage members as much as you say you do…or did that seal really mess with you mind to where you can't trust anyone at all."

Naruto shook his head while replying, "Listen, my protégé, I've been through a lot…that seal did a lot of things to me that I wished I could have avoid, but I had to fight through and deal the side effects of that fucked up box. The girl that meant the most to me betrayed me…and I had over 500 years to sit and think about that; I'm surprised that I was still mentally sane enough to come up with a plan to get out of there."

"I know that," Kuroka said sadly, "but when I see you have a panic attack…and you scream that you're going to kill us…..to kill me…..could you really do that?"

Naruto stared at Kuroka plainly, like he wasn't interested in their conversation that they were having, but she knew better. She knew that he was just putting up his usual front like everything was okay. It was a selfless act so that others wouldn't worry about him, thinking that he was okay already…but it was also a selfish act so that no one would suspect that he was planning against them.

Naruto continued his starring contest with his [Queen] before sighing and rolling over to his other side, exposing his back to Kuroka, "I don't know."

"I don't know if that's a good answer or a bad one…Always so cryptic, nya. You're like a puzzle."

"Can you get me one of those?" he asked her, surprising her at the request, "I need to start training again."

"You train…with a puzzle?" said Kuroka, highly confused.

"Yup, yup, yup!" he said, turning back towards Kuroka a smiling face, "I'll explain it later, but I need me a puzzle thingy. Over 200 pieces please?"

Kuroka was looking down at her [King] like he needed professional help (and he kinda does need it), "Uhh…like..now, nya?"

"Yes now! I need it now! That fight with that kid really showed me that I need start training again even if I'm not fully healed yet, but hopefully that'll change soon." he said with his smile growing even bigger.

Kuroka sighed at being reminded that Gabriel could possibly be back, "Do we really need to find her, nya? She's so….annoying…" she said, finishing with a growl.

"Yes, we need to bring her here because I trust her when it comes to things like this; also, I want to bring her here because I haven't her in so long! I love her personality."

Kuroka growled again and stood up from her seat in anger, "Well good for you that she's coming here then, nya! I'm leaving!" she said as she summoned a magic circle underneath her feet.

"Make sure to get that puzzle set!" Naruto said with an eye smile and a wave.

"UGH! Forget you, nya!" she shouted as disappeared in anger.

After she left, Naruto's eye smile disappeared. He had a plain-look in his eyes as he curled back up into his sheets, "Sigh…..I don't know….but I feel like I would….." he said as he closed his eyes to re-enter his slumber.

 **30 minutes later**

"Stupid Naruto, nya…and his...freakin-stupid puzzle pieces…" growled out Kuroka as she stomped her way back to the house. She had bought Naruto his puzzle sets-three of them actually- as well as a couple of cookies for her to munch on for later. She was still pissed off at their previous conversation, but she set that at the back of her mind now and focused on setting him back a course on the pathway of healing.

She approached the front door to open it, but stopped once she noticed everyone's signal within the house, meaning that they must have come back from their search for Gabriel. "Nya….I don't sense her…" she mumbled to herself. She hoped for the best as she entered the house and walked up the stairs. She heard voices coming from within Naruto's room, which was on the other side of the hallway. Her heartbeat started to increase as she slowly walked down the hallway, praying that Gabriel wasn't behind that door to whatever deity that would listen. She made it to the door and took a deep breath before resting her hand on the knob, "It's alright, girl…she probably isn't here…" she mumbled as she opened the door.

Kuroka opened the door to see that everyone was back from their search for Gabriel. Naruto's peerage members were sitting in the chairs that surrounded Naruto's bed. In his bed was Naruto….next to another girl…a blonde haired girl…and they were hugging.

Kuroka dropped her bags along with her mouth as they both hit the floor at the same time.

Gabriel, hearing the sound, looked up towards the door. Her eyes lit up with happiness once she saw the cat girl and slowly released herself Naruto. "Kuroka!" she said with a large smile that brightened up the room, "It's so good to see you! My goodness, you've grown since the last time I saw you!"

Kuroka's cat ears twitched in annoyance as she slowly regained herself from her shock, "….hi…" she muttered, still in a little disbelief.

"Yup, yup, yup! Kuroka has grown, Gabriel. I made sure to make her as strong as possible! You'll be impressed by her strength once she shows it during a Rating Game." Naruto said with a smile that matched Gabriel's own.

"That's great." she said as she got out of the bed and walked over to Kuroka. Kuroka's small stature of five feet and three inches made her look small and fragile compared to Gabriel's five foot, nine stature. The Seraph hugged Kuroka gently, but Kuroka kept her hands to her sides, not enjoying the hug in the slightest, "I'm so proud of you, Kuroka. You're growing up into an amazing woman and I'm sure you'll help Naruto out in the future."

All of Naruto's peerage members sweat dropped as they noticed that Kuroka's devious face, as if she was contemplating on striking Gabriel while her guard was down. "I guess she really hates her, huh." Yoh muttered to Lee.

Lee nodded, "I guess so, but I don't know why? Ms. Gabriel is so nice."

After a long hug that was like torture to Kuroka, Gabriel pulled back, "Kuroka, since I've returned, I really want to give you a present. Would you like that?"

Kuroka narrowed her eyes at the Serph, slightly interested at Gabriel's words, "What present?"

 **A few seconds later…**

A slightly less angry Kuroka was drinking a bottle of warm milk that tasted divine. Gabriel had bought a few bottles for Kuroka because she knew that the girl enjoyed her milk, and she bought Naruto a pickle jar since she remembered that Naruto never had any pickles before. Kuroka was alright with that, but she was still watching the Seraph closely, making sure that she didn't make any moves on HER Naruto.

Kuroka was seated in a chair next to Naruto's side of the bed, while Gabriel returned to Naruto's left in the bed, which highly pissed off the Nekomata. Nevertheless, she held her tongue and drank some of her delicious milk.

"So as I was saying," said Naruto, continuing his story that was interrupted when Kuroka entered his room, "I'm really injured right now and I need your help, Gabriel. Would it be possible if you have something that could heal me quickly?"

Gabriel hummed in thought with a finger next to her mouth, "Weellllll…I think I do have something that can help. I wish you would have told me this sooner, Naru. I would ha-

"NARU!?" shouted Kuroka, jumping out of the seat in rage, "WHO THE FUCK IS NARU, NYA!?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Kuroka, not understanding her rage, "That's what she calls me sometimes, my protégé? Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, don't you remember, little girl?" asked Kisame with a large smirk. He was enjoying Kuroka's anger at the fact that Gabriel was so close to their master and was going to fully exploit it later with a few jokes.

Kuroka gave Kisame the deadliest glare she could muster before sitting back down, "I remember…I just forgot for a few seconds."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to offend." said Gabriel with worry, "I'm so sorry Naruto. I won't call you 'Naru' anymore."

"It's alright, Gabriel. You can call me Naru if you want." he said with a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Really?" she looked up to him with her innocent, ocean blue eyes with tears at the edges of them.

"Of course, Gabreil. That's one thing that I like about you. You're so nice and show real concern about others." he said with a charming smile, "It'd be an honor if you call me 'Naru'."

"Oh Naru!" she said as hugged his chest.

"Gabriel!"

"Naru!"

"Gabriel!"

"Naru!"

"Get off my man…."

"Eh? My protégé, did you say something?" said Naruto as he looked back at his [Queen].

The deadly atmosphere around Kuroka quickly shifted as she tried to cover up her words, "No, no, no, nya! I didn't say that!" she said frantically, "I said can you turn on the fan! I was speaking to Orochimaru over there." she said while pointing to the snake man, who was sipping on some coffee while reading his newspaper.

Said man looked up from his reading after he heard his name, "Eh?" he said, not even focusing on the topic at hand.

"Naruto is hot- can't you tell? Aren't you supposed to be his advisor, nya? Turn on the fan!" she demanded.

"I am a little hot…" mumbled Naruto while scratching his head.

"See!" shouted Kuroka aggressively, "Turn on the fan!"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and flipped the switch for the ceiling fan to come on, "Aahhh! Much better!" said Naruto as he laid back into his bed with air blowing down on his face.

"So, Naru, you said you want me to heal you-because I can. However, the method I'll use is quite…personal." Gabriel said with a little blush of embarrassment.

Kuroka's cat ears perked up at that as she listened, _'Wonder what that means…'_ she said internally as she continue to sip from her milk.

"What is it, Gabriel? If you need me to help you, I can." said Naruto.

"Well…in order for me to fully heal your body…I'd have to kiss you."

Kuroka spit out all of her 2% milk.

…

…

…

 **Yall…I know, I know, I know.**

 **MANNNN, FUCCKKK COLLEGE BRU!**

 **Yall, I'm so sorry that this chapter came out late as hell, but this past month then really been giving me the beats! Everybody is throwing these essays and shit at me, all this fucking homework, just about anything you can possibly image that could happen to a college student-that's me.**

 **However, I do have to take up on some of the blame, cuz I'm naturally lazy, and there were times where I would have time to type…but I just didn't cause I saw my beautiful bed…with all those soft sheets…I then I'd remember that I deserve to sleep because I'm a fucking amazing person….and then I'd leave and go hang out with my friends.**

 **THIS IS THE COLLEGE LIFE PEOPLE! MY ADVICE TO MY YOUNG READERS- DON'T GO!**

 **Lol, I'm just playing, but this shit is tuff. I finished the Naruto-Vali fight scene a couple of weeks ago, and then I got writers block, something I usually don't have and I didn't know what to do…so I didn't do anything about it. Kinda fucked up, but when you're a college student who's sleep schedule has changed drastically over the past few months, these are the decisions you make.**

 **Anyway, fuck all that bullshit, I really hoped that you guys liked this chapter. You got some good as fighting at the beginning, some drama with the Sitri's, and then Gabreil has finally made herself known to the story. Seems like all the good stuff is happening.**

 **The next chapter will probably be the end of the first part of BreakThrough. I've got some planning to do, and with Thanksgiving and Christmas break coming up, I'll have more time to type up these dope as chapters and answer your reviews. So yeah, the first part of the story will end with the Three Factions meeting. More on that next chapter.**

 **Anyway, something that I want to address is the power scaling. You guys remember a few chapters ago that I wouldn't be messing with the power scaling?**

 **WELL YOU CAN THROW THAT DUMB ASS SHIT IN THE DUMPSTER, CAUSE I'M DOING IT!**

 **Before you get on my ass, let me explain why. Dxd does a…..very bad job, in my opinion, in making the main characters stronger by hard work. Yes, devils are blessed with power, and it's said that high-class devils never train a day in their life, but I feel like the characters in the show just grow too powerful way too soon.**

 **One thing I know that helped with this is that we were introduce to some of the most powerful members of each faction in the Dxd universe early on, so people were quick to judge Issei, Sairoarg, or Rias strength to the Maous or something like that. I don't know if this is making sense to you, but I just want you all to understand that I hate the power scaling in Dxd and I don't want to use it in my story.**

 **AND I HAVEN'T!- If you been paying attention. I've been hinting that there is a significant distance between the powers of the younger generation of devils and the old. Yes, high class devils are stronger than the lower class devils, but I want even the high class youth of Dxd to actually work for their strength. It makes it more interesting and it gives them something to strive for- to surpass those who are more powerful than them.**

 **To me, Issei and Sairaorg are too strong for their age, so I've cut their power somewhat. They are still some of the most powerful devils in their age group, but I want them to take some time in growing in strength rather than them growing more powerful in an episode or two. I'm taking a different approach, and many of you like the new Issei in this story. His time to shine will come soon…..hehehe…very soon.**

 **I swear, the things I have planned for the next arc…eheheheheheh! MY ARC!**

 **Also, addressing Naruto's power. Not going to say much, but I just want to elaborate that Naruto is fucking strong when he's at his full health. Just wait and see.**

 **As of now Naruto isn't at his full power, which is why he had trouble fighting Vali in this chapter. Just want everyone to know that this isn't Naruto's full power and that he'll be getting back all of his power next chapter!**

 **Also, I made Vali more powerful than usual. In the anime/manga, Issei basically won during their first meeting (was that time when he overloaded Vali's sacred gear their first meeting? Idk, but whatever. Their first fight) He's stronger than the younger devils, even though he is young himself, but isn't a fucking Maou or something. I promise you this will all make sense in the future. Just stick with ya boy, NarutoPlug. I've always come through for yall, so trust me on this. Trust in the Plug.**

 **But yeah, my great fanbase, I'm still alive and kicking. PLEASE REVIEW AND CHECK YOU PMS TO SEE IF I REPSPONDED! I usually respond to the first, like, 30 people that review first, but I still review to some of the others here or there. if you have any ideas, fuck with ya boy in the pms.**

 **I love you guys…remember that.**

 **OH SHIT, before I forget. I've been thinking of making a way to actually talk to you guys one day. Like, I make a side Instagram account and go live for you all so you can ask questions, see my face, all that good shit! I'd tell yall the profile name in advance if yall want to make that happen and then choose a date. I'll tell you in one of the chapters coming up. Also, does my story have a discord or whatever that thing is? If so hit me up. But if you like that idea of meeting me through insta one day, I might think about it.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should….**

…

… **.**

…

 **..**

 **sigh….back to being a college student…..**


	17. FireStarter

**sAyo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, and guess what?**

 **Do you see it yet?**

 **Have you noticed?**

 **I'll give you a second to see what I- FUCK IT, I'M TO EXCITED TO WAIT!**

 **OVER 2,000 REVIEWS! PUT ON THAT NEW MEEK MILL ALBUM AND SPRAY THE CHAMPHAGNE!**

 **I swear I have the best following on Fanfiction. It's because of you all that I continue to push every day, planning up new scenarios and typing new chapters for you all to enjoy. I just love the positive feedback that I get back from you guys. I hardly receive any negative reviews, and when I do, that not even that negative-their just being critical reviewers, something I accept and ask more of.**

 **But other than that, I've hit my second goal in reviews. I now have 2,111 reviews, 2,668 favs, and 3,092 follow- HOLY SHIT! I HAVE OVER 3,000 FOLLOWRS!**

 **THAT DESERVES EVEN MORE CHAMPHANGE!**

 **You all are the best, that's just a fact. I got love for all of you that review, follow, favorite the story, and for those that hit me up in my private messages just to check up on me. I got love for all of you all and your loyalty will not go unnoticed.**

 **And another thing…. I'M FREE FROM COLLEGE FOR 7 WEEKS! THANK GOD FOR CHRISTMAS (and every other religious holiday that is happening around this time)! That means I get to work on chapters non-stop (or at least, non-stop until I get tired and see something interesting on YouTube or a NBA game comes on. Go Cavs) and deliver more chapters than I have in a long time. I might actually go back to the weekly update thing if I can. I'm be hanging out with some of my friends here at home now that I'm back, but other than that, Ima be at the house typing, eating , sleeping, typing, and shitting. More chapters will be coming out more often during December and January! I'm going to need you all to help me out though and check up on me! Just to make sure I'm not being too lazy.**

 **But yea, I just got back home yesterday. I instantly hopped in the bed and went to sleep. But now I'm up, it's one in the afternoon, and I'm about to start typing up this chapter while watching TFS Gaming play Naruto Dragon Blade Chronicles- terrible game by the way. I had it when I was younger- and I'm bout to be on a roll.**

 **NARUTOPLUG IS BACK BABY! FUCK COLLEGE!**

 **Let's continue the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **FireStarter**

 **?**

"Nya…..zzzz…"

"…..Kuroka…"

"….zzzz…mmhhmmm…milk….zzzz"

"Kuroka, wake up girl…"

"Hm? Wha?...what's..happening?"

Kuroka opened her golden eyes to see Naruto's face looking down at her. His blue orbs that resembled the ocean were shining brighter than usual and he had a small grin on his face. The close proximity of their faces made the cat girl blush a little, however she kept calm and spoke, "Hi, nya~" she said while bashing her eye lids at her [King] sensuously.

"Glad you are awake, Kuroka." he whispered.

Kuroka eyes widened a little when she heard him say her name, "K…kuroka…you said my name…"

"That is your name, isn't it?" he said with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head and changed the topic, "Never mind that, we need to go to work, Kuroka."

"Work?" she said as she sat up. She was sitting in the couch in the living room with the television playing a movie, "How did I get here, nya?"

"Kuroka, my goodness!" screamed a voice coming from the kitchen. Kuroka whole mood filled from confused to angry once she recognized the owner of that voice to be Gabriel's. Said Angel entered the living room with a small bundle in her hands, "Kuroka, my dear, are you sick? It isn't like you to fall asleep while you're working."

"Work? I don't work, nya?!" screamed the teenager.

"Yes you do. You're our maid." Naruto said again while pointing at his [Queen]'s attire.

"Wha!" Kuroka looked down at her body to see that she was wearing a maid outfit, similar to what Grayfia would wear, "I'm not a cosplayer, nya!"

"Stop screaming, Kuroka. You'll wake up Boruto." said Gabriel as she revealed that the small bundle wrapped in blanket was actually a baby….a baby that looked a lot like Naruto.

Kuroka's eyes widened with disbelief as she jumped off of the couch and took a few steps back, "What's going on here…." she mumbled.

"Come on, Kuroka. Why are you acting like this?" said Naruto as he went and stood by Gabriel and wrapped his arm around her waist, "You know that Gabriel and I are married. You've been with us all this time."

The sound of pattering feet alerted the group as they turned their attention to the stairs. Two little girls that looked like clones of Gabriel ran down the stairs and towards Naruto and Gabriel, "Mom! Dad! Miko won't let me play with her dolls!"

"They're not only yours, Kushina!" shouted the other girl named Miko, "Mom said that you have to share!"

"Why don't you two play with big sister Kuroka? You can help her wake up by going outside and getting some fresh air, huh?" suggested Naruto.

"Okay!" both Miko and Kushina's eyes lit up as they turned to Kuroka, who looked horrified, "Come on, Kuroka! Let's go outside and practice our magic!" shouted Kushina as she grabbed Kuroka's left hand while Miko grabbed her right. The two stated to pull Kuroka out the door, no matter how much she struggled. Kuroka's eyes were starting to form tears as she watched Naruto and Gabriel smile at the child that was in Gabriel's hand.

"I don't want this!" cried out Kuroka as she continued to struggle against the girl's grasp, "She's replacing me! She's replacing me!" she yelled.

"Kuroka is such a sweet girl, always wanting to play with the children." said Gabriel with heavenly giggle, "I've always felt that we had a mother-daughter relationship, so it's good to see her get along with her sisters."

"We've made such amazing children." he said as he kissed Gabriel on the check, "And with those children came amazing sex! Let's go have some now!"

Boruto, who was in Gabriel's arm, turned his head to look Kuroka in the eyes. He had a pacifier in his mouth, but what freaked out Kuroka was when he took it out of his mouth and spoke, "None of this would be happening if you didn't leave Papa for Ginta. You didn't put us first. You deserve this."

Kuroka's heart dropped as she was pulled outside by the two girls and the door shut behind them…

"KUROKA!"

 **Naruto's Bedroom**

"NYAA!" screamed Kuroka as she jumped off of the floor.

"My Protégé! Are you alright!?" said Naruto, who was on the left of her. She looked around her to everyone from Naruto's peerage was surrounding her, along with Naruto and Gabreil, looking at her with confusion and worry-or, in Orochimaru and Kisame's case, amusement.

"Seems like you were having a bad dream there, girly." Kisame said with a chuckle, "You were mumbling something about kids, being a maid, and my personal favorite, 'fuck that angel bitch'. I wonder what you were dreaming that gave you such a scare." he laughed.

Kuroka wanted to claw into Kisame's face, but she wanted to know what happened to her first. "How did I end up on the floor?" she asked.

"When Ms. Gabriel said that she had to kiss Naruto in order to heal him, you spit out your milk in shock and then fainted." explained Lee, "You've been out for a couple of minutes."

"You really worried me…" Naruto whispered as he hugged his [Queen]. Kuroka blushed at the close contact with Naruto, however the same words that she heard from Boruto rang throughout her mind…

" _None of this would be happening if you didn't leave Papa for Ginta. You didn't put us first. You deserve this."_

She internally flinched at the memory and clutched onto Naruto's weak body, "I'm...I'm sorry for worrying you, nya…" she whispered back. While she was hugging him, she noticed that Samehada was licking up the milk that she dropped…and spit out of her mouth. A small shuddered coursed through her body, _'Nasty…'_

"That's so adorable." said Gabriel as she clasped her hands together and watched the scene between Naruto and Kuroka, "You two care about each other so much about each other and it's so cute! It's moment like this that I enjoyed the most during our travels around the global….it seemed like it was just yesterday when I met Naru and Kuroka." she said happily as she thought back to the past.

"While that would be a nice conversation to have, we need to focus on the task at hand." said Anna, showing off her authority, "Gabriel-sama, you said it you can heal Naruto-sama, correct?"

"Yes, yes I can." said the Angel, "Normally I wouldn't have to resort to such methods of healing, but Naruto's injuries can't be healed by normal healing techniques. His whole body is suffering from malnutrition and his magic functioning properly within his body. To put it into context, because of Naru's Power of Destruction randomly flowing throughout your body, any attempt to heal his body with magical spells will be negated or won't be as affective because its counteracting it." she explained.

"Hmmm….that's very logical. Even I didn't understand why we couldn't heal him through regular terms." said Orochimaru who was quite interested in the Seraph's explanation of Naruto's sickness.

"It's a very complicated process, so you shouldn't blame yourself for not understanding, Orochimaru." she said, "What you all were doing to help him has been very effective. By what you've told me, he can do basic task all by himself, which is very good."

"A question, if you don't mind." said Orochimaru, "Let's say we never rehabilitated Naruto-sama. How would his condition be as of now?"

"He'd probably be very weak and couldn't move so much." she answered, "This condition Naruto is going through can only be healed through a long and vigorous process. The first stage would be for him to just wait it out. Seeing as it would take time for him to control all of his magic that is dangerously flowing throughout his body, the first step to recover would be time."

"And how long would that take under regular conditions?" asked Yoh.

"Under regular conditions? Probably a few centuries." she admitted sadly, "I'd say over 200 based on how his magic is fluctuating within his body and how weak his body; which is why I wish he would have told me where he was sealed. I would have come and saved him from his torture."

"Hehehe! Sorry 'bout that!" he said with a cheeky grin and a head scratch, "I didn't want to trouble you with my problems."

Gabriel gave him another worry-filled glance before continuing her explanation, "During that time, his body would continually grow stronger. I can tell that he's healed more than usual because of Kuroka's chakra. Chakra users have better healing abilities than those with magic, which is why he's gotten better this quick. However, he wouldn't be able to access a lot of his magic either. His current state would as health he could be for a very long time."

"So what's so special about your 'spell' that can heal him?" asked Kuroka with a tone of annoyance in her voice. She still didn't like how the only way for her to heal Naruto was by kissing him, but she knew that her next explanation would probably convince everyone on why she should do it.

"What my spell does is that it can forcibly rearrange one's magic properly within their body. What would take centuries, I can do in seconds by using my magic to calm and shift everything where it needs to be. In Naru's case, his magic needs to be calmed since he has the Power of Destruction. Since his body is weak and his magic is randomly convulsing within him, his Power of Destruction is acting similar to a poison since he can't handle it. Every time he uses magic, his Power of Destruction is literally deteriorating his body from the inside out." she finished.

"So he's been like this since the moment we freed him?" asked Hao. Gabriel nodded, confirming his assumption. "So that means you've been hurting yourself whenever you would use your magic and you never told us about it?" he asked as he turned to his [King].

"I didn't want to worry you guys…" he said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Damn it, Naruto-sama.." said Anna with a glare, "You were supposed to be getting healthier, not hurting yourself even more by using magic."

"I knooowwww! But look! Don't I look healthy now?" Naruto said with a beaming smile.

"Last night you were on the floor bleeding out of every part of your body." she said with a serious stare, "You don't need to be using any magic until you're healed."

"Well then, let's get this show on the road then!" said Naruto as with clap, "Kisame, can you hand me my CarMax? My lips are a little dry."

"Yes sir." said Kisame, but he was grinning at Kuroka the whole time as he reached for the lip balm, "Gotta make sure my boy's set." he said with a laugh as he handed it to Naruto.

' _I'm going to fucking kill him later on….'_ she said with a low growl as she watched Naruto coat his lips with the CarMax.

"Have you done this before, Gabriel-sama?" asked Lee.

"Yes I have!" she answered, "Sometime ago, during the Three Factions War, there would be some angels that would be cursed by magicians that joined the Fallen Angels or Devils. I would use this method to break those curses, saving my kind from those horrendous struggles."

"So you're experienced in kissing other men?" said Kuroka with a small glare.

"In a way, yes, but I do it because I love everyone and if I can help someone in dire need, I'll be there for them." she said with a beaming smile that glowed happiness and innocence. So much in fact, Kuroka had to take a step back from all of the positivity surrounding her.

' _Fucking bitch and all that innocence! All this light is hurting my soft skin, nya!"_ she yelled mentally.

"Alrighty! All set!" said Naruto as he popped his freshly balmed lips, "Whew! When was the last time I kissed someone? Man, I'm old, hehehehe!"

"I'm ready when you are, Naru, but I just want to make sure if your alright with this." said Gabriel as she shifted closer to him in the bed, "I don't want you to be uncomfortable while doing this because it will mess up the healing process."

"Oh, I'm alright with it!" he said with a smile, "Just one quick kiss and then I'm a healthy guy! No biggie!"

"I know but…" she looked at everyone else and small blush appeared on her face, "There are so many people watching us…I'm a little embarrassed..."

"HELL NO! YOU'RE GOING TO H-

"We'll be leaving now." said Anna as she summoned Goki, one of her shikigami guards, to cover Kuroka's mouth and drag her out the room, "Come on, everyone."

"Make sure you don't go for too long now! She might catch feelings!" laughed Kisame as he followed everyone else out of the room. Orochimaru sighed as he closed the door behind him, leaving Naruto and Gabriel alone in bed.

"Catch feelings?" said Gabriel in confusion as she turned to Naruto, "What does that mean, Naruto?"

"I don't know. Kisame uses a lot of slang that I don't understand." he said with a shoulder shrug, "But, I want to thank you for helping me, Gabriel. With you healing me, I'll be at 100% again. I can get out of this bed without worry anymore. I can leave this house freely without my peerage members yelling down my throat. Even though I appreciate them for it, it gets kinda annoying, ya' know?"

"I understand, and thank you for that. While I wish you would have told me where you were sealed at so that I could free you, I'm glad that your free now and that I can help you. I enjoyed the times I had with you and Kuroka, even though they were short. But now that you'll be healed, we'll get to have more of those times together-and with more people! I'm just happy that you're finally free….though, I wish you would tell me why you were sealed…" she said with a small pout.

"Hehehe! I'll tell you why when it's important. It wasn't anything bad that I did!-just want to let you know that I was innocent!" he said frantically.

"Hmmmm…You're a good person, Naru. I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong." she said with a small smile.

"Heh...so...how does this kissing thing work? Do I need to be sitting in a specific way?" he asked.

"Just relax…try to calm your nerves…it'll make it easier for me to access your magic and sort it out." she explained.

"Alrighty….and hey…just wanted to know why does this have to be done by a kiss?" he said as he laid back in the bed, sighing as the comfort the soft mattress felt good against him, "Why can't it be done with..like a high five or something?"

Gabriel giggled at the blonde Bael, "It can't be done with a high five, Naru. It has to be done by kiss because it's easier for me to send my magic into you through an opening through the body. It's almost like a guide because I can focus on one place at one time, then move inward. It sounds funny, but it works."

"So you're basically inside of me." he said with a wiggle of his eyes.

"Yes, basically, I'll be inside of you."

"…..damn it, Gabriel. You're too innocent to understand my joke." he said with a grunt.

"Watch your mouth. I can't be kissing something so vulgar." she said with a laugh.

"Should I go brush my teeth first? I do have that good mouth wash that gets everything, too. Minty fresh~" he said as he blew at Gabriel's face.

"Stop it!" she said with a laugh as she pushed him away from her. When he pushed her back, Gabriel gained a glint in her eyes as she jumped on him. Naruto yelped as the two started to wrestle.

From the other side of the door, Naruto's peerage stood outside, waiting for the two to finish the spell. Both Kisame and Yoh had their ears to the door, listening into what they were doing. "Yup, their fucking." said Kisame causally as he pulled back from the door.

"WHAT! I'LL KILL THA-"Kuroka was cut off again as Goki wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth with his hand. The Nekoshou was fighting against the ogre, but he held the powerful kitty in a strong vice grip that she couldn't get out of.

"They're not having sex, Kuroka. You can calm down now." said Yoh with sigh as he pulled his ear away from the door, "There just play wrestling."

"And everyone knows wrestling leads to fucking." laughed out Kisame, "It's just a fact."

"He said that was a fact!" shouted Kuroka. She had pried Goki's hand off of her mouth for a quick second, but he quickly forced his hand back over it so she couldn't make any more noise.

"Can they just get this over with…" grumbled Orochimaru with annoyance while he sipped out of coffee cup again, "I left my newspaper in there."

"Hopefully they will." said Hao as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I just want him to get healed so we can leave this maggot-filled world for good."

Back inside the bedroom, Gabriel had pinned Naruto under her. While she was just find and laughing at the play fight, Naruto was taking in a couple of deep breaths. He wasn't fully recovered from the fight he just had against Vali, so he wasn't at his best at the moment.

Gabriel noticed this and instantly frowned, "You're still hurt…."

"Hehe…it's nothing to worry about..." he said with a weak grin, "I'll be fine soon…thanks to you."

Gabriel smiled down at him, "Are you relaxed?" she said softly.

"Yea…"

"Good…just stay still then...you'll be back to you energetic-self soon."

"Thank God for that…..ouch…"

"Stop that…you need to take this serious."

"I'm serious…..and I'm ready….."

"Good."

Gabriel cuffed the sides of Naruto's face loosely and ascended downwards. Naruto's grin slowly melted away as he closed his eyes and waited for Gabriel's lips to meet his own. The feeling of soft lips on his own made his eyes widened as a sense of euphoria erupted within him. An odd feeling of something flowing down his throat and into his body was there, but he didn't focus on that at all. He didn't care that his once tense muscles were starting to be relaxed by the soothing aura that slowly made its way throughout his body like a train. He didn't care about the sudden fluctuation of his magical levels increasing greatly, nor did care that he didn't have any sharp pains in his body anymore now that his Power of Destruction was calmed by Gabriel's magic. he didn't care that he could take more oxygen than usual now that Gabriel's healing aura repaired all of his organs and his blood flow was back to being normal. None of that matter to Naruto at all.

' _What is this feeling…'_ he said internally as he stared at Gabriel's closed eyes. His feet twitched as her magic made its way down to his legs. _'What….why do I feel….'_

' _So at peace….'_

For ten seconds, Naruto's mind was washed of everything. The only thing that he cared about was the feeling of Gabriel's lips on his own and the contentment that came with it. He felt like he was floating in a space of comfort and warmth, a feeling that he's never felt in his whole life.

During their kiss, the two were encased in green veil of light magic. Even though Gabriel had her eyes closed, she could feel that her light was burning his skin since he was a devil. She tightened the grip that she had around his face as she continued to heal him, but a sense of guilty washed through her body because she knew that he was also hurting. Nevertheless, she continued with the process because she knew that he wouldn't want her to stop.

After ten seconds, Gabriel had finished healing his body and slowly pulled away. She opened her magnificent blue eyes to see that his were already open and focused on her. She blushed a little in embarrassment and looked away, "A-are…are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"Ga…Gabriel…" he muttered. He blinked a few times after he realized that the spell was over and focused back on the real world. He shook his head a little and took in a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm alright."

Gabriel winced when she noticed that there were a few burn marks littered all over his body because of the light she produced, "I'm sorry for the external injuries. I didn't want to hurt you, but I knew that you would want me to finish the spell."

He hummed but didn't say anything else to reply. Gabriel moved to his side and helped him sit up in the bed, "How do you feel?" she asked him.

"I….I feel….I….." his eyes widened and he gripped his sheets as he went speechless. His body started to shake, which instantly put Gabriel on edge.

"Naruto, are you okay?" she asked while putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. However, he ignored her fully, as if she wasn't there.

His body stopped shaking after some time and a grin slowly grew on his face, "This feeling..hehehe! This feeling!" he suddenly jumped up on his feet and summoned a deep red veil of PoD to surround him, "I haven't felt like this sense being sealed in that box!-no…This is even better! heheHEHEhahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAAHHAHAHAH! THIS IS IT! I'M IN CONTROL NOW! AAAHHAHAHAH!"

"Naru, please calm down!" shouted Gabriel as she tried to reach for his hand, but his PoD wouldn't allow it as it would hurt her hand each time she got close to him.

The door to Naruto's bedroom burst open and his peerage members flooded into the room after hearing their master's screaming voice. "What the hell is going on!?" shouted Yoh as he entered the room with Anna right behind him.

"Guess what guys!? I'm back and better than ever!" shouted Naruto with a maniacal grin and glowing red eyes as he amped up his magical outage, "THIS FEELS GREAT! HEHEHE!"

"Naruto-sama, while I'm glad that you are healed, we need you to calm down." said Orochimaru as he approached the blonde Bael, "We need to access your body to see what's changed."

"Ohhhh! So you mean we should fight?" asked Naruto with a grin filled with mischievous, "Great idea, Orochimaru! What better way test my unlocked potential is using it now!" he said while another surge of red magic surrounded him.

"Damn it, he's lost it again." muttered Anna as she watched her [King] laugh insanely.

"I don't know what to do!" cried out Gabriel frantically. She didn't like how Naruto was acting because she's never experienced him like this. This was like a different Naruto that she was witnessing and she didn't know how to calm him down.

"I guess the only way to calm him down is by tiring him out, eh?" said Kisame as he grabbed Samehada's handle from behind him.

"No." stated Kuroka suddenly. The Nekoshou stepped up towards Naruto with authority, "We don't need to fight. Naruto, calm down now." she said with a glare that didn't hold room for any arguments.

Naruto smirked at his [Queen], "And why not, my protégé? Shouldn't you be excited the most now that I've fully recovered?"

"I am happy for you, but scaring your guest isn't the way to celebrate. That's why I'm telling you to stop with all of this unnecessary yelling… Calm. Down." she said, intensifying her glare to greater levels.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his [Queen], not expecting her to be this serious. He turned around to see Gabriel with worry-filled eyes. She was trembling and had the face of a saddened child because she didn't know how to help the situation. Naruto's crazed grin slowly morphed into a small frown as he called of his power. Because of the power circling around him, he was levitating from the ground. After recalling his magic, however, his feet slowly floated back down on the bed.

"Heh…sorry about that." he said while scratching the back of his head, "Guess I just lost control a little bit."

"Hmph." Kuroka grunted and walked back out the room, ignoring the surprised looks everyone had.

' _She actually calmed him down?'_ Orochimaru said with a hint of surprise. He didn't see her do anything special to calm him down, so why did he listen to her this time and not the others?

Naruto sighed as he watched Kuroka walk out of the room, "Now she's mad at me…what did I do to deserve this….Oh wait…"

"I'm glad you have you powers back, Naruto-sama, but it would be for your benefit for you to know how to properly channel your energy. Maybe you could join me during my meditation practices?" suggested Anna.

"Yea, that does sound nice. I should start back training with my puzzle pieces as well…" he murmured while scratching his chin, "And I need to find another Rating Game for us soon."

"Well, I'm glad that you're back on your own two feet, Naru." said Gabriel as she got out of the bed, "but I need to leave in order to prepare for the Three Factions Meeting tomorrow. It's a very important meeting that will hopefully solidify peace between the Three Factions."

"Oh, that thing? Azazel invited me to that." Naruto said plainly, "The meeting is due for tomorrow, right?"

"It is." Gabriel's eyes widened and a magnificent smile grew upon her face as an idea popped up in her head, "We should go together!"

"We should. It'd be quite the entrance." said Naruto with a smile of his own, "I'd gladly go with you."

"Then I'll meet you here before the meeting?" she asked.

"Sure thing. I'll see you then." said Naruto with a thumbs up.

"That's great! Oh how I've enjoyed my time meeting each and every one of you! I'll be back tomorrow before the meeting! Have a blessed day!" Gabriel said with a wave before disappearing in a flash of light.

"Damn it..." muttered Kisame after receiving a head ache from Gabriel's prayer, "I don't need any of her fucking prayers…shit hurts."

"I'm just glad we got that over with." said Hao after recovering from his headache, "We've got Naruto-sama healed now so all we have to focus on is the meeting tomorrow. Get through that, and we can go to the Underworld in peace."

"Wait, we're leaving?" asked a confused Naruto, "I thought we liked it here."

"Kuoh is becoming a hot spot, Naruto-sama. Magical beings have been appearing left and right ever since we arrived. The only reason why we came here in the first place was with the goal of freeing you. Now that we have achieved that and more, we can leave this despicable place now before something else happens." explained Orochimaru.

"But where would we move to?" asked Naruto, "Not that I don't trust my own peerage members, but we can't just move anywhere in the Underworld, especially with what I plan on brewing up. We need to stay out of public eye."

"I've got that covered already." said Orochimaru, "While you may not like the neighbor you'll have, the location of our next place of operations is very private and isolated."

"Hmm…I trust the advisor of my peerage enough to find a place for us in the Underworld, so I'll leave that alone for now." said Naruto.

"Is there something you want us to do in the mean time?" asked Lee.

"For now, let's just focus on the meeting happening tomorrow. They'll be a lot of important figures there, so it'll be best to put that at the head of our to-do list rather than anything else." said Naruto as he stepped off of his bed and opened the door to his closet.

"And what about you, master?" asked Lee again.

Naruto smirked at his only [Rook] and pulled out the puzzle sets that Kuroka bought for him, "Training, of course. I'd like for you to join me with it, Lee. Heheheheheheee!"

 **The Next Day - Kuoh Academy**

It was after school and Sona was walking back to her office in the Student Council Room to prepare for the Three Factions Meeting that was set to happen in a couple of hours. While she didn't show it on the outside, she was really nervous about everything because this would be her first major political meeting in her life. Even though she wouldn't be in the actual 'meeting' (she was basically on guard duty), just being in the presence of some of the most powerful beings all gathered in one spot is pretty nerve wrecking, especially with tensions so high between the factions.

However, she was determined to make sure the meeting with smoothly. She had just met up with Rias to discuss the setting and preparations she had to make at the Old School Building, along with informing her of which side of the school yard she would be guarding while the meeting was happening.

Sona sighed as she pushed past her office doors, the stress of the whole situation taking a toll on her. However, she perked up when she heard a familiar voice speak, "Little insignificant [Pawn] of Sona's, can you please go fetch me some snacks?"

"I'm not your freaking butler!" shouted Saji in anger at the smirking man sitting in one of couches.

A small smirk grew on Sona's face as she entered the room, "You really need to control that mouth of yours, Hao. It could get you into trouble one day." she said as she stopped beside his chair and folded her arms over her chest.

"Just the person I wanted to see." said Hao as he stood up and stretched his hand out towards her, "You seemed stressed. Of course, anyone in your position would be, seeing as you have a very important meeting happening on your school grounds."

"I am stressed, but a good conversation might be what I need to wine down." she said as she shook his hand, "It's nice to see you again."

"The same to you." said Hao with his ever-present cocky smirk on his face.

Saji almost barfed at the scene in front of him. He could see the admiration in Sona's eyes as she stared at Hao and it filled him with jealously because she was looking at another man that way. But he didn't want to cause a scene so he slowly exited the room, leaving the two by themselves.

"I assume you're here to make fun of my predicament." said Sona as she sat at her desk chair.

Hao shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "Usually I would, but you seemed more stressed than ever so I'll keep my thoughts to myself."

"And I'm thankful for that." she said with a little snicker, "The overall work isn't hard, it's just that I'll be in charge of protecting a meeting so many powerful figures. I'm worried that I'll mess up…and that I'll show that I'm just a little girl that doesn't know anything about the real world…" she finished with a lower tone.

Hao hummed in thought, not used to seeing this side of Sona, "True, but I think you're just over thinking everything. You're just keeping watch, not writing a whole peace treaty. If anything goes wrong, it must be because of an enemy that is stronger than you appeared-there's nothing you can do about that."

"I know…" she said as she took of her glasses and placed them on the desktop, "But I really want to prove myself that I can hold my own and that I can face this 'real world' that Naruto-sama always talks about. I want to prove that I'm not pampered girl that my last name depicts me as."

Hao narrowed his eyes at the Sitri heiress in concern, "I'm sensing something else is amiss here…do you want to talk about it."

Sona sighed again for what felt like the hundredth time today before replying, "I had a conversation with my parents and my older sister a few days ago. I confronted them about everything I know about Naruto-sama… and I wanted them to tell me the truth. While I feel like they left out a few details, I know what they did to him."

"And what do you think about him now?" asked the older Asakura.

"For one, I want to know why he hasn't tried to expose all of those involved with his sealing." said Sona, "Secondly; I want to know what he plans to do now. He's such an amazing person and for him to go through all of that and still have a good heart…I want to know what he plans to do with himself and those that were involved with his sealing…Now that I'm thinking about it, I understand now why everyone was so tense around Naruto-sama and Gremory-sama during Class Observation Day. That must have been one hell of a conversation."

"Yes, Naruto-sama can be very…confusing…at times, but he's a smart man. Even I don't know what he has planned for us, but I know it will be something major that will shake the Underworld-possibly even more. While I don't believe Naruto-sama is the most 'purest' of souls, he's a good person and whatever he's doing must be for the benefit of a lot of people." Hao summed up.

"I understand that, but what could it be that he's planning? And why hasn't he acted in revenge for those that sealed him?" asked Sona, "Any other devil would be out for blood if they were put through the things Naruto-sama went through. What is it that keeps him going?"

"If you want to know so badly, we can ask him?" suggested Hao.

Sona quickly shook her head, "No, I can't do that. I have to prepare for the meeting tonight and I don't want to be a bother. I'll ask some other time."

"Please, you must not know who we're talking about." said Hao as he stood up from the couch, "Naruto-sama would probably be happy to see you. You can ask him all of your questions and I'm sure he'll give you a proper answer."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be rude." said Sona as she put her glasses back on and stood up with Hao.

"Hmph, follow me." Hao said as teleported away.

Sona rolled her eyes, "So rude…" she mumbled as she followed Hao's footsteps and teleported too.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Sona and Hao appeared in front of Naruto's house. Hao opened the door for Sona when they walked up the stairs to the front porch, "After you."

"Such a gentleman. I thought you weren't a nice person, Hao." snickered the girl as she walked through the front entrance.

"Please, I'm far from that." smirked Hao as he closed the door behind him.

From the living room, Kuroka was laying on one of the couches while Anna and Yoh were sharing another. They were all watching a movie together, but their attention was pulled from the TV screen when they heard the door open and closed. Their neutral faces changed to one of shock when they saw Hao enter the house with Sona Sitri. All they got from his was a wave before he led Sona up the stairs, leaving the group highly confused about what they just saw.

"Hold on…" said Yoh as he turned to the two females in the room, "Did you…see what I just saw?"

"I-I don't know, nya." said Kuroka, thoroughly shook, "What just happened? Since when did girls like Hao's uptight ass?"

"That's going to be the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life…" muttered Anna, allowing a little emotion to present itself on her usually emotionless face.

The two made their way up the stairs and down the hallway undisturbed, something they were grateful for. Once the made it to Naruto's bedroom door, Hao's knocked softly on it, "Naruto-sama, are you awake? I have someone who wants to see you."

"Oh, is that Hao?" said Naruto from within the room, "Enter! Enter!"

Hao opened the door for Sona before walking into the room himself. In the room were both Naruto and Lee. Lee was sitting in one of the chairs on the right side of Naruto's bed, staring angrily at a few puzzle pieces on the bed. Naruto himself was sitting upright in his bed with a lot of puzzle pieces laid out in front of him. "Ah, Sona! It's so nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you as well, Narutos-sama." said Sona with a bow, "I must say…you seem healthier than before. Have you really progressed in your health that quickly?" she asked.

"Yup, yup, yup! I'm fully healed thanks to a special friend of mine." he said with wide smile, "I've got all my powers back and I can move around finally without a struggle. I'm back for good now."

"That's good to hear. I'm happy for you." the Sitri heiress then took notice of Lee, who hadn't said anything yet because of his intense staring of the puzzle pieces, "What is Lee doing?"

"We're training." answered Naruto, "What we're doing is coating the puzzle pieces with our magic and the goal is the match all the pieces together at once. Can't use our hands at all. This exercise helps with magic control and development. It's also a form of telekinesis, which is always a fun ability to have."

"YOSH! I think I have it this time!" shouted Lee, alerting everyone in the room. Lee gritted his teeth a clapped his hands together, uttering a few words of encouragement to himself. All of the puzzle pieces move the instant he clapped his hands in random directions. After a few seconds, half of the puzzle pieces connected together, while the other half were left trying to force themselves into spaces they didn't fit. "NNNOOOOOOOO! I spent ten minutes on that!" cried out Lee with a river of comical tears flowing from his eyes.

"It's alright, Lee. You're doing well for a [Rook] who hardly uses magic anyway. I see this as a small victory for you." said Naruto with a kind smile.

"Really?" asked Lee with a sniff as he wiped his eyes.

"Really really." answered his [King]

A massive fire burst in Lee's eyes as he jumped up from his chair, "THEN I SHALL PRACTICE EVEN MORE UNTIL HAVE THIS SPELL MASTERED! THANK YOU SO MUCH, NARUTO-SAMA! I WON'T DISAPPOINT YOU!" the green beast yelled as he gathered all of his puzzle pieces and vanished out of the room in a burst of speed.

"Wow…" muttered Sona with a sweat-drop, "He's really energetic."

"And its one of the reasons why I added him to my peerage. Lee is such a fun person to be around." said Naruto with a closed eyed smile, "But I'm sure you're here for you own reasons, Sona. Is there something that I could help you with?"

"She has some questions that she wanted to ask you, master. I knew that you were probably bored so I brought her here to entertain you for a while." explained Hao as he took a seat at the foot of bed, Sona joining him by grabbing a chair for herself.

"Oh really? This should be interesting." said Naruto as he closed his eyes. The remaining puzzle pieces glowed with red magic surrounding them and they all flew into one of the open drawers in Naruto's night stand. "Gahhh, that gives me a headache….gotta work on that more often now that I can…" he mumbled to himself as he rubbed his forehead, "So what is it that you want?"

"To keep things short, I know more about you now." she said as she crossed her legs. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her in curiosity, "I know why you were sealed…and who did it…"

"Oh…Ohhh…" a small grin grew on the blonde Bael's face, "And how does that make you feel?"

"It makes me angry. There were so many ways to go about the situation you were in, but I feel like they just got rid of you because they didn't want a low-class devil to be patterned with a high-class devil-and that is what happened. I talked to my parents and sister about almost everything, but now I want to hear your perspective…your side of the story."

"That makes sense." said Naruto while rubbing his hands together, "So let's get to it. What's your first question?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were dating my sister?" asked Sona with a small glare, "Throughout your stories, you would say that you and my sister were just 'good friends' and nothing more. Why leave out the fact that you two were romantically involved?"

"Getting right to the good stuff, eh?" said Naruto before replying, "The reason why I didn't want you to know that me and Serafall were involved was, for one, I didn't want you contacting her at all to see if it was true. I was pushing it by just mentioning that I was a part of Serafall's legion, but I knew that if I told you that we were once together, you would have called her about it, alerting her that I was back. I wanted to wait before anyone major knew that I was still alive."

"And the other reason?" asked Sona with curiosity.

"I wanted you to build your own perspective of me without knowing that I was with your sister." he said, "Granted, you could say that it was another form of me manipulating you by not giving you all the details, but I wanted you to get to know me as 'Naruto, the war hero' and not 'Naruto, the guy who dated your sister,' because there's more to me than that."

"By now, I'm actually used to your peerage members manipulating me, so it doesn't surprise me." she said while giving a quick glance at Hao, who was giving her his usual cocky grin, "But I'm glad that you told your story to me in that way. Because of it, I can judge you based off of who you are and not who you were once involved with."

"Well then my plan succeeded then." said Naruto with a smile.

"Another thing I wanted to ask was if you knew my sister and Gremory-sama would be at class observation day?" she asked, referencing Serafall and Zeoticus.

"No, I didn't. I wanted to meet up with Orochimaru to eat those pickles that Sairoarg gave me…what ever happened to those pickles?"

"You destroyed them." answered Hao.

"Oh….that sucks…but yeah! I didn't know that they would be there. That was a fun little get-together, hehehe!" he laughed.

"…..And h-how do you feel about my older sister now?" she asked with a bit of hesitation.

"Honestly….I could watch her die in front of me without any type sorrow for her…" he mumbled darkly with low eyelids, "Any love I had once for her was eradicated when she betrayed me for social statues among the high-class devils. She made her choice and I've made mine."

"I was afraid you would say that…" Sona said while suppressing a shudder. Naruto could be scary whenever he wanted to and he surely did creep Sona out whenever he was mad, "While I understand why you're angry…she's also my sister. No matter what she did, I can't hate her."

"You don't have to, Sona." answered Naruto, surprising the young Sitri, "This isn't your battle for you to pick sides on. This is…or at least, it was between me and your sister-nothing more. Our relationship is done. I don't want you to hate your sister just for me-I know that would be an impossible task for me to ask of you. I just want you to understand what was done. Whatever you take from that is up to you."

"T-thank you for being so understanding." Sona said with a small bow, "I was afraid that you would get angry when I told you that I'd like to stay neutral between both parties, however, I do feel like I am more on your side than my families."

"Well I'm glad that I've had such an impact on you. Means a lot to an old guy like me, hehehehe!" he said while scratching the back of his head; his personality doing a complete one-eighty from how he previously was, "Anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"Well, I wanted to know what you were going to do now that you were free. What are you plans against those who sealed you? You had a few opportunities to take your anger out on those who plotted against you, but you didn't exact any revenge against them." she said.

"Oh, I'll get my revenge against them, just not in the usual fashion most magical beings would. I can't tell you all the specifics yet, but just know that it will be a fun journey!" he said with an eye-smile.

"Okay…" Sona said, a bit unsure of his answer.

"If you two don't mind me interrupting." said Hao, speaking for the first time in a while, "I have a request that I need your permission for, Naruto-sama."

"Oh? What is it?" he asked.

"Sona here is a little worried about her guard duty position during tonight's meeting among the Three Factions. I wanted to ask if you'd allow me to assist her during the meeting, just to give her more support in protecting everyone that is inside the school grounds during that time." he said, ignoring Sona's surprised face as she looked at the older Asakura brother.

"Really now?" said Naruto, "That's an interesting task…it does get in the way a little because I was planning on bringing you with me to the meeting tonight…but I can just replace you with some like Anna or Kisame…you can go with Sona then for the night, just don't become a bother for her."

"Yes sir." he said with a small bow.

"Thank you for this, Naruto-sama. It really calms my nerves knowing that Hao will be there with me during the night." she said with the utmost gratefulness.

"Whelp, now that we got that out the way, I guess I need to get ready for this meeting." said Naruto as he pushed the covers off of him and jumped out of bed, revealing his black muscle shirt and orange sweat pants, "Should I dress as a snazzy guy who can do your taxes, or the cool hipster that wears a pair of sneakers with his tuxedo? Decisions, decisions…"

"While the dress code wasn't stressed, I suggest that you do wear formal attire. You will be surrounded by the leaders of the Three Factions, so it would do you good to make yourself look presentable." said Sona.

"Hmmm, since you come from a high-class family, I guess that means that you'd be knowledgeable about these type of events." muttered Naruto as he was searching through his closet, "I still wanna go in my wheelchair. Even if I can walk, that wheelchair is just comfortable."

"If you need something formal to wear, I'm sure Orochimaru has some spare clothes for you." said Hao.

"Good idea, my [Bishop]." said Naruto, slamming his closet door shut, "The only thing I had in that closet anyway were t-shirts and jeans."

"I'll go check with him now." said Hao, standing up and exited out of the room.

"What do you plan to accomplish at the meeting, Naruto-sama? If you don't mind me asking." Sona asked.

"Not too much, not too much." said Naruto as he stretched out his arms, "Ahhhh! It feels so good to be able to move again with any pain…hehehe! This meeting is going to be interesting!"

 **Timeskip - Old School House**

Rias and her peerage members were all a little uncomfortable as they watched the leaders of the Three Factions talk casually between each other before the actual meeting. Azazel was talking to Sirzechs while Michael, leader of the Angels, was talking to Serafall. Azazel had also brought along Vali, who looked like he just got out of a brawl because his face was littered with bandages. He was leaning on the side of the walls away from everyone else with a permanent scowl on his face.

Issei growled at Vali , seeing as that is his rival, but was angered even more because Vali was ignoring him. The most that Vali would do was give him a side glance before turning his attention back towards the wall he was staring a hole into.

Rias placed a comforting hand on her [Pawn]'s shoulder, getting him out of his funk, "Calm down, Issei. It's best we don't start anything right now. Plus, he does seem a little injured, so just leave him be."

The half human/devil sighed before agreeing, "Alright, Buchou, but I'll still keep my eye on him for now…" he mumbled.

After a few more seconds, Azazel garnered everyone's attention, "Alright, since we have all talked casual for a while, I believe it's time for us to get down to business. Although I did invite someone else, it seems like they're not coming."

"Gabriel was also supposed to come…that's odd for her to be late for anything, especially an event like this." said Michael, rubbing his chin in thought.

"I assume that Sona is the one over guarding the campus since she's not here with us?" asked Sirzechs to his little sister.

"Yes, her along with her peerage members have conducted a barrier around Kuoh Academy to make sure that this meeting goes without interruption." she answered.

"That's good." the Satan said while taking a seat at the round table.

However, before the meeting could officially start, there's was a knock on the door, confusing some everyone other than Azazel and Michael, "It must be Gabriel."

"Or it could be my special guest." said Azazel as he watched Kiba open the door, revealing that there were four people awaiting them. Gabriel smiled at Kiba in thanks before grabbing the handlebars to Naruto's wheelchair and pushed him in. Behind the two were Orochimaru and Kisame, following them quietly.

"Ahh! So you arrive at last, Naruto." said Azazel, standing from his seat with open arms.

"Hehehe! Sorry for being late, I had to get some clothes." said Naruto with a cheeky grin. The blonde Bael was wearing a dark-red button down shirt and black dress pants with black shoes, "I'm glad I got the invitation though."

Serafall was staring at her past lover with wide eyes, not expecting him to be in attendance at all, "Na-naruto…" she whispered with disbelief.

"Who is this man, Gabriel?" Michael asked his little sister.

"This is Naruto Bael, a devil and a great friend. I met him some time ago and he's always been exciting to be around." Gabriel said happily to her brother.

"You invited Naruto, Azazel?" asked Sirzechs, "Why?"

"Well, I was impressed by his power that he displayed two days ago when he fought against Vali, otherwise known as the White Dragon Emperor, even when he was injured. Also, I don't know where I heard it from, but isn't this the same Naruto Bael that was dubbed 'The Compass of Victory' during the Devil Civil War?" asked Azazel while rubbing his chin.

"Hmph, so that's why you invited me…" said Naruto with a small grin, "I should have known you would have knew something like that about me to invite me to a meeting like this."

"I do a lot of research on potential enemies and allies. However, what interests me was why you disappeared for so long?" both Sirzechs and Serafall eyes widened. While it wouldn't hurt the alliance between the Three Factions a lot, it still wouldn't look good if Azazel and Micheal knew about what happened to Naruto, especially since their former families were some of the Devils involved with Naruto's imprisonment.

"Oh that? It was nothing. I just decided to lay low for a while, hehehe!" laughed Naruto.

"Hmmm…I would have thought that there was a more interesting story to it, but I guess I was wrong." the Fallen Angel leader said with a little shrug. Sirzechs gave Azazel a small glance, believing that he knew more than he let on.

Serafall was extremely nervous now that Naruto was here. However, while she was nervous, what she was surprised and even mad at was the fact that he arrived with Gabriel, her self-proclaimed rival. Jealously started to spread throughout the Leviathan's body as she noticed how friendly Gabriel was acting with Naruto, something she didn't like at all. _'How has she known Naruto for as long as she says she has? Are they really that close? And why is he acting like I'm not even here!?'_ she questioned within her mind.

"Do you want to sit at the round table with us, Naru?" asked Gabriel to Naruto. Serafall's eyes narrowed even more at the nickname that Gabriel had for Naruto, making her even more suspicious of their relationship.

"It's alright. I'm just here to listen. I'll be on the opposite side of the room listening in. I'll be so quite, you won't even notice I'm there." he said to Gabriel.

"Understood." she said with a nod as she sat next to her brother. Orochimaru grabbed the handlebars to Naruto's wheelchair and started to push him to the opposing side of the room. Kisame silently followed the snake man, but not before giving Serafall a scowl filled with hatred. Serafall didn't react, but she knew that trying to talk to Naruto now would only make things worse.

Vali was staring heavily at the smiling Bael, who paid him no attention at all. The Lucifer decedent growled silently, seeing that Naruto didn't care for his presence whatsoever, similar to how he was treating Issei's presence. He did raise an eyebrow at the fact that Naruto looked fully healed from their battle that happened not too long ago. Also, he noticed that his skin had more color to it and he could feel his magical energy more than he could when they first met. _'Something's changed with him. Has he recovered that quickly?'_

"Alright then. Now that everyone's here, I say we start this meeting." said Azazel.

 **Same time – Northern Entrance of Kuoh Academy**

Sona was staring at the blue shield that covered the academy in deep thought, _'This should be able to stop any attack from multiple high-class devils. Even if it was destroyed, we'd have enough time to alert the others for backup.'_ she thought strategically.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard someone landing near her. Hao had just came from a round trip, meeting with everyone in the Student Council to see if the barrier was strong in their area and to see if they were in position, "Everything's clear around the school. I didn't see any problems that could affect the barrier, so we should be good." he said.

"That's good." she said with relief, "This whole meeting has me stressed somewhat."

"I can tell." Hao replied, "I'm not sure why you're so stressed. Even though a major political meeting his happening not too far from us, I don't think anything bad is going to happen. You'd have to be a brave person to attack all of the leaders of the Three Factions at once."

"I guess so…" she said while adjusting her glasses, "but I do want to stay on high alert…just in case."

Hao rolled his eyes and created a magic circle on the ground. Sona's eyes widened a little before settling into a small smile when she saw that he summoned two lawn chairs that Hao had in the backyard of Naruto's house. "Sit." he said plainly as he sat in one of the chairs.

"You really know how to treat a girl." she said with a roll of her eyes as she took a seat next to him.

"Just trying to get your mind off of things." he said as he summoned his favorite bottle of red wine and a glass to pour it in, "Your no fun when your stressed about something because then you don't catch any of my jabs I make about you."

"Of course, your reasoning would be a selfish one. Spoken from a true devil." she said.

Hao hummed at her a sipped some of his wine. The two held a comfortable silence for a while before Hao broke it again, "How did you like your conversation with Naruto-sama? Did all of your questions get answered?"

"For the most part, yes, I did. While I did want a more in-depth conversation about him, I knew that I shouldn't ask anything to personal about him. I didn't want to spark something that brought up bad memories." she answered.

"True…he does seem to have a lot of trust issues. Just a few days ago, he threatened to kill all of us out of fear." mumbled Hao before taking another sip.

"What? Why would he do that?" she said with worry.

"He found out that Anna was the one that battled Kokabiel and that we knew Serafall was in town. He didn't like the fact that we were hiding stuff from him and instantly assumed that we're plotting against him. It took Kuroka's sleeping powder to get him under control."

"Wow…How did he find out?" she asked.

"Apparently he had a battle against the White Dragon Emperor…Azazel appeared and stopped Naruto from killing him. It was him that told Naruto-sama everything…or so, that's what Naruto-sama said." he explained.

Sona hummed in thought, "That's unfortunate…do you think that now he's been healed by Gabriel-sama that his mental state has also been healed somewhat?"

"Good question and hopefully that proves to be true. Now that he's healed, my master is going to take his first steps into the public world since his sealing. Yes, Naruto-sama is very strong, but his weakness is his traumatized mind. In order for him to make his plans a reality, he needs to face his own demons before anyone has a chance to use them against him."

"So what's the next step from here?" she asked.

"The next step is to leave Kuoh."

"L-leave Kuoh?" she said with shock, "Why do you need to leave Kuoh?"

Hao sighed, "This town…it's garnering a lot of attention…unwanted attention. Our mission here in the human realm was to revive Naruto-sama from his seal. Now that we've done that, there isn't a reason for us to stay here. We plan on moving to an isolated spot in the Underworld where Naruto can recover mentally and to have a small place of operations."

"And you can't do any of that here in Kuoh?" said a very displeased Sitri heiress, "I understand that Kuoh has been a hotspot for supernatural beings lately, but that won't stop Naruto-sama from doing what he wants to do."

"True, but there are still distractions here that could pose a threat. Leaving is just the logical choice right now."

"What about Orochimaru? He still has a job here at Kuoh Academy." she countered.

"I don't know what he'll do with that job. He may quit or he may stay. All depends on what he wants to do. As for the rest of us, we'll be gone in the coming days. Orochimaru has already set up a spot for us to live in the Underworld. The last thing that we need to do to cross off our to-do list is this Three Factions Meeting. After this, we should be gone. I believe that Anna is already packing her bags now." he said with a small snicker, "She doesn't like this place at all…"

Hao took a sip from his glass, but he noticed that Sona's mood had permanently changed. He sighed as he ran a hand through his long hair, "You're upset."

"I am…and disappointed…" she stated, "I don't want you all to leave. I enjoy your presence here in Kuoh. While we may have had our difference over the past few weeks, I've learned so much from you...its….it's just a shame to see you go…"

"Me?" the older Asakura said with confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

"Uh..uhhh.." Sona mentally cursed herself for her slip-up as she tried to find some type of way to come up with a reasonable excuse, "We've just…gotten along so well. I look forward to our conversations and what not…You…you understand me, is what I'm getting at.." she said with a red blush.

Hao stared at Sona with his mouth slightly ajar, unbelieving of what she just said. Sona couldn't meet his stare so she turned her head away from the [Bishop] of Naruto Bael. The two were silent for a while and the awkwardness of the situation was unsettling to Sona. _'Why did I say that?! Why couldn't I have kept my thoughts to myself? I probably look so immature in front of him now and-_

Sona was cut out of her thoughts when she felt Hao's hand on her shoulder. She peered over it to see that Hao was staring back at her with his usual cocky grin, "Aren't you sweet? I didn't think that I left that much of an impact on you."

Sona's face flushed with an all out red blush as Hao pulled her chair closer to his own, "I'll show a little emotion and say that I'll miss you as well, Sona Sitri…but just a little bit. Don't think I'll be thinking about you all the time."

The two devils entered a small staring contest, with Hao's eyes holding its usual playfulness, while Sona's were filled with confusion along with a hint of happiness. _'You know what…..forget it..'_ were her thoughts as he eyes focused on Hao's lips.

Hao's cocky attitude quickly turned 180 degrees and was replaced by a look of confusion when Sona started closing in. ' _Is she? Is she really about to….fuck it.'_

While this was something very new to the powerful Asakura brother, he had seen it done many times in the movies that he would watch with his peerage members and when Anna and Yoh would do it occasionally. He wasn't stressing about his inexperience with kissing because he knew Sona probably didn't have any either. So, with all that factoring to his decision making, Hao leaned in slowly, tilting his head at angle that would allow him more access to Sona's approaching lips.

Sona whole world was moving in slow motion as she was centimeters away from Hao's lips. Her heart was racing with excitement, fear, worry-just about every crazed emotion any teenage girl would go through. This was her first time and it would be with someone she actually liked! The excitement of the situation was overpowering her fear as she was about to make contact with his lips…

Hao's head suddenly jerked upwards and he narrowed his eyes at the barrier. Sona had her eyes closed, so she was still waiting to feel another person's lips on her own; however she never received that feeling. She opened one of her eyes to see Hao darting his head all around as if he was looking for something.

"Something is wrong." he said as he stood up, disheartening the Sitri.

' _No, no, no, no, no!'_ she shouted angrily in her mind. What the hell was he talking about 'something was wrong?' She didn't sense anything around them, so she was wondering what he was talking about, "Are you sure? I don't sense anything at all," she said while grabbing his arm, "maybe we should go back to-"

"Somebody is here."

 **A few minutes earlier…**

"Hell yea! I'd love some peace! Sign me up for the train for peace!" shouted Issei with a perverted grin.

Azazel had asked both Dragon Emperors in the room what were the opinions on peace between the Three Factions. Vali said that he didn't care too much about it, as long as there were strong opponents to face against. Issei's, while he was okay with the idea with peace, after Azazel's explanation that if there was peace between the Three Factions that he would have more 'sexy time' with his future harem. That's all the [Pawn] of Rias Gremory had to hear before he was drooling at the thought of all the things he could do with the extra time he would have if peace was established.

The next thing that was talked about was actually started by Issei. He wanted to know why the church would banish Asia and Xenovia, in which Michael went into a long explanation of the changes the church had to make because of the death of God and keeping the secret safe. Michael asked for forgiveness from both Xenoiva and Asia because of what the church had done to them. It shocked them that the head of Angels was asking them for forgiveness, but they accepted it nevertheless.

"Well then, I'd say that this meeting is going well." said Gabriel with a smile, "I'd say that it's time to make peace between us official."

"Agreed. It's been a long time coming for this. We'll all benefit from this peace treaty." said Sirzechs.

"Hmmm…there is one more thing I'd like to address before the signing of this treaty." said Azazel while lacing his fingers together.

"What is it about, Azazel?" asked Michael with curiosity.

Azazel's head turned towards both Serafall and Sirzechs, "To the Devils in the room, how would you describe the current state of your side of the Underworld?" he asked with a calculative stare towards both Satans.

Both of the Satans raised an eyebrow at Azazel, "Well, I'd say that we have a solid government at the moment. There aren't any major economic droughts anywhere on our side of the Underworld nor has there been any disputes lately." said Sirzechs.

"Also, it should be known that any conflicts between Devils and Fallen Angels have fallen significantly over the past few decades, " Serafall said with sophistication, "Excluding the events that happened with Kokabiel a few weeks ago, there haven't been any major conflicts started by devils that may be a threat to peace between the Three Factions."

"Ah yes, those statistics do sound great, but there is something that has caught my eye that has been brewing on the Devil's side of the Underworld." said Azazel.

Sirzechs narrowed his eyes at the Fallen Angel leader, "What are you talking about?"

"According from some whispers I've been hearing, the Devils are starting to have a revolution of some sort…the low-class devils more specifically." Sirzechs and Serafall's eyes widened a little, "Now, while that's a matter not dealing with the other two factions, what I'm concerned about it the brewing divide between these two classes."

"I haven't heard of this divide at all." said Michael.

"Devils have done their best to keep it under wraps, that and this revolution isn't that big yet. However, there haven't been any moves to stop this growing divide either." Azazel said to Michael, "Apparently, this all started when a high-class devil was saved from death during a Rating Game…now that I remember correctly…" Azazel turned towards Naruto, who had his eyes closed but was smiling, "wasn't your peerage in that Rating Game?"

"Hmmm...Sure was." said Naruto, his smile not faltering in the least, "But I wasn't there at the Rating Game, so you'd have to ask my peerage members for any in-depth details about the game-specifically Hao."

"Oh, that's quite alright. I already know the gist of what happened to spark this growing problem. It was Ravel Phenex, a high-class devil of the Phenex Clan, who was recalled at the end of Rating Game because she was about to be killed by Hao Asakura, correct?" Azazel said.

Sirzechs gritted his teeth a little before answering, "Yes, that's what happened. I made the order to do so because Ravel's father threatened to stop all production of Phenex Tears if I didn't recall his daughter in time. But this growing problem shouldn't be a factor to stop the peace that is close to becoming a reality." the Satan said.

"It shouldn't…or at least, I hope it doesn't." said Azazel, "See, the problem that could arise from this is the fact that if this divide continues to grow, it could result in a civil war between low-class and high-class devils; and that isn't a wild theory to make since you devils do have a history in civil wars."

"And how do you believe this could affect the treaty, Azazel?" asked Michael with interest.

"Well, if a civil war were to happen, since we'd have an alliance with the Devils, there may be a chance that the Devils may call upon our help to fight against the lower-class devils, especially since low-class devils outnumber high-class devils five-to-one. Since they're the ones that deal with most political dealings, it would probably be the high-class devils that call for our help." explained the Fallen Angel.

Gabriel then decided to enter the conversation, "That seems like a plausible outcome; however this peace treaty means that we are with peace with all devils and not just the high-class devils."

"Right again, my angel sister." Azazel then slammed his hand on the table and looked at both Satans, "The question that I have for you two is that what you devils are going to do to handle this growing situation in the Underworld? And if my predications are true and a civil war was to happen, what would you do in response and whose side would you be on? The low-class devils or the high-class devils?" asked Azazel.

Literally all eyes were on both Sirzechs and Serafall, awaiting an answer from them. The two Satans were internally sweating bullets on the inside, trying to conjure up a response to Azazel's question. However, because of how detailed Azazel was with what may happen in the future if the growing divide between devil classes continued, it was incredible hard to come up with a definite answer that could quell them.

Sirzechs and Serafall instinctively glanced to his right side to take a look at Naruto to see his reaction. The blonde Bael was still smiling happily with his eyes closed like nothing was wrong. _'Is he even listening to what's going on?'_ Sirzechs thought with a frown on his face.

Naruto's eyes were closed, but they slowly opened. His smile also faded away for a small, hardly noticeable frown. A shiver of fear ran through both of the Satan's body as they looked at Naruto's half-lidded eyes, which were glowing crimson red and not his usual ocean-blue eyes. His eyes were filled with rage and hatred that they both felt an immense amount of. While nobody else noticed it, the two were scared of the Bael. They both knew that this was a sensitive topic to Naruto since he had suffered at the hands of high-class devils with Sirzechs' family being involved while Serafall herself was directly involved. The two couldn't pry their eyes away from the raged-filled, red eyes of Naruto as they tried to come up with an answer.

It was silent for a while and the leaders of the Angel and Fallen Angels were still awaiting an answer, "Sirzechs, are you still with us?" asked Michael.

"Oh!" said the red-haired Satan. Michael's voice had brought him out of his fear-enhanced trance by Naruto, "I'm sorry, I was… lost in thought while coming up with an answer to your question."

"Hmm...and what could that answer be?" asked Azazel.

Sirzechs coughed in his hand before starting, "Well…everything that you've said so far is true, Azazel, and it is a topic of discussion-both here and in the Underworld currently. While I want to be able to tell you that the situation is handled, unfortunately it hasn't. I have plans that I will act upon in the future that will hopefully ease the tension between the social classes of the Underworld, however that isn't an assured thing. The lower-class devils are anger, something that I've seen first-hand when one of my own butlers tried to assassinate me not too long ago. There have been acts to quell their thirst for equality, but if it reaches the point that a civil war breaks out between Devils, then I promise you that neither the Angels nor Fallen Angels would be called on for help from either side. This would be a devil problem so it would only be right for devils to fix it themselves." he finished.

"….I guess I can take that for an answer." said Azazel, "But you didn't say what side you'd be on."

"Because I hold the role of 'Lucifer' over all devils, I would remain neutral in this predicament. However, if it becomes blatantly obvious that one side becomes evil and unethically, I'd glad join the other side in the fight for peace and order." the former Gremory answered.

"That's a respectful answer. There's no telling what could happen in a situation like that, so remaining neutral and then deciding on what side to join would be the best choice to me." said Michael with Gabriel showing her agreement with a nod.

' _Thank Lucifer I got out of that one…'_ Sirzechs said mentally while sighing in relief. He subconsciously took a sideways glance at Naruto again, only to see that he was back smiling with his eyes closed like nothing ever happened.

"Well then, now that that's out the way, I believe that we should get to sign this peace treaty."

However, before the leader of the Fallen Angels could continue, a large amount of magical power appeared over the Old School House, alerting everyone.

A purple aura suddenly surrounded Asia, Rias, and Akeno, seemingly freezing them. "Hey, is it just me, or did time just stop?"

"Seems so…Those with superior powers weren't affected by it." said Azazel, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You can thank our dragons for that." Vali said, speaking for the first time in a while, "They protected us."

A large explosion occurred outside, garnering everyone's attention outside the window. Dozens of magical circles appeared, summoning a large group of people covered in garbs, "Who are those people?" asked Issei.

"Magicians…and a lot of them." said Gabriel.

"My question is what is the power that is freezing the young devils?" asked Michael.

"It's the half-vampire boy under Rias Gremory. He must have been captured by the magicians and forced to use his powers." said Azazel.

"Gasper…" muttered Kiba with worry.

"It has to be him." said Sirzehcs, staring out the window.

"What about the barrier that was set up before hand?" asked Serafall, knowing that her sister was over said barrier, "Did they break through it?"

"I'd say that they didn't. If the barriers were to be broken, we would have felt the disturbance immediately." said Sirzechs, "They must have already been here before the barrier was set up and then weakened it by taking out those over it."

"What's worse is that our guards are disappearing quickly because of the enemy's teleportation magic." said Michael as he watched guards of the Three Factions disappear in an instant thanks to the magicians' power.

Sirzechs narrowed his eyes, "All of this…they've come to well prepared. Somebody on the inside knew about this meeting a planned ahead…using my sister's servant against us…knowing where to attack to barrier…"

"While that's great and everything, we need to stop that kid from using his Sacred Gear against us." Azazel stepped in, "If they found a way to enhance the kid's power…he could kill us all."

Sirzechs turned to his frozen sister, "I just wish that she wasn't caught within his spell…she could have transported to him easily through the castling ability the Evil Pieces has."

"I think I have a solution to that." said Naruto, catching everyone's attention, "I can send my loyal servant Orochimaru out to go free the boy. Meanwhile, we can take care of those pesky magicians, hehe!"

"Are you sure, Naruto-sama? I'd rather be here protecting you." said Orochimaru.

"I've got Kisame by my side, so I'll be fine." said the Bael with a smile, "Do me a favor and make this quick. We don't need to give them anymore time at making the little boy's power any stronger than it already is."

"If that's what you want." _'Now I have to deal with this idiot child again…'_ Orochimaru mentally groaned.

"Are you sure that you can go outside and dodge all of that, Mr. Orochimaru?" asked Michael.

"I'm sure about it. I don't need any teleportation magic to get there. May I ask where the boy was stationed at?"

"Well, the only people that would have known those apart of Rias' peerage." said Sirzechs. Everyone then turned to Issei, who panicked a little at all the eyes on him.

"Uhhh…I don't know where Gasper or Koneko are at…" he said with an awkward laugh.

"I think you should check somewhere within the school." suggested Xenovia.

"..sigh…I guess so…" said Orochimaru, loosening his tie and handing it to Naruto, "May you hold this for me, Naruto-sama?"

"No problem." he said, taking his [Pawn]'s tie, "Now go out there and save those kids!"

"Yes sir." said Orochimaru as he walked out of the room.

"Vali, you should cause a distraction and go out there as well. Those magicians will probably be shook seeing the White Dragon Emperor." Azazel said to his pupil.

"Hmph.." said Vali before summoning his wings and flying out through the roof.

"I say we got out there and help as well." said Issei, flashing his Boosted Gear. Kiba, Xenovia, and Irina all agreed.

"If you do, can you go make sure if So-tan and peerage members are safe?" asked Serafall with worry.

"No problem!" said Issei, flashing the Leviathan with a grin and thumbs up, "I'll make sure Sona's safe and sound!"

"Thank you very much, Issei." said Serafall with a soft smile.

"I hope Hao is okay." said Naruto to Kisame, "He was out there as well with Sona."

"I'm sure that dick head is okay…at least he get to have fun fighting magicians…" the blue-man said with a grumble.

 **With Hao and Sona**

The two stood their guard as a large group of magicians surrounded them, "How aren't they affected by the vampire's abilities?" asked one of them.

"They haven't made the boy's power strong enough to reach out this far from the school…that, or one of these devils is very powerful." said another magician.

Sona analyzed the situation, seeing that there were at least twenty magicians surrounding them. "Magicians? Why are they here…how did they even get here?"

"I don't know, but we don't have time to stay here." said Hao while taking in a deep breath through his nose. His eyes snapped open and a small grin started to grow on his face, "Spirit of Fire was getting hungry anyway…"

Sona looked at Hao weirdly, "What are you talking about?" she asked him.

His grin only grew as Spirit of Fire's enormous frame fluctuated to life behind the duo, "One of these magicians is a female…a female, and a virgin.." he muttered darkly. Spirit of Fire sounded off with a loud roar with a small shockwave of energy following afterwards.

"What is that thing?" said one of the magicians in fear.

"Don't let them get any closer! Fire!" shouted another female magician as she shot a beam of orange teleportation magic at Hao.

"Wave…" muttered Hao lazily. The Spirit of Fire screeched again and created a huge ball of fire within its left hand. The ball was the base of a massive flamethrower that the Spirit of Fire used to wash over all of the magicians, who all screamed with agonizing pain from the hot flames before succumbing to death.

However, Hao left one of magicians alive. A female beauty with platinum blonde hair legs were singed from the flames of the Spirit of Fire. "Gahh…Damn it.." she said with a grunt.

"Hello there…" said Hao. The woman looked up to see Hao standing over her, his menacing brown eyes reflecting the hot orange fires surrounding them, "Ms. Virgin Magician." he finished with a tone that made the magician shudder.

"Stay away!" she yelled, creating a magic circle that shot out purple lightning. The Spirit of Fire came in Hao's defense by blocking the lightning with one arm and plowing through the magic circle with its other. The Spirit of Fire screeched with happiness when it captured the girl and brought it up to its mouth, "Let go of me!" she yelled as she desperately tried to free herself from the strong grip of the spirit.

"If they're here, then there should be more on the school grounds," said the older Asakura. The screams of the female magician were silenced the moment the Spirit of Fire devoured her inside of its massive mouth. It's body flashed red as it gleefully digested the girl quickly within its stomach that contained boiling hot magma, "We should check out the others of your peerage to see if their okay." said Hao.

Sona looked at the scene with fear in her heart. Just a moment ago, Hao was his usual cool, arrogant self. But now he was a fiery massive murderer with no compassion in his heart. His dark look in his eyes was similar to the one Naruto had when he was enacting his 'punishment' on Hao so long ago. A shudder of fear ran throughout her body as she looked at the burnt carcasses of what used to be magicians, _'It...It seems I forgot how…ruthless he can be….'_ she said with a gulp as she pushed her glasses up.

"Sona." his voice brought her out of her inner thoughts as she looked over to him. He was standing on the Spirit of Fire's open palm and looking her direction. The spirit reached its arm out towards Sona, beckoning her to jump on, "Come with us so we can go save your peerage members." he said with an outstretched hand.

The Sitri heiress nodded and grabbed onto his arm. Hao pulled her up to the Spirit of Fire's arm, "Alright…let's go…" Hao said to his partner. The spirit gave off a hellish screeched as it jumped in the air and started to fly.

"It seems we are under attack…" Hao mumbled, seeing that there were hundreds of magicians fighting against the guards the leaders of the Three Factions brought with them to the meeting, "I just want to know what they could gain by attacking this place."

"Somebody that doesn't want peace between us apparently." said Sona with glare focused at the Old School House, "Maybe we should head there to check up on everyone."

"They'll be fine." said Hao, dismissing her suggestion, "What we need to do is find out how the barrier was breached and go help your peerage members. They'll be fine by themselves."

"If you say so." said Sona, "My peerage members are at the southern, eastern, and western entrances of Kuoh Academy. We'll go to each one and see what's happening there."

"Agreed." said Hao stoically while creating a blast of fire the purged a group of magicians beneath, "Let's start at the western entrance since we're already headed in that direction."

Because of the high-speeds that the Spirit of Fire was flying at, it didn't take long to arrive at the western entrance. Once they landed, they were greeted with the sight of Saji, Ruruko, and Momo fighting against a large group of magicians. They were out-numbered five to one and it was very difficult for the younger devils to continuously dodge the magician's teleportation beams.

"So-Sona!" shouted Saji after dodging another magical blast, "You're okay!"

"I am!" she yelled, jumping off of the Spirit of Fire and defending Momo from behind with a defensive barrier, "What happened here!?"

"Apparently these guys were already hiding within the school grounds when we set up the barrier. They then attacked us from behind and we couldn't focus on keeping the barrier up to fight them off, causing it to fall."

"And with that, they created their own barrier that's messing with our teleportation magic!" shouted Ruruko.

"Damn it." Sona said under her mouth while summoning a massive water snake that attacked three approaching magicians, "We need to get this over with and save everyone else!"

"Yes ma'am!" the three shouted in agreement.

"Tch…so small." said Hao with a glare at the magicians. The Spirit of Fire smashed his hands on the ground, sending his fire through it. The ground underneath the unsuspecting magicians bulged before it exploded with a large geyser of fire frying them instantly, "There should be more of them on the way to the southern entrance. I'll go there and you all go the eastern entrance of the school. We'll meet back at the Old School House to help everyone else." he stated plainly before flying off with Spirit of Fire.

"Wow…" said Saji, looking at the destroyed landscape that Hao caused, "I all of a sudden feel very weak now. He finished them off in a couple of seconds while we've been fighting them for over ten minutes!"

"Hao is very strong…I see why you like him, Sona." said Ruruko, nudging her [King]'s side with a mischievous smirk.

Sona blushed and pushed her other [Pawn] off of her, "L-let's go get the others." she said while summoning her wings and flying off.

 **Same Time – Old School House**

"Take this!" shouted Issei in his Balance Breaker mode as he punched a magician in the face. However, ten more replaced him and all were ready to take out the Red Dragon Emperor, "Damn it-these guys are like rats!"

"Hey, Red Dragon Guy!" shouted one of the Fallen Angel guards as he landed next to Issei, "Need a hand?"

"Uh-yea! Thanks a lot!" yelled Issei as he continued his attack against the magicians with his new ally.

"By the power of Christ, I shall stop those who are against peace between the Three Factions!" shouted a female angel who was shooting light spears at the other magicians trying to take down Issei.

"Are you alright, Irini!?" shouted Xenovia as she slashed through another magician.

"Doing just fine!" the brunette yelled back.

"Watch out!" yelled a devil solider, slashing through another beam created by a magician with his axe, "Stay alert!"

"Thanks!" yelled Irini.

"Well, well, well…would you look at that…" said Naruto from within the barrier Sirzechs and Michael made to protect them, "Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels…helping each other. I should take a picture of this, hehe!"

"While that is great, I don't think now is the time to make jokes, Naru." said Gabriel as they watched the battle between Azazel and Katerea Leviathan, the former Leviathan who was a part of the Old Satan Faction during the Civil War, "All of this to stop this meeting…they've really planned well."

"Yeah, but Azazel will be able to take that fraud down!" said Serafall while sticking her tongue out at Katerea.

"Huh?" said the voice of Akeno from behind them. Rias, Akeno, and Asia were all freed from Gasper's Sacred Gear, signaling that Orochimaru had saved him as well, "Heh, seems like that snake bastard actually saved the little cross dresser." said Kisame with a tooth filled grin, "Good to see you two back in action Ms. HIV and Ms. STD! Aahahahahah!"

"What-Kisame! What is going on!?" shouted Rias.

"Too much to explain now, but just know that all of your peerage members are safe." said Naruto, "Orochimaru should be back with Koneko and Gasper any minute now. The only thing left to do now is too defeat Katerea and the rest of the magicians."

"And it seems like Azazel has everything handled now." said Sizechs as they watched Azazel kill the former Leviathan with a light spear to the face, disintegrating her.

The monstrous screeching of the Spirit of Fire signaled its arrival as it dropped down onto the middle of the battlefield, catching everyone's attention, "Let's clean this up, Spirit of Fire." Hao muttered darkly as he filled his partner with more of his magic. The Spirit of Fire glowed a dangerous red as he coughed lava started to pour from the corners of its mouth, ready to attack the remaining magicians, "Magma Uproar."

The Spirit of Fire groaned as created giant missiles of fire that shot through the remaining army of magicians. Nobody on the enemy's side was safe as the extreme temperatures of the fire incinerated any forms of protection that the magicians could make, destroying them the instant the missiles made contact with them. With a fire display similar to a volcanic eruption, the area was cleared of any magicians, leaving a calm Hao, with his cloak waving violently with the strong winds, watching his destruction carried out stoically.

"Well would you look at that…" said Azazel as he looked at the scene in front of him, "Like a glimpse of hell. That boy is really powerful." he said while making a magical circle to heal the wound he caused from cutting off his arm.

"And very destructive." said Sirzechs as he lowered his hands, causing the barrier around them to collapse.

Whelp, with that, we're done. The boy got the rest of the-"Azazel was cut off by a blast of blue magic to the face, rocketing him to the ground.

"A-Azazel!" shouted Gabriel, worried over her fallen brother.

"Hehe, must have lost my edge. Bad Vali!" said Azazel after digging himself out of his own crater.

"Sorry Azazel," said Vali from within his Balance Breaker, "Things look more interesting on this side."

"You dick! You're the one that betrayed us!" shouted Issei at his counterpart.

"I can understand, but there is something that I'd like to ask you." said Azazel, calling forth his black wings and flying up to Vali, "You know Shemhazai, my vice governor general. He's recently informed me of a faction gathering the dangerous elements and members of the Three Great Powers. What were they called again? On yea, the Choas Brigade." he finished.

"With all the things they've done here, using chaos in their groups name is accurate." said Sirzechs.

"Whoever is in charge must be strong, but why would anyone gather such dangerous people together?" asked Serafall.

"If I had to guess, the person that is leading you is none other than Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon, am I correct?" he said, shocking everyone.

"Yes, it is true that I've sided with Ophis, but believe me that we don't have the slightest interest in world domination. We're just a group who formed in order to use our power and that's all." said Vali.

"Well that makes more sense, "said Azazel, "Conspiring with Katerea seems a little beneath you but even so, both of you had Devil titles stolen from you so I wasn't sure."

"He's a Devil king decedent too?" asked Serafall, surprised at the revelation.

"My name is Vali Lucifer, direct decedent of one of the dead Devil Kings. My mother was a human, so I'm a half-blood. My father was the grandson of the former Great Devil King Lucifer!" he announced. Shock was evident amongst those listening, especially the Devils, seeing as their opponent was one of such royalty within the Devil society.

However, that shock was disturbed by the angry voice of Kisame, "Mannnn, fuck all of that shit!" he said while walking past everyone head and headed towards Vali, "I don't care if your related to the original Lucifer, Jesus, the fucking moon!- I've got smoke with you little boy…"

"Oh really? What could that be?" asked Vali.

"You're memory might be fucked up cause of the pounding you took a few days ago, so let me remind you! You fought against that idiot over there," Kisame pointed to Naruto who was trying to tie Orochimaru's necktie around his own neck (and failing miserably), "and ya hurt him. Now, the only problem I have with that is that YOU fucking hurt him and not ME!"

"He is correct…in his own way." said Orochimaru, walking out of the foliage with Koneko and Gasper at his sides, "You did hurt my [King] and therefore you must pay."

"Rias! Issei!" shouted Gasper, running up to Rias and hugging her close.

"I'm glad to see you two safe." she said with happiness hugging her [Bishop] tighter.

"Heh, I see…" said Vali, "And you plan on killing me here?"

"It's an open option." said Hao, landing next to Orochimaru and Kisame. The three were emitting waves of **KI** that was so intense, it forced many of the younger devils on their knees, "Anybody who hurts our [King] should consider themselves dead."

"I noticed that you still haven't recovered fully from your fight with Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, "Seems like killing you wouldn't take long at all."

Vali growled at the snake man because he knew that Orochimaru was right. He's injuries during his battle with Naruto weren't healed all the way yet and he wasn't suspecting said Bael to be at the meeting along with some of his peerage members, who all seemed strong.

Before he could retort, the barrier surrounding Kuoh was destroyed as another teenage boy entered the field, landing right next to Vali, "Bikou, what are you doing here?" asked Vali.

"I was sent to find you because we're final going to fight against the Northern Earth Gods. We need to head back and join the others." said the muscular boy.

"I think not." send Orochimaru with a wicked flash in his eyes. Snakes shot from out of his sleeve at immense speeds and wrapped themselves around both Vali and Bikou, "You're not going anywhere until you answer some questions of mine."

"Hahaha! You think this could hold us?" asked Bikou with a laugh. The teenager flexed his muscle, breaking not only the hold Orochimaru's snakes had, but the snakes themselves. Vali broke free from their grasp as well with minimal effort; the snakes blood spattering everywhere.

Orochimaru smirked as he snapped his fingers. The blood of the snakes changed colors from blood to a sick-green. It quickly floated off of the ground and trapped both Vali and Bikou in prison of water.

" _What….this isn't water, its venom."_ thought Bikou, _'I can sustain in something like this since I have a lot of magic and stamina, but Vali…'_ he turned to his friend to see that the venom had already entered Vali's body. Purple veins bulged from the sides of Vali's face as he couldn't hold his Balance Breaker any longer. _'This isn't good.'_

"He's done for." said Kisame, grabbing Samehade and prepared speed towards Vali and Bikou.

"Stop! Let them go." Naruto's voice stopped Kisame from pursuing any conflict with the two, "Let them go, Orochimaru."

Without even questioning his master's orders, the venom prison lost shape and fell to the ground, freeing the two teenagers. Vali entered a coughing fit as he tried to gather his breath, but was failing to do so.

"AAWWWW! What the fuck man!" shouted Kisame to Naruto, "Why let them go!?"

"They're not hurting anybody." said Naruto, wheeling himself next to his peerage members, "Hey…Vali..." Vali looked up at Naruto with hated-filled eyes. Those eyes didn't affect Naruto in the slightest as he continued, "This is the second time now when I could have killed you but you were saved. The first time was by Azazel and now it's from my mercy. Take this opportunity to get stronger and when I see you next time…" a smirk filled with evil grew upon Naruto's face, "I'll kill you then."

If looks could kill, Naruto would have been dead ten-times over from the intensity of Vali's glare. However, his coughing fit was stopping him from doing anything else. Bikou quickly picked up the White Dragon Emperor and vanished with a magic seal, leaving them to their own devices. "Well that was fun!" said Naruto with a cheeky grin.

"I swear to god I'm going to kill you for that! That was the fucking White Dragon Emperor I could have killed! Do you know how much street-cred I could have got for killing him!?" Kisame shouted at his [King] as he grabbed his dress shirt and comically shook Naruto around until he was foaming from the mouth.

"I guess that ends things." said Sirzechs with a sigh, "We can finish this peace treaty now."

"Yes, I agree." said Michael with a beaming smile, "It's already been shown that the Three Powers can work together during the battle against those magicians, so why not unite together?"

"Hmph, if someone would have told me 200 years ago that the Three Factions would find peace, I would have laughed them out the room. Seeing this now happening is so unreal, but it needs to be done." said Azazel, "But first I say we use our combined efforts to the school grounds of Kuoh Academy, no?"

"Hao!" shouted Sona. Sona, along with the rest of her peerage landed next to Naruto's peerage, all of them unharmed, "Glad to see everything went well."

"Good to you lot unharmed." said Hao with a small smile, "I assume that you cleaned through those magicians with ease, hmm?"

"Ya god damn right!" shouted Saji, jumping in-between Hao and Sona, "You should have seen how I spanked those magicians asses! They couldn't handle all the awesomeness that I possess!" he said proudly.

The older Asakura rolled his eyes at the [Pawn], "If this was any other time I would have made fun of you, but seeing as you kept Sona safe, I guess you did a job well done." he congratulated.

"Hao actually complementing someone? What has this world come to? Fufufufu…" laughed Orochimaru.

"It seems like my [Bishop] is in good spirits so let's leave him like that for now, Orochimaru. It's a rare occurrence and I like to see Hao happy. He's done well." said Naruto to Hao.

Hao smiled at his master and bowed, "Thank you very much, Naruto-sama."

"So what do you have planned now, Naruto-sama?" asked Rias, her and her peerage joining the group.

"I don't know…I guess it's time for us to leave." said Naruto.

"L-leave?" said Issei, "Why leave? Don't you like Kuoh?"

"I do like Kuoh. I like it a lot, but my peerage member have expressed many times that Kuoh is becoming a supernatural hotspot. This invasion by the Chaos Brigade only furthers the point that Kuoh is becoming less of a private spot that I once thought it was. In order for me to enact my plans, I need a place that is secluded…so I guess its back to the Underworld." he said, receiving a nod from Orochimaru.

"Absolutely. Since I've already prepared a place of operations for us in the Underworld, it would be better for us to leave as soon as possible. We'll be packing our bags the moment we get back home." said Orochimaru.

"But you have a job here, Orochimaru! Do you really want to leave that?" asked Issei in desperation. He didn't want to see Naruto and his peerage leave. He was close with all of them and considered them to be friends.

"I do…I do enjoy teaching, but I may have to resign doing that. My master comes first and if I can't stay a teacher, then I'll resign with no hesitation." he answered.

"So I guess there is no convincing you to stay?" asked Akeno, sadness evident on her face.

"Yea…it seems like we're leaving…" Naruto said with sadness, "Before we leave, though, we'll meet up with you all…tomorrow, after class; we'll come to the Old School House to meet for the last time before we head for the Underworld."

"Yes sir." said Rias, "I'll be sure to make some of your favorite snacks for our final meeting."

"No, no, Rias. This won't be our final meeting! Just think of it as a prolonged vacation! We'll see you sometime soon after tomorrow. That's a promise-believe it!" said Naruto with a smile.

All of the younger devils smiled at Naruto, believing his words without any doubt, "Then we'll see you tomorrow! Take care!" said Rias.

"W-wait!" yelled a distinct voice, stopping Orochimaru from transporting the group back home. It was Serafall, who looked troubled.

Naruto's smile instantly changed into a frown as he stared at his past lover. An uncomfortable feeling spread throughout the Leviathan's body as she felt his eyes on her. However, she ignored that feeling to the best of her abilities as she spoke, "Naruto…I just…I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry…I'm truly sorry for everything that I've done for you."

"He doesn't want to hear any of that bullshit, you fake ass Tinker Bell." growled Kisame.

Serafall flinched at Kisame's words, but she continued speaking, "I…I know I don't deserve it anymore…but I do still love you…"

The Leviathan let her words hang in the air, shocking many of those who didn't know what was going on. It was awkwardly quite amongst the younger devils, Naruto's peerage, and Serafall. They were all waiting on a response from the blonde Bael, but Naruto held his same small glare at the former Sitri. Serafall turned away, not able to keep contact with his angry eyes-the same eyes that used to have so much love in them whenever he looked at her.

"Let's go." Naruto said coldly, not even bothering to reply to Serafall's confession. Orochimaru nodded and finished the teleportation seal-the group slowly sinking into it until they were fully devoured by the seal, headed back home.

Serafall sighed as sadness ran through her body. "I guess that's really it then…" she mumbled to herself, but loud enough to where everyone could hear her, and she disappeared with her own magic circle.

A nearby Gabriel, who was helping the re-construction of Kuoh Academy, overheard the conversation. She tilted her head in confusion as she spoke, "Serafall loves Naru?"

 **The Next Day - After Class**

 **Kuoh Academy**

The regular school day at Kuoh Academy had finished and the students were released to their own devices for the rest of the day. After the invasion the night prior, the Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils all used their magical power to fix any damage done to the campus, hiding everything dealing with the invasion to human knowledge. The campus looked the same as it did any other night- beautiful.

The Student Council had joined the Occult Research Club at the Old School House for their last meeting with Naruto's peerage for a while. Akeno, with the help of Tsubaki and Asia, made snack for everyone to enjoy during the meeting. Rias had to stop Koneko a few times from stealing any of cookies before Naruto's peerage had arrived, displeasing the girl.

The group didn't need to wait long, as Naruto and his peerage appeared together in magic seal, "YOSH! WE HAVE ARRIVED TO PARTY!" shouted Lee, announcing the group's arrival.

"Quite, Lee." Anna said sternly, frightening the boy, "I don't want to hear any yelling."

"Sorry, Ms. Anna." Lee whispered.

"Glad to see everyone arrived well." said Akeno with a smile, "We have a lot of snacks for everyone, so please enjoy yourself."

"I don't mind if I do, nyaAA!" shouted Kuroka, making a dash for the snacks. She wasn't the only one that made a dash for the snacks, as Koneko was right by her, stacking her plate up with sweets. "Stop hogging all the chocolate chip cookies, nyaa!" she hissed at her sister.

"NO." Koneko said adamantly as she pushed her sister out of the way to get more snacks.

"Seems like those two are having a good time." chuckled Naruto.

"Do you want me to get you anything, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru.

"No thank you. I'm good. Need to watch what I eat so I can remain tough." he said.

"Suit yourself." Kisame said, bumping past Naruto in his wheelchair to get himself some snacks, "This shit looks delicious."

"Disrespectful behemoth…" Orochimaru growled at Kisame, "Forgive him, Naruto-sama. The shark demon doesn't have any manners."

"It's alright. That's how Kisame acts." said Naruto, "Enjoy yourself, Orochimaru. You deserve some snacks as well."

"I don't like sweets." he said.

"That's why I made you a special dish, Orochimaru." said Rias with a grin. She flashed him a plate of deviled eggs, "I'm sure you would enjoy a few, no?"

A small glint gleamed in Orochimaru's yellow eyes, "Well then…since you're offering, I will take these off of your hands, Princess. Thank you." he said, holding back his excitement of tasting his favorite food.

"Sure thing, hopefully I didn't lace it with anything strange." she said with a playful wink.

Orochimaru grinned at the Gremory princess, "Fufufufu, very funny, Princess. I liked you more when you didn't know how to make jokes like that."

"You taught me well." she said with a smile.

"A little too well if you ask me, but yes, I did." he said with a small chuckle, "Such a shame that all this won't be happening as often anymore."

"It is, but we should just enjoy this last moment with each other and when we're able to come together again, we'll take that opportunity." said Rias.

"Well said." said the snake man before swallowing a deviled egg whole, "Kukukuku…delicious…you're cooking has to be one of the better qualities about you, Princess."

"That was mean, Orochimaru. There are many good things about Rias!" said Naruto.

"Like what, master?" asked Orochimaru, very interested in what he was going to say.

"She's gullible." he said with a wink. Orochimaru chuckled while Rias blushed red with embarrassment.

"Stupid Naruto-sama…" she mumbled under her breath, walking away from the [Pawn] and [King].

The last meeting between the three groups continued for another hour and a half. Laughs were shared amongst the groups as they remembered their times together in Kuoh. Everyone had to watch their plates all throughout the get-together because of the two cat burglaries, Koneko and Kuroka, trying to steal everyone snacks. Nevertheless, everyone had a good time together.

Anna was the first person to alert everyone of the time, "This has been fun, but are time is running short." she said with her usual stoic voice.

"Awww! So soon?" asked Naruto.

"She's right….I guess I'll go prep the house before everyone else arrives. Take this time to say your closing remarks everyone." said Orochimaru, disappearing by the help of his magic seal.

"Sigh…I don't like leaving you guys, but it seems like that time has come." said Naruto.

"I just want to start off by saying that we really appreciate you, Naruto-sama. You're a really cool dude." Issei said with a thumbs up.

"And we've really learned a lot from you as well." said Sona, "You've challenged our usual thought processes many times for our betterment and it's helped us a lot."

"I bet she still can't make that water serpent spell any better…" Kisame said with a mumble, but everyone heard it a giggled.

Sona rolled her eyes but continued, "Anyway…what I was trying to say before I was rudely interrupted was that you've done a lot for us and we'll be forever grateful towards you and your peerage members."

"Even me?" asked Kisame.

"….sure…" Sona said dully.

"Hehe, bet." said Kisame, "I enjoyed making fun of you, little Sitri. I'm glad that this was a win-win situation for the both of us." he said with Samehada growling in agreement.

"We did have some fun here. Lee and I had fun hanging out with Issei from time to time," said Yoh, "and those training session were great as well."

"YOSH! I enjoyed training with those of the Gremory peerage! Whenever we meet again, we should spar to test our abilities!" shouted the green beast.

"No. Never again, you stamina freak." stated Koneko with a blank stare.

"Well, hopefully you all don't slack on your training while we're gone, especially you…whatever your name is." said Hao, pointing at Saji.

Said [Pawn]'s face flushed red with anger as he teleported in front of the smirking Hao, "I'll show you! Ohhh, I can't wait to beat that disgusting smirk off of your face the next time I see you! You'll see!" shouted Saji.

"Good…I'll take you up for that challenge then, little boy." said Hao, causing Saji to growl at him, "Just make sure the next time I see you your less useless than you already are."

"Why you!" Saji screeched through his clenched teeth.

"Can you two please stop screaming, nya?" asked Kuroka, snacking on a strawberry cupcake, "Your making my ears hurt."

"Yes, Sona, can you please control this person in front of me?" asked Hao. Steam shot out of Saji's ears as he tried to attack Hao, but was being held back by Momo and Ruruko.

"Even during times like this, you still find a way to piss off Saji." said Sona with a sigh.

"I find the fool's anger enjoyable." said Hao.

"I find it annoying." said Anna, "He's worse than Issei eating food from our fridge…something he still hasn't paid for." she said with a glare centered at him.

"Hehehe! Sorry about that. I'll pay you all back the next time I see you." he said awkwardly, trying to avoid Anna's viscous wrath.

A magic circle appeared next to Naruto, alerting everyone. Orochimaru landed next to his master and spoke, "Everything has been moved to our new lodging. Time to wrap this up."

"I guess so…" mumbled Naruto, "But I'm glad that I got to know you all." he said with a smile, "While I did have my own motives in starting a relationship with Rias and Sona, I'm glad that I did that because I've honestly enjoyed watching you two and your peerages grow over these past few months. I know that it's a sad thing to see us go, but we're meant elsewhere. Your stories are here, at Kuoh, while ours are elsewhere. I want you all to take what you've learned from us and use it to the best of your abilities. It'll only help you in the future."

Naruto turned to Issei with a smile, "Issei, you hold things down here while I'm gone. Make sure everyone is safe. I'm sure that we'll run into you all soon and when we do, we'll have loads of fun, hehehe!"

"Thanks again for everything…all of you." said Rias with a beaming smile.

"No problem. And if you all need some help, you know who to come to." said Naruto with a cheeky grin, "I'll be right there as soon as possible, believe it!"

"We'll see each other soon." said Orochimaru, creating a large magic circle underneath the Bael peerage, "Until then."

"Bye, Shirone~ Big sister Kuroka loves you, nya!" she said with a wave as they slowly disappeared, headed for their new home.

 **Underworld**

 **Outskirts of Bael Territory**

The group appeared on a beach shore with an open view of the red waters the Underworld was known for. While everyone other than Orochimaru were wondering where they were, Naruto's eyes instantly widened, "Wha…why are we-

"H-hello!" said a very familiar voice from behind them. The group turned around to see Misla Bael awaiting them with a small smile, "Ah, hello…if you do not know, my name is Misla Bael."

"Oh we know you very well." growled out Kisame, knowing that Misla was in support of Naruto's sealing.

Misla gulped in fear at Kisame's rage, but she continued with her speech, "I know…t-that we may not be on the best of terms, but I helped Orochimaru with the arrangements during these past few weeks with the new house."

"New hooooouuuussseeeEEEE-HOLY SHIT, IT'S A FUCKING MANSION!" shouted Kisame. Sure enough, right next door to Misla's small….lame…insignificant….unnoticeable….stupid house…..-was a Three Story GIANT FUCKING MANSION!

"Thanks to a generous fund from the Asakura Family, of course." said Orochimaru.

"Of course we paid for it." said Hao with a roll of his eyes.

"Y-yes. Complete with twelve bedrooms and thirteen bathrooms, it's a ve-" "Move bitch!" yelled Kisame as he ran up to the house. If Misla hadn't moved at the last second, she would have been flattened the shark demon on a quest to search through his new home.

"You all go check out our new home…except for you, Kuroka." said Naruto. Kuroka's eyes widened after hearing Naruto say her name and not the usual 'my protégé'. However, she did notice that Naruto wasn't even focused n the house, choosing to glare at Misla instead.

"YOSH! Let's go!" shouted Lee, following Kisame's lead and dashed to their new house. One by one, they all followed, leaving Naruto, Kuroka, and Misla alone on the shore.

Misla frowned, noticing that Naruto's glare wasn't moving, "I see you're still mad." she said.

"Of course I am." he answered, "Again, if you weren't Sairoarg's mother, I would have killed you by now."

"I understand. I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything and as promise, I'll help you with all of your plans." she said with a bow. She then sent a small glance at Kuroka, who was listening to their conversation with interest, "Is it…safe…to talk about confidential things?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be safe? Kuroka is my [Queen] after all." responded Naruto, prompting his head on his knuckle, "I'd trust her with anything." he said, adding on to the shock Kuroka was feeling.

' _Wha-what's going on?"_ she thought, highly confused, _'When was the last time he's used my name twice in the same sentence? And does he really trust me that much?'_

"I'm sorry for questioning it then." said Misla, "I wanted to know if you still wanted to add me to your peerage?"

"No, I've decided against that." said Naruto, "You don't deserve to be a part of such a prestige group of people. I'm sorry for suggesting that to you so long ago. I was acting off of my raging emotions during that time."

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing." said Misla with a small smile, "I'm here to help your transition from the Human Realm to the Underworld to atone for my sins of the past. If you need anything, I'll be next door."

Naruto nodded, "Understood." she gave the duo one last smile before heading back to her house to retire for the day.

That left the [King] and [Queen] duo alone together on the beach. Other than the peaceful sounds of waves crashing against each other, it was quite as the two watched the spectacular scenery around them. While they did have a big house, it was isolated far from any other devils and came with view one would see on postcard.

"Nya…Naruto." Kuroka spoke, breaking the silence.

"Yes, my protégé?" he asked her.

"Why do you call me 'my protégé?" she asked.

"Because you are my protégé?" he said, somewhat confused.

"But when you were talking to that woman, you introduced me as Kuroka and not 'my protégé.'" she said.

"I don't know…I don't even know when I started calling you that." he said with a shrug, "I guess one day it said it and it just stuck. Your name is Kuroka, though, so I introduced you to Misla as Kuroka."

"Good, nya. I never liked that name." she said.

"Then I won't call you that ever again. All you had to do was tell me." he said with a smile.

"I was scared, nya." she said with a small smile and a shrug of her own, "But I guess I shouldn't be scared of you. I'm sorry for that."

"No…I haven't been the best [King] lately." he said, looking off into the distance, "Instilling fear into my peerage member's heart…that isn't the best way to run things. I'm sorry for ever making you uncomfortable. I realized yesterday after my little outburst after being healed by Gabriel that I need to better control myself…I plan on doing some of that meditation stuff with Anna…hopefully that can get my nerves together."

Kuroka walked next to Naruto's side and smiled at him, "That sounds nice. I might join you a few times, nya."

"Good. I'd enjoy it more with you there." he replied, "Of course, we can't be making pranks and disturbing Anna like how we would do anyone else. She's a scary girl."

"But that's so much funnnnn!" she pouted. Naruto laughed at his [Queen] wholeheartedly. She joined in with him for a few rounds of laughter.

After settling down, Naruto asked her, "Do you like it here? I didn't know that Orochimaru would choose here out of all places, but it'll work."

"I do, nya. This is the perfect spot that's far away from everyone else so that you can carry out your plans in peace." she responded, "I just wish that I knew what those plans were, nya."

"Oh! I still haven't told you? Well, if I hadn't, let me tell you know." he said with a smile, "I promise you, Kuroka, I know that you out of all people would love what I'm going to accomplish. You'll be living a life of luxury when everything falls into place."

"Really now?" she said, her ears perking up in interest, "And what could that be, nya?"

"Ohohohohoh, you're going to love it!" he said with a hand clap, "You'll be so happy! All of us will benefit from this plan-this amazing plan- and we'll all live our days together in happiness."

" _None of this would be happening if you didn't leave Papa for Ginta. You didn't put us first. You deserve this."_

Naruto sent his [Queen] and devilsh smirk, "How does Naruto the Great King of the Underworld sound?"

….

….

….

…

….

….

 **Fucking finally! I 'm done! Sweet jesus that was a long as chapter!**

 **Yea… this chapter is 20k words. That's freaking incredible. Some of yall probably started reading this chapter, went to sleep, woke up to read again, took a break, then came back to finish it. I wanted to give you all a lot to read since I've been gone for a while. This will probably be the longest chapter in the whole story because 20k words is just ridiculous- But its' my fault so I gotta take that L, ya diggg.**

 **Not a lot of action in this chapter. I wanted this chapter to be the transition to the second half of 'BreakThrough' so I wanted this to a long, thought out chapter. I didn't want to skip right over the Three Factions meeting either since that's a point in the original story that could be consider when everything started to change. So I had to put my own little twist in it-a small twist, but still a twist.**

 **The next chapter won't be much of a chapter. I'm literally going to call it: "Canon:Filler" because it won't be a full chapter, probably 7-10k words, and it'll be the day where Naruto reveals himself to the world. I'm telling this to you all now so that you know what's going on and what not, ya diggg? The chapter after that will be the official start of the second half of 'BreakThrough' and OOOOHHHHHHHH WWEEEEEEEEE I'VE GOT SOME SHIT PLANNED TO START THAT BITCH OFF!**

 **SOME NEVER BEFORE SEENED SHIT, BRU! GET ON MY LEVEL!**

 **oh….you can't….**

 **CAUSE YOU AIN'T NARUTOPLUG-BITCH! (To my haters, not all the supporters who fuck with me, ya dig?)**

 **But yeah, this officially ends the first half of BreakThrough. Naruto's plan have finally been revealed, he wants the crown of Great King for himself. I've got it all planned out, but if you have any ideas that think may be for the benefit to the story, list them in the review column and I'll check them out.**

 **Also, tell me your thoughts of BreakThrough in general now that we've come to a checkpoint in the story. What do you like, what you don't like, what can I do better-all that shit. You know I take yall's opinion seriously.**

 **New stuff coming up in BreakThough my peoples!**

 **New Peerage Members!**

 **More insane battles!**

 **Drama with the ladies cuz Naruto is that dude!**

 **NarutoPlug randomly dropping his CashApp so that he can buy his Mama a good as gift for Christmas!**

 **Lol, the second half of BreakThrough is going to be great and I know you all will love it.**

 **So the next chapter (which is kinda like a little introduction to the second half of BreakThrough) will be droppingggggg…say Friday or Saturday. Again, it won't be long and thought out. Just a small quick thing to get you all familiar with what's going on the BreakThrough at the top of the second half.**

 **But yea….I'm done.**

 **I'm here at home for the holidays and…..I'm happy.**

 **I hope you are too. If ya need someone to talk to, my pm are open. Check em everyday.**

 **That's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	18. Cannon:Filler

**BreakThrough**

 **Canon:Filler**

 **Two weeks later…**

 **Phenex Mansion**

Riser Phenex opened his eyes for the first time.

The Phenex groaned as the light that crept past the blinds and hit his face, disturbing his sleep. Even though the Underworld didn't have a sun, the light that was hitting his face was still annoying enough to wake him up. While he wanted to turn his body around to ignore the light, he was too lazy to do so. The position that he was in right now was very comfortable for the Phenex royalty and he didn't want to move at all.

"Mar….Marvin…close the blinds…" Riser said with a yawn as he closed his eyes, expecting his order to be carried out. However, his eyes twitched with annoyance when his curtains weren't pulled together. "Marvin, close the blinds." Again, he waited for his butler to close the blinds, but nothing happened. Riser growled out in anger as he pushed the covers off of him and sat up in a fit of anger, "Marvin! I said close the blinds!"

His anger, however, was switched when with confusion when he saw that Marvin, his butler that usually woke him up around this time, wasn't there. Riser scratched his head in confusion, wondering what was going on, "Tch…incompetent servants….he probably came in late today…" Riser muttered to himself.

He stepped out of bed, revealing his was wearing an all black pajama set with the Phenex Clan symbol on his back. He walked over to the curtains and pulled them together, blocking the small amount of light that frustrated him so. Before he could enter his bed again, the sound of someone knocking on his door caught his attention.

' _There's Marvin.'_ he said mentally as he walked over to the door to open it, _'Let's hear his pitiful excuse as to why he was late waking me up this morning.'_ he thought as he opened the door, "So you decided to come here late? Even….Ravel?" Riser halted in the middle of his anger filled speech to see that he was not talking to his butler, but to his little sister, Ravel, who had a troubled look on her face. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Big brother…something is wrong…" she muttered.

"Yeah? Like what?" he asked.

"Most of the servants…they aren't here. They're all gone." she said, "I don't know where anybody is."

"They're all gone?" Riser said with a scowl, "What the hell does that mean? They have a job to do and they can't conduct it if they're not here! We pay them money to serve us Phenex's!" he yelled.

"I-I know…I think…I think it has something to do with that growing protest with the low-class devils…it was started by me…" she said with sadness, looking down at the floor in shame.

Riser frowned. Even though he wouldn't say it out loud, he didn't like it when his sister was like this. Ever since their Rating Game against the [King]-less Peerage, the two haven't been the same. In Riser's case, he would hardly come out of his room, always thinking about the embarrassing lost he took. Hao's face along with that behemoth of a spirit haunted Riser's dreams every night and he couldn't shake the feeling of uselessness that he felt during that time.

As for Ravel, she was horrified from the experience, almost to the point that she was traumatized of anything that could hurt her-including her own fire. Just the feeling of the hot temperatures of her flame brought back the feeling of the Spirit of Fire's hot breath burning her skin as his jaws were opened wide to consume her inside of its belly. The memory would be forever imprinted within her mind and she would sometimes sleep with her brother just so that she could sleep at night with a little peace.

But now, the two siblings had a different problem they had to figure out: Where were their servants?

"You think that's what's going on…" he said as he looked down the hallway. Sure enough, there weren't any servants in the hallway awaiting any orders. "Hmmm…Mother and Father should be in the dining area awaiting their breakfast. Let's go see if they're facing similar problems." he said to his sister. She nodded and stepped back so he could exit his room. Closing the door behind him, Riser walked to the dining room to see if what Ravel said was true. As he walked past any windows, he checked to see if there were any guards were outside. While there were some, there weren't the usual number of guards that they hired to protect the Phenex Mansion.

Adding the sight to memory, Riser and his sister continued their walk until they made it to the dining room to see their mother and father sitting at the large and extravagant dining table. The two were seemingly having a very in-depth conversation with one of the few maids in the entire mansion.

"Hmm...So this has to do with that growing revolution…" Lord Phenex, and blonde man in a brown business suit muttered, "That is indeed troubling."

"How many servants are there here today?" asked Lady Phenex, who looked like an exact, older copy of her daughter, Ravel.

"Out of the seventy guards that are usually stationed inside and outside the manor, there are on twenty here." said the maid.

"Only twenty! That's preposterous!" shouted Riser, catching the attention of his parents and the maid. He and his sister walked into the room and took a seat at the table, "And what about the other maids and butlers?"

"W-well, the Phenex Clan employs about four hundred or so maids and butlers…out of that number, only…." the maid hesitated with her answer, scared of her employer's reaction.

"Well? Spit it out!" shouted Riser, slamming his hand on the table.

"Forty-five!" screeched the maid in fright. She quickly covered her mouth, realizing what she did, "Oh my…I'm so sorry for raising my voice! Please forgive me!"

"It's alright. Don't worry about it." said Lord Phenex, sending a small glare at his son. Riser huffed at his father's glare, but held his tongue so he wouldn't be scolded.

Lord Phenex's focus went back to his maid, "So everyone is gone…but I feel like we treat you right here. We don't force you all do anything crazy and unethical, so why would they leave?" he asked.

"Yes, w-well, a lot of us do feel welcomed here. There aren't any troubles coming from you, Lord Phenex, or Lady Phenex-sama, Ravel-sama, b-but as for Riser-sama," he eyes shifted uncomfortably to the young man, "a lot of us don't really like how he treats us."

Lord Phenex sighed as he rubbed his beard, "I understand…and why didn't you skip the day? And the other as well?"

"For me, I can't afford to participate in the protest. I'm sure that some of the others are in similar economic situations as I am. There are some servants that are like me and still went through with the protest, but I predict it won't be long before they come back to work or look for somewhere else to work." she explained.

"Well, those who left shouldn't be allowed to come back." said Riser with a snarl, "They need to understand that they work for us and that's it. If they had a problem with it, they should have come to us to converse over this 'problem' instead of running away like cowards."

"Enough, Riser!" shouted Lord Phenex, cutting his son off, "I will not continue to hear this blatant disrespect of those that work for us. They say you're the main reason why almost all my staff is gone and is see why!" he shouted in a rare display of rage. Lord Phenex was usually a humble, soft-spoken man. He didn't yell or holler at all, so for him to be yelling at his son meant that he was very upset.

"But father, don't you see what they're doing? If you ask me, they are the ones being disrespectful to you and this household! No matter how I act towards them, they should be honored to even serve in the royal house of Phenex!" Riser shouted.

"I've heard enough from you, young man." Lord Phenex said with a growl that actually surprised Riser. He had never seen his father this mad. "Leave this room at once! I don't want to see or hear of you for the rest of the day!"

Riser gritted his teeth in anger but didn't say anything else to his father. He slowly stood up from the table and left the dining room. Lord Phenex sighed, "I'm sorry about that everyone. That boy really needs another lesson taught to him like before…"

"Let's just get passed this." said Lady Phenex, "What are the cooks making for breakfast?"

"Oh well…all of the chefs are gone. They all participated with the walk-out." said the maid.

"So there isn't anybody to cook? Maybe I could…" said Ravel.

"Nope! Not going to happen. We'll just go hungry." said Lord Phenex, sweating bullets. He was well aware of his daughter's horrible cooking and didn't want to eat something that could still be alive as the final product.

"Well none of us can cook. What are we going to eat for the day?" asked Lady Ravel, not very used to skipping on meals.

"I don't know…we'll figure something out." said Lord Phenex.

"If I may," interrupted the maid, "While I may not be the best, I can cook somewhat. If you want me to take over for the day, I will."

"Yes, that would be excellent. Thank you." said Lord Phenex with a smile. The maid nodded and headed off into the kitchen to make the Phenex family breakfast.

Meanwhile, Riser made his way to the living room to watch television. Hopping on the couch, he grabbed the remote and turned on the television, not even caring to as to what channel it was on.

" _That's right, you heard it here. The [King]-less Peerage will be participating in a Rating Game against Rai Agares, a powerful, influential devil within the Agares Clan."_ that caught Riser's attention as he paid close attention to the female announcer, _"Also, another thing that's has devils everywhere excited for this Rating Game is that the [King] of the [King]-less Peerage may be attendance during this Rating Game!"_

"What…" Riser said with shock. Since he was defeated by this same peerage, he was very interested in whoever the [King] of such a powerful peerage could be.

" _How do we know this? Some random fans of this peerage found Yoh Asakura, one of the [Knight]s that is a member of the [King]-less Peerage, shopping at the markets in the city of Lilith. They barraged him with question and got a couple of answers out of him. Let's take a look."_

The screen then flipped to a video of a few young devils surrounding Yoh, who had just walked out of the market. You could tell by the bad quality of the video that it was taking through something like a cellular device, but it still gave the watcher's a good look of what's going on.

"Wait! Wait! I need to get home! Anna' will kill me!" shouted Yoh as he tried to push past the teens.

"Who's your [King]'s name?!"

"How strong are you?!"

"I love you, Yoh!"

"Who is your [King]!?"

The group was very persistent in trying to get information out of the [Knight]. He looked very uncomfortable around them all as he tried to push his way through the growing crowd, but he was pushed back into a corner with no way out.

Trying to find a way out, Yoh screamed, "Alright! I'll tell you something! Just shut up!"

The crowed instantly went quiet, very interested in what he was going to say. After taking a quick few breaths of air, Yoh quickly summoned his wings and crouched down, "He'll reveal himself at our next game!" he shouted as he took off into the skies with an impressive speed.

" _So, according to this message by Yoh Asakura, people are expecting the [King] of this mysterious peerage to be present for this Rating Game. People have already come up with theories on who it could truly be, but the answer that we've all wanted to know may be answered in just a few hours. Tune in to the Underworld Rating Game Association channel at 5:00 p.m. to see if our questions will be answered."_ finished the reporter as the screen went to a commercial.

"They're fighting today…" muttered Riser, thinking back to his own Rating Game against them…if he could even call it that. Hao had destroyed his entire peerage in just a few shots from that devastating spirit of his, completely embarrassing him. Hao's peerage colleagues didn't even join in the battle because he handled his team so quickly. Riser tried to watch a reply of his battle against Hao, but turned it off halfway through the video, unable to witness such defeat for a second time.

Riser growled and shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his mind, "Riser is better than them…I can get stronger!" he shouted. However, the Spirit of Fire's murderous face flashed in his mind creating a rush of fear to course through his body. He shivered and tried to get the memory out of his mind, but the picture of Spirit of Fire throwing Ravel in the air while Hao looked down upon him with indifference was permanently etched in his mind.

Riser grabbed his head in anger, "I need…Riser needs to do something about this…"

 **A Few Hours Later…**

 **Lucifer Mansion**

In a dark room with a U-shaped table that sat dozen of devils, Sirzechs, along with the other Satan's entered the room, signaling everyone else to retire their conversations in favor of paying attention to the Satans.

"I'm glad everyone came to this surprise meeting. I know that the timing of it wasn't favorable, but the topic at hand is very important and I needed everyone here in participation to discuss a major topic." said Sirzechs. He and his fellow Satans took their seats in the middle of the U-shaped table so that they could see everyone within the room.

"Are we finally going to hear what happened during the Three Factions Meeting?" asked an older looking devil with a gray beard, "I must say that obtaining peace with the other Biblical Factions is a very impressive feat, Lucifer-sama. You are doing a wonderful job as Lucifer and are the rest of the Satans. The Underworld hasn't seen better times than these and it's all thanks to you four."

"Awww! You're so sweet." said Serafall, blowing a kiss at the older devil.

"It is true. Now that we have peace, we can focus more on making the Underworld better than it is now." said another devil.

"Thank you for that." said Sirzechs with a smile, "I am truly honored to hear those words of praise. Let us not forget that it has been all of our combined efforts into changing the Underworld from what it once was before the Civil War. What I called you all here for today it to talk about what happened in the meeting and how this may affect us in the future. I had to talk with my fellow Satan's about my plans before presenting our ideas to you all."

"What Sirzechs says is true," said Ajuka Beelzebub, "While I couldn't attend the meeting with him and Serafall, after listening to what was spoken, I believe that there are going to be some changes going on in order to keep order and peace in the Underworld." he finished, putting a lot of Devils on edge.

"As you all know, there has been a rising revolution coming from the low-class devils." started Sirzechs, "They have started to rebel against a system that continuously puts them down as third-class citizens. Their demands are usually along the lines of equality. Many have spoken out about how they have been treated serving those of higher-classes, let it be serving their [King] or working for a high-classed family. A lot of the families they have protested over are in this very room." he said, glancing over a few Devils sitting at the table with them, "This subject was brought up during the meeting with the other factions ad has a fear in my heart."

"And how so?" said another Devil with an arrogant smirk, "I don't see how we treat Devils of lower-classes has anything to with the Angels and Fallen Angels." he said with a laugh with a few other Devils joining in.

"It can start another Civil War." Serafall said with a growl. Hearing that, all of those that were chucking quickly shut their mouths and listened to Serafall who spoke with a very serious voice that was uncharacteristic of her, "It was brought up by Azazel, leader of Grigori, of the growing divide between social classes of devils. He stated that if this divide were to continue, then it wouldn't be a surprise that a civil war would commence, seeing as we have a history of civil wars when we disagree with how we're governed." she said with a glare that was centered towards the first devil that started the laughing in the room. The man shivered under the pressure of Serafall's glare, making it a rule not to anger her again.

With her scowling of the devil finished, she continued, "If that were to happen, Azazel said that the Angels and Fallen Angels would be in a very awkward state, seeing as we're allies now but Devils would be fighting against each other. It would bring up the question should the other factions be involved if such a war occurred."

"I see what they mean now." said another devil, this time female. She was sitting on the far right side of the table and was scratching her chin in thought, "If they were to get involved, the other factions would have to pick and choose which side they would be on: low-classed or high classed devils."

"But wouldn't they be on our side?" asked another middle aged, male Devil, "High-class devils are the ones that carry out most political aspects with other factions. One with think that they would be more familiar with us, therefore siding with us."

"That is true, but the peace treaty that we signed was between all Angels, all Fallen Angels, and ALL Devils-no matter social class. In order for us to have peace between factions, we had to come to the agreement that if we were to enter a civil war, both the Angels and Fallen Angels wouldn't be forced to participate. This is a Devil probably and we need to handle this now." finished Serafall.

"So what is it that you propose?" asked an elder Devil, "While it will take some time for us to establish…some type of equality that the low-class devils are looking for. What is it that you have planned, Lucifer-sama?"

"No, I disagree!" shouted another devil, "Their screaming about equality like it can't be earned?! We have a system set up for devils of lower classes to rise in the ranks by various jobs and achievements! They're not oppressed! They're just lazy!"

"Watch your tone." Serafall said, flaring her magic. That shut the man up as he slowly sat back down in his seat, "This system was created by high-class devils for low-class devils. Nobody in the room has ever faced the experience of being a low-class devils. There are many people in abusive peerages but the law protects [King]'s, allowing them to do whatever they want. If we want to continue to be a successful faction, we need to make changes. If we don't, we'll be in a war in the coming years."

"That's why we've come up with a plan." said Sirzechs, moving the focus of the room to him, "Actually, it was Falbium who came up with the idea. Would you like to explain if further, Falbium?" he said while turning to the Satan.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…." everyone in the room sweat dropped when they saw the Asmodeus Satan drooling while in a deep and peaceful-looking sleep.

"That man can sleep anywhere at any time…" said a Devil who was silently impressed at the Satan's skill.

"He did say that coming up with this plan of his took up a lot of energy…" said Ajuka with a sigh, "I guess we can award him with his rest."

"I'll do the explaining then." Sirzechs said with a chuckle, "The plan is this: We'll be hosting a series of events that will promote the equality between Devils. This won't be an overnight process-it will probably take a few years for everyone to get used to the change, but it will work."

"And what is the first step in this plan of yours?" asked the elder Devil.

"It starts with the Young Devils Gathering." started Sirzechs, "Instead of only high-class devil youths invited to this meeting; I want to open the borders to promote young devils apart of the middle and lower-classes. This way, the other classes will feel included with the high-class devils, which could relieve some tension and trust. They'll see that we are making the moves for the lower classes to show what they have to offer on a national scale."

"So they get to enter this meeting…what would that do?" asked the female devil, "While that is progress, I don't think that will be enough."

"Correct, which is why we're going to do something special." said Ajuka, "Usually the Young Devils Gathering is a meeting which leads to choosing this generations 'Rookie Four': a group of young devils that stand out from the rest. We are going to offer this position to all of the devils involved with the meeting."

"Wait." said a devil that had been quiet the whole time, "I have a problem with that. Yes, I see what we're going for-and this plan does seem well thought out, but giving away one of the positions of 'Rookie Four' just to please the low-class devils? Even the high-class devils that participated in this gathering had to earn to be a part of the 'Rookie Four.' This has a tradition going on for generation and allowing anyone to have one of those spots is disrespectful. People look forward to the Rating Games of these young devils, so for it to be tainted like this would be very displeasing for a lot of high-class devils. We are preaching about equality." he stated wisely.

"You're right, so this is what I propose…" Sirzechs took a few seconds of silence to add suspense to his next words, "We'll have a tournament…a tournament of those that were invited. Basically a replacement of war, this tournament will allow those from all social classes to show off the power of their youth. This is what it comes down to. Devils respect strength, so why not put all of these young devils on a stage for everyone to see?"

"That is a good idea!" laughed the same arrogant Devil, "That way, everyone can see how quickly the high-class youth destroys those from the other class! Haha! I actually agree with this. They won't have an excuse for their incompetence when their skills are displayed for everyone to see."

"The high-classes Devil youth won't have any excuses either." said Sirzechs, cutting off the man, "They are also being tested on their strength as well. That's why this tournament will be one that could replace a war. The low-class devils have an opportunity that their youth is capable, if not more capable, than this generation of high-class devils. They'll have their hands full not getting embarrassed because of the pool of devils I have in mind are very strong."

"A question." said an elder devil, "If the high-class devils are participating, will they be able to use their peerages?"

"Good question." said Ajuka, "No, they will not be able to. This is a free-for-all, battle royal. The [King]s will be by themselves against devils that hunger for a promotion. The final four will be named the Rookie Four and receive prize money for their victory."

"So what Devils have you chosen to participate in this tournament?" asked one of the Devils percent.

"As for the high-class devils, we've already made our selection." stated Serafall, "Starting with my little sister, of course, the high-class devils in attendance will be Sona Sitri, Sairaorg Bael, Seekvaira Agares, Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas, Rias Gremory, and Diodora Astaroth."

"That's a fine young core." said the man, "And what about the other devils that will attend this meeting?"

"We are still on the lookout for some, but we do have a few in our sights. I'll show you an example of one of them." said Sirzechs, opening up his palm and creating a hologram of a what seemed like a boy, wearing an oversized poncho and had bandages wrapped around his head, only revealing his left eye. He had a hunched back and a distinctive straw raincoat protruding from the back of his camouflaged patterned scarf. "This is Dosu Kinuta, low-class Devil that lives in my territory of Lilith. Known for getting into street brawls and always winning, people have taken notice to his strength in the city. He's faced off against some high-class devils, as well….a perfect record to boot. He's an excellent candidate for this tournament."

"He seems a little rough...and uncultured..." said one of the Devils in disgust.

"He hasn't been pampered all his life like most of us in here." said Sirzechs with a glare, "It will be very entertaining to see how he battles against the others and I'm sure those in the city of Lilith would be ecstatic to see him on the big screen."

"I'm in full support of this. This tournament is something one of a kind! Never before seen!" said a devil that was clearly very excited, "One question I have is what we are going to call this battle royal?"

"We decided to call it the 'Devil Exams.' Simple, but it gets the job done."

Before they could continue with their conversation, a man burst into the room unannounced, "Excuse me for my interruption, but something has just happened!"

"What's wrong?" asked Sirzechs, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"The [King]-less Peerage is about to have a Rating Game against Rai Agares right now!"

"And what does that have to do with anything?" asked one of the devils in attendance.

"The [King] and [Queen] have revealed themselves! It's Naruto Bael and Kuroka the SS-Class criminal!" he yelled.

The room erupted in gasp and shouts of disbelief, "Naruto Bael! And Kuroka! This is…How is this possible!" said a female devil.

' _So he's finally making his move…"_ thought Sirzechs.

"Na-naruto?" muttered Ajuka, catching Sirzechs' attention. Ajuia, and even Falbium who woke up after all the commotion, stood wide-eyed at the name of their long time friend. "Go get a television in here and show us what's going on!" he shouted.

"Yes sir!" he yelled as he retreated. Not too long after, the man along with two maids wheeled in a television. They clicked through the channels until the made it to correct one. "This should be it…"

The television showed a crowd of people trying to get at a particular person in a wheel chair. A large group of security was surrounding him as well as his peerage members, _"Well isn't this a party!"_ shouted a blonde man with a smile.

" _It's a little too loud in here, nya…"_ muttered Kuroka.

The camera then switched to a female reporter who had to scream into her mic in order for it to pick up voice distinctively from all the noise around her, _"That's right! The [King] and [Queen] have both revealed themselves to the war. Long-lost war hero Naruto Beal, also known as the 'Compass Needle of Victory' is the [King] to this mysterious peerage and his [Queen] is none other than the SS-Class criminal Kuroka the Nekomata! With this revelation brings new questions about! Where has Naruto Bael been for the past 500 years since the Civil War and why does he have one of the Underworld's most sought after criminals with him? We'll try to get a closer look to him to answer these questions!"_

"What in the hell is going on!" shouted Ajuka in a surprising fit of anger. He slammed his hand down on the table, the force of the blow causing spider web cracks to stretch out along the table. "Why is he there!? Where has he been all this time! Aaa…aaRRRGGHH!" he shouted in what sounded like pain as he grabbed his head.

"Beelzebub-sama!" shouted many of the devils in the room as the jumped up to check on the Satan, "Something's wrong with him!"

"The same for Falbium!" said Serafall with worry as she hugged her much taller friend, who was clawing at his bald head like there were a colony of ants biting all over it.

"So-something…isn't ri-right…" he growled out between his clenched teeth as he endured the pain that he was feeling.

" _Naruto-sama! Naruto-sama! A minute of your time before you enter your Rating Game!"_ shouted the reporter.

" _Uuuhhh, sure thing!"_ he said with a smile. The security around Naruto and his peerage opened up and allowed the woman and the camera man to interview Naruto.

" _Thank you very much for you time. Doris Burke, reporter of the URGA (Underworld Rating Game Association). The people want to know where you have been since the Civil War such a long time ago! How did you stay under radar?"_

" _UUhhhh, I can't reveal that right now. Just know that I'm good at hiding, hehehe!"_ he said with a laugh.

Suddenly, a blue magic circle appeared over both of Falbium and Ajuka's head, surprising everyone. "What a second…" said one of the devils in the room, analyzing the seal, "That's a Sitri magic circle!" he shouted.

Everyone instantly took a mental image of the seals over Falbium and Ajuka's head. Sure enough, everyone deduced that it was a Sitri Clan magic circle. "GAAaahhh!" Ajuka and Falbium shouted at the same time. The seals started to crack before breaking completely and fading away in blue light. The two Satan's slumped over on the table, unconscious.

"Wha…what's going on…" Serafall mumbled to herself, but everyone heard her. She was in shock seeing her old family's seal over her friends head. That meant that they had something to do with her friends pain…and it all happened when they saw Naruto.

' _I forgot all about the seals!'_ Sirzechs thought mentally. What he was referring to was the same seal that was reveal to been placed on him a long time ago by the Stiri. It was Naruto and Orochimaru that had freed him from his seal, but Orochimaru told him not to say anything until the time came. _'Things are really going to get complicated now.'_

" _Sorry about that, Sirzechs. "_ said a voice from within Sirzechs mind-a voice that wasn't his. He instantly was searching around him, trying to find an owner to said voice. His searching came to a stop when he saw a glowing, orange orb that was floating near the ceiling, "Naruto…" Sirzechs whispered.

" _Yeah, it's me. I know you see me talking on the television thingy, but I'm here. I'm going to do some crazy stuff coming up. I hope you know how to handle it..."_

" _And your [Queen] is Kuroka the Nekomata, an SS-Class criminal. How is she on your peerage?"_ Sirzechs focus went from Naruto's orange orb to the Naruto who was being interviewed. His eyes widened when he saw a smirk grow on Naruto's face.

" _Oh that? Sirzechs waved all of her past transgressions when I told him that there was a reason why Kuroka killed her past master. Her master wasn't a nice person, something people really don't know.'_ Naruto turned to the camera and waved at it with a smile, _"Thanks for understanding, Sirzechs for understanding! Hope you're doing well!"_

" _That's it for questions! We need to report to the location where Naruto-sama will be transported to the Rating Game! Let's move!"_ shouted the lead security guard. The team pushed through the large crowd of people and entered a building where the transportation would happen.

" _Seems you'll be in quite the pickle during these coming days! hehehehehHhhahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! " _ the orb laughed as it disappeared without a trace.

"What are you up to, Naruto…" Sirzechs said with a growl.

"Lucifer-sama, is what Naruto-sama said is true? Did you pardon the Nekomata?" asked one of the devils in the room.

Sirzechs sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Yes, I did." he admitted, receiving a few gasp in shock.

"But why? Naruto-sama said that there was more to the story behind Kuroka's murder of her previous master." said the man.

"I can't explain it all right now, but I will at a later date. Right now we need to focus at the task at hand." he said while standing out of his chair, "Naruto has come back. After a long time, he has finally returned. However, what needs to be talked about is why there were Sitri magic seals over Falbium and Ajuka's heads the moment we saw Naruto on screen?" All eyes went towards either Serafall or the other Sitri representative in the room. The Sitri representative was literally shaking as all the pressure went towards either him or Serafall.

 **Timeskip**

 **Rating Game**

" _This game has been an absolute massacre!"_ shouted one of the commentators for the Rating Game, _"Bill, do you wanna give a rundown of what's been going on?"_

" _Sure thing, Jim."_ said another commentator as the camera zoned in to Naruto and his peerage casually making their way through the desert they were in, _"First things first: the location. It's a desert with both peerages entering the game inside of a large pyramid as their bases. A lot of open room for battles, but not a lot of room for hiding. However, Naruto Bael's peerage didn't even notice the harsh conditions of the hot desert as their strategy is simply 'let the opponent come to you,' which has been working in their favor. Naruto's peerage started off this Rating Game by abandoning their base and making a straight line for Rai Agares' base, plowing through any of his peerage members that get in their way. The only people left on Rai's peerage is himself and his [Queen]; both of them awaiting Naruto's fully healthy peerage to meet them out their base. A tough position to be in for Rai."_

" _Your right about that, Bill. The most impressive thing about this match is that Naruto's [Bishop], Hao Asakura, has been the main charge for this game, destroying everyone with a douse of hot flames from his partner, the Spirit of Fire!"_ he said with a few highlights of Hao flamethrowers decimating Rai's peerage members flash on the screen, _"Brings back memories to the Rating Game against Riser Phenex."_

" _Sure does, Jim. This game hasn't been going on for long but Naruto's peerage is seemingly ready to clean things up here with this last match."_ said Bill as they ended their commentary and the camera focused back on Naruto and his peerage.

"It'sss hooottttttttt!" complained Kuroka as she slowly trudged through the sand, "Can't we just blow up the triangle thingy and then leave, nyaa?"

"Naruto-sama doesn't want to do that, Kuroka, so just deal with the heat for now. It won't last for much longer."

"YOSH! I can't wait to meet their [King] and [Queen]! They must be very strong!" shouted Lee with his usual enthusiasm.

"I just want to go back home to sleep…" Yoh said with a lazy yawn, "This place is boring."

"Agreed." Anna said stoically.

"All of you are wanting to go back home but aren't doing any of the heavy lifting." said Hao, rolling his eyes.

"I would do something but it's too damn hot." Kisame said with a growl, making sure that he was walking in the shade that the giant Spirit of Fire provided, "Any other day and I would be killing these little tadpoles."

"It is hot out…" mumbled Naruto. He was still in his wheelchair with Orochimaru pushing, but he was moving through the sands without trouble by creating an ice pavement for his wheels to roll on. "I'll be sure to make this quick so we can go home. I do want to avoid those camera people too. Very annoying."

"Ya god damn right." said Kisame. His head perked up when he noticed that they were closing in on their opponent's base, "Seems like this will be over quickly. I didn't even realize that we made it this far."

The group stopped at a certain distance from the pyramid when they noticed that there were too people standing outside the pyramid awaiting them. One was Rai Agares himself, a man with black eyes and blue-hair that seemed unkempt but it still made him look good. His wasn't wearing anything special. If one were to see him now, they would say that he would be heading to a business meeting because of his attire of choice: an all white buttoned down shirt that seemed a little too small for his muscular frame, paired with a black dress pants and shoes.

Standing beside him was his unnamed [Queen]. She was wearing an elegant purple cloak that made her look like a wizard. She was very beautiful with her gray hair in curls and her purple eyes gleaming with mischief-a look her and Kuroka shared.

Rai took a few steps closer and stretched his arms out, "Well then! Who would have thought that I would be the one going against Naruto Bael- The Compass Needle of Victory? This is certainly an opportunity that even I feel unworthy of having! I am looking forward to the battle, Naruto-sama." he finished with a bow.

Naruto tilted his head sideways in confusion, "You speak as if you know me. Have we met before?" asked the blonde Bael.

"Yes. You may not remember but during the Civil War, the legion that you were in came and saved us from a siege of Old Satan Faction Devils. We were trying to protect the Belial Clan Territory and were failing until you all came. I remember when you took charge that day, throwing your needles around and disabling hundreds of the enemies' troops. It was a sight that I will always remember." said Rai.

"Oh, I remember that day! That was a long time ago." said Naruto with a smile.

"Yes, it was. However, instead of us being on the same sides, we stand opposite of each as enemies. Fight me, Naruto Bael! My [Queen] and I have been awaiting an opportunity like this show off our real strength!"

"Well if you say soooooo!" sang out Naruto, pushing himself from out of his wheelchair, "hmm…Kuroka, do you want to dance with me?"

"Sure thing." she said with a smile, joining his side, "We haven't fought against anyone together in a while."

"Sure has been a while." he said, "Just to let you know, those apart of the Agares Clan have the ability to control time. It isn't very powerful, but it can be hindrance."

"Nothing we can't handle, nya~!" she said while rolling her shoulders, "Let's make this quick."

 **Naruto Bael [King] and Kuroka [Queen]**

 **vs.**

 **Rai Agares [King] and Unnamed [Queen]**

"Hahah! Make this quick? I think not!" shouted Rai, summoning a basic sword and running towards the duo while his [Queen] took to the skies. One moment Rai was decent distance away from them, and then next he was right in front of them with his sword ready to slash at their flesh.

"NYa!" shouted Kuroka, quickly thinking and protecting the both of them with a barrier. Rai's sword bounced off Kuroka's barrier without leave any damage done to it.

"Tch…" Rai said with a growl as he moved around the seal and tried to pierce Naruto's side. The Bael reacted quickly summoning a pair of red arms made by his PoD and they caught the sword. Tugging at it, the arms supreme strength pulled the sword out of Rai's hands, surprising the devil. From the force of the pull, Rai had leaned forward a little, but that was all Naruto need as he lifted his right leg and hit Rai with a devastating kick to his mid-section that sent him flying.

"GAahh!" shouted the man with spit flying out of his mouth as his body was sent rolling through the hot sands of the desert.

"In front of us." muttered Kuroka, keeping up the same barrier. Rai's queen dropped a large ball of magic down upon them, which exploded on contact with Kuroka's barrier, however, the barrier held strong, not weakening in the slightest. "She's going to be annoying, nya." said the Nekomata. Using her mastery of her Youjutsu, she transformed her defensive barrier into an offensive magic circle, "Kasha." she said under breath. The circle was coated in black flames before they were all sent at the [Queen] in quick-rapid fire.

The unnamed [Queen] used her agility given to her by wings to dodge the hot fire balls, however they would also follow her around no matter is she dodged them. She continued to fly around to avoid the death balls. Her senses kicked and told her to move out the way for something approaching, but she wasn't quick enough as a flying sword slashed into her side, leaving a menacing wound.

' _He threw Rai-sama's sword with such precession?!'_ the [Queen] thought in shock as the injury slowed her down, which was all that Kuroka's fireballs needs as the consumed her body, forcing her to retire.

" _Rai's [Queen] has retired!"_ shouted the announcer.

"No matter." said Rai in a burst of speed, appearing behind Naruto with a new dagger in his hand, "I'll take you out by surprise."

His eyes went wide when Naruto's extra left appendage blocked the dagger with the palm of its hand. Naruto wasn't even turned his way, which was a testament of his awareness. "You think you can ignore me!" shouted Rai, using his time abilities to stop time to move in front of Naruto for the killing blow. He couldn't freeze time for long, so when Naruto was mobile and realized what was happening, he tilted his head to the side, Rai's dagger whisking past his head, and grabbed the man by his throat with immense strength.

Rai's growled and tried to pry Naruto's hold, but he couldn't fight against Naruto's strength, "You can only use your time abilities every five seconds." Rai's eyes widened when Naruto spilled his secret, "More than enough time needed to defeat you." he said as he threw him in Kuroka's direction. Kuroka created a pink seal the enveloped Rai's body once he made contact. He landed harshly on the ground, but was confused when he realized that he was pink bubble.

"This won't kill you, but it'll do some damage!" Kuroka said with a wave. Rai wondered what she was talking about, but the sense of danger shot through his body when he saw that there were four seals that started to smoke within the bubble. Without warning, seals exploded, with Rai's right in the middle of it all. The bubble expanded and expanded until it couldn't hold in the force of the explosions, bursting and releasing a smoking Rai.

Said man's clothes were tattered-not one spot was safe from Kuroka's death trap. He gritted his teeth and slowly pushed himself up, but the pain washed all over his body, leaving him immobile.

"And that's game." said Naruto, recalling his arms. He walked over to Rai and kicked him over. The high-class Agares groaned in pain as he was flipped on his back. "Sorry Rai, but my team wants to go home. You can't fight anymore, so just do us all a favor and surrender."

Rai chuckled, though they could tell that it was a painful chuckle by how strained his voice sounded, "I..I guess your right…" he said with a smile, "I'm just gl-glad that you're back, Naruto-sama."

Naruto gave the man a small, true smile, "Glad to be back."

"Before I surrender, I'd like to propose an alliance." he suggested.

"An alliance?" said Naruto, very interested in that.

"Yes…" he said while rubbing his side, "I'm sure that those of the Agares Clan would agree that you will become an important face in the Underworld…and with such power…you'll need alias to help you, especially politically."

"Now you have my attention." said Naruto, "I accept, but we'll talk more about this at a later date. We will meet soon, but you need to be healed soon."

"You're right. I look forward to it, Naruto-sama. You…Kuroka the Nekomata…" Kuroka's ears perked up at hearing her name, "Yes?"

"Watch over him. Naruto-sama is a wild cannon, hehe…He'll need your help as well."

"For sure, nya." she said with a smirk.

"We'll meet soon." he said while looking Naruto in the eye, "I surrender."

Rai's body disappeared, signaling his retirement of the Rating Game.

" _And he did it!"_ shouted Bill, _"With an amazing display of skill, Naruto Bael cleans up this Rating Game against Rai Agares, now making his record 3 wins and 0 loses! What more will we see from this man!"_

 **Same Time**

 **Bael Castle**

Two men were sitting in front of massive television with a random show playing. The two weren't paying attention to it, however, as they were talking to each other over a bottle of red wine.

"Ahhhh…I've got to say…it's been a while since anything interesting has happened." said a massive man with dark hair. He sipped from his wine glass before speaking again, "I've been extremely bored these past couple of years and I don't know what to do to quench this thirst I have for adventure."

"I'm sure something will pop up soon, master." said the other man with a chuckle, "You just have to be patient and opportunity will present itself."

"If you say so…I'm going to need that opportunity to come in a hurry, though." he said with a deep laugh.

The movie they were watching switched to a new announcement, _"This is breaking news going out across the entire Underworld. The once [King]-less peerage now has a [King] we can put a name to. Naruto Bael, war hero of the Civil War, has revealed himself to the Underworld after centuries of being off the map. Nobody knows where he's been all of this time, be we are surely happy to see him back."_

Both men went quiet as they continued to listen to the news report. The report showed Naruto's face, along with his highlight during his Rating Game against Rai Agares that just ended. During the entire time, both men were silent as a wave of shock coursed through their bodies.

However, the large man stood up from his seat with a menacing grin on his face, "Naruto….Naruto Bael…hehehe…aren't you out your seal a little too early?" said Lord Bael, Great King of Underword, "Now this!...this is very interesting…."

"Na..na-naruto…." whispered Asuma as he stared at Naruto's smiling face in shock.

 **BreakThrough**

 **Canon:Filler**


	19. AuctionHouse

_*****NOTICE-There maybe a chapter that you may have missed out on. The chapter titled 'Cannon:Filler' was updated not to long after 'FireStarter' was, but you may not have noticed. If you haven't read that chapter yet, please do so you can understand what's happening in the story-Notice End*****_

 **Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug. Just had a great Christmas and planning on having a good new year.**

 **Yall loved the quick update of the filler. Got a lot of positive reviews from both chapters and I'm happy bout that. My review numbers dropped again, but that's to be expected when it takes me over a month to update. But, I promise you, it is my goal to update this story three more times before I head back for college in late January. I'll keep you all in the loop of things on how I'm progressing.**

 **This next part of the story introduces some new characters and I want y'all to pay close attention to them. I'm planning on adding another character to Naruto's peerage and I'm using the opportunity in the Young Devils Gathering to make that possible. Remember, Naruto has 5x Pawn pieces and 1x Rook pieces remaining, so hit me up in the reviews after reading through this chapter to vote on who you may want in the peerage. It can also be characters not in the story yet as well, but please make sure that these characters come from Naruto/Highschool Dxd/ and even Shaman King. It'll help if you give a little explanation as to why you want them in the group, but it doesn't really matter that much. Notice my pattern of taking characters that everyone is familiar with but isn't that popular and adding them to the peerage. I'd like to continue on with that same method of choosing characters**

 **But yea, I hope everybody is having a good holiday season. Let it be your kicking it with the fam, trapped yourself in your room and watching Bird Box (highly fucking recommend that) or just watching some good ole YouTube (for YouTube, I recommend Knightwing01 for some good quality Batman game play through and reviews and the kwingletsplays channel. I've been watching Kwing and Kwife for over 5 years. They're good people and deserve more subscribers.**

 **Oh yea-THE LAKERS BEAT THE FUCKING GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS WITHOUT LEBRON!HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU LOSERS! (Still a Cleveland Cavalier fan to the death of me, but LeBron is my second favorite player with Jimmy Butler being my first) YOU GSW ALIENS AIN'T MAKING IT TO THE FINALS THIS YEAR! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!-**

 **Let's continue the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **AuctionHouse**

 **Three Weeks Later…**

 **Underworld- Bael Territory Outskirts**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"Whew…that was some good sleep…" mumbled Kisame, walking down the stairs in nothing but his purple boxers, "Time for some orange juice to start the day." he said as he walked into the kitchen which was many times bigger than their previous kitchen in Kuoh Town.

Opening their brand new fridge, Kisame pushed through many cartons of milk, previously made protein shakes, and various other juices until he found his orange juice hiding in the back. "Hell yea…" he said while grabbing the carton. Not even bothering on getting a cup, Kisame drowned the whole carton with a few gulps, "AHHH! Satisfying!" he said while throwing the carton over his shoulder, not caring where it landed. He went back in the fridge and got another carton of orange juice, "Now's it's time to see what's on TV."

The blue devil/demon hybrid hummed a quick tune as he made his way into the living room, which had a similar layout to their previous house back in Kuoh. There were three couches with a coffee table sitting in the middle and a large flat-screen television on the wall. Kisame's recliner was placed in-between two of the couches at an angle so that he would be facing the television. He hopped in his chair and sat back in it with a sigh of relief, "Oh, how I love this chair…so amazing and perfect, just like me." he said with a chuckle while drinking out of his carton. Samehade climbed on top of Kisame and handed him the remote control, "Good girl." he said while scratching his sword under its chin, getting a purr in return.

"Now let's see what's on…" he said while turning the television on to its first channel.

" _-and I don't care what you say-this peerage has GOT IT!"_ Shouted a tan man that was sitting at a round table with two other people, _"I mean-just look at what they're doing! They are currently six and zero, Max Kellerman! 6! AND! ZEEeeeEEEERRROOOO! Now, we've seen other peerages have an amazing start like this before, but dear Lucifer! Naruto Bael? He's the real deal! After coming back to the Underworld, he's defeated Rai Agares-who is..ehh, he's alright…He's has a good peerage! BUT THEN! Oh hoh hoh! This bad man has beat some BIG-TIME-PLAYAS! A Rating Game a week since his return and he's won ALL. OF. THEM!"_

" _And to me, the most impressive part of his past three Rating Games is that he hasn't even battled in any of them."_ said the other man named Max, _"His [Bishop], Hao Asakura? Damn! Just damn! That guy doesn't come to play! He's forced the most retirements out of his peerage and he does it in an instant! This peerage, Steven A. Smith? It's something that we've never seen before."_

" _And I agree….but how strong do you think they are?"_ said Steven, looking at Max with a look of suspicion, _"Now I know that I'm known for making bad calls on Rating Games and ranking, but I want to hear you, Max Kellerman! How do you think this peerage will affect the Rating Game scene?"_

" _Honestly?...I think this can turn out to be a top 10 pee-_

" _ABSOLUTLY NOT!"_ interrupted Steven A. Smith, _"See? See, Molly!?"_ he said to the female moderator, _"I knew this man was gonna say something-uh, uh, uh-pro-prePOSTEROUS! Are you kidding me?"_

" _Let me expla-_

" _ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? TOP TEN!? THEY HAVEN'T EVEN PLAYED TEN GAMES YET AND YOU'RE SAYING THEY'LL BE A TOP TEN PEERAGE!? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDDDDD?!"_

" _I'm saying that this is something I've never seen before and that their potential is out of this underworld!"_ shouted Max, " _Are they a top ten peerage now? No! CAN THEY BE A TOP TEN PEERAGE? YES! YES! YES! I don't care what you say, Steven A. Smith! I don't care what the comments will say when we post this video on DevilTube! I don't care!"_

" _You know what you should do? You should check yourself into a mental health facility because you've CLEARLY lost your mind! Got me over here running up my blood pressure for nothing. What your saying is disgraceful an-_

"They're yelling too much and not talking enough about me." said Kisame, flipping to another channel.

" _-with Naruto Bael's sixth Rating Game win last night, he's quickly solidifying himself in the Underworld as a powerful Devil with an unique peerage backing him up."_ calmly said another female moderator, _"Even though he hasn't made any attempts in battling during his past three Rating Games, it has been Hao Asakura that has taken the spotlight amongst the group, burning through foes with his partner, Spirit of Fire. Right beside him is Kisame, a devil/shark demon hybrid that is a [Knight] also stands out as he fights with a ferocity most [Knight]s aren't known for. On the battlefield, he's like an unstoppable force that no one has an answer to."_

"I like that girl. She knows what she's talking about." Kisame said with a grin.

" _Shannon Sharpe, I'll start with you."_ continued the woman named Jenny _, "What are your thoughts about Naruto Bael and his peerage now that he's claimed his sixth win last night?"_

" _Thanks, Jenny."_ said Shannon, a tall, dark-skinned man. He turned to the other man sitting across before him and continued speaking, " _Now Skip, I know that you may be sick and tired of me saying this….but this team right here…OOOHHHH WHHHEEEWWWWW! They some straight DAWGS! I'm starting to love them like how I love me some LeBron James up there in the human realm."_

" _Ohh and you love talking about him…"_ muttered Skip.

" _Aacchh! It ain't your turn to speak, Skip! Always tryna interrupt somebody! Don't got any type of patience in you what so ever!"_ laughed Shannon.

" _Oh, I've got some patience. I deal with you every morning to talk about Rating Games! Believe me, I've got more patience than you do."_ Skip said while waving a finger at Shannon, _"And I'm about to use this patience and listen to the blasphemy that's going to come out your mouth in a few seconds."_

" _Ain't no blasphemy coming out of my mouth! Not out of Shannon Sharpe's mouth!"_ he yelled back, " _Listen, this peerage is something special. I show some favoritism to these guys because I knew Naruto back in the day, but this team is going somewhere and I don't know if anybody can stop them. They're currently on a winning streak with six wins and no losses to talk about on their record. The last three Rating Games they had were all challenges from other [King]s and Naruto and his peerage washed them like THEY were the ones that sent the challenges! While they're not all high-class devils, these devils he has on his team are stronger than most high-class devils that sleep on top of gold every night, Skip! The only thing I wished I saw more of from them was that the whole peerage would participate in the Rating Game, but so far, I've enjoyed watching Hao Asakura and Kisame clean through these cats like a pair of dirty draws. That's all I've got to say."_ said Shannon, dropping his pen as if he had proven a point.

" _So it's my turn now?"_ asked Skip.

" _It's your turn, Skip Bayless!"_ shouted Shannon, _"Go ahead and spit out all that bull-jive out ya mouth! Go ahead!"_

" _I promise you that there isn't any type of bull-jive coming from me."_ said Skip while rummaging through some papers with statistics written on them. He took a deep breath before continuing to speak, _"So! Last night one Naruto Bael cleans through another peerage! Very nice Rating Game….Hao and Kisame cleaned through them like they were nothing-just like the past two game before!...they….you know, they're a pretty nice group of Devils…very strong group of Devils if I can add that in."_

" _Uh huh.."_ said Shannon, waiting for Skip's judgment.

" _How-ever!"_ shouted Skip while slamming his hand on the desk, _"I still think that he is cheating I and know it-I have this small voice in the back of my head and its telling me, 'They're cheating and you know it!' and I'm listening to that voice with no hesitation!"_

" _But SSSSSKKKKKIIIIIPPPPPPPPP!"_ Shanon dragged out.

" _No, I do not want to hear it! Everybody knows that this man-Naruto Bael-has a [King] piece! He has a [King] piece for Lucifer's sake! That is illegal and he should be investigated immediately! Everybody knows because we all remember that in that little..funny orb form of his…whatever it was, during his Rating Game against Sairaorg Bael and Riser Phenex, we clearly saw the [King] piece! But no one cares because it's 'The Great Naruto-sama that came back from god-knows where!' and I'm sick of it! We don't know where this guy has been for the past 500-something years!? We don't know what he's been doing but we're going to open our arms to him just like that!? Who is this man?! I've been alive for a long time-much longer than you Mr. Sharpe- and I can tell that something is wrong just by looking at it!"_

" _Okay, but see, I'm not going to let you talk about him like that!"_ yelled Shannon, " _This man…..y'all.…y'all know my story…..came up broker than Humpty Dumpty when he fell down that wall and cracked his ass….it was me, my seven brothesr, three sisters, my father, his three wives, and my grandma-All living together in a two room house!"_

" _Two rooms?"_ asked Skip.

" _I said TWO OF EM'!"_ he shouted, _"My grandma told me that I was special and that I'll make a way out of that lifestyle….got drafted to fight in the Civil War for the Anti-Satan Faction and almost lost my life…..but this man right here came and saved my whole legion! Naruto Bael saved my life! I will always be in his dept! After that, I was added into my [King]'s peerage-Lucifer rest his soul, he died not too long ago-and we had ourselves a good time beating all them peerages that came our way! Not long after that, I was made a High-class Devil, got my own peerage and I'm living lavish now, but that couldn't have happened if Naruto Bael didn't save my life back then."_

" _That's an amazing story, but that has nothing to do with the fact that he may be cheating!"_

" _ACH! I don't wanna hear it! He isn't that type of person!"_

"Okay, they're arguing more about that idiot and not me." said Kisame, changing the channels until he landed on a movie, "Stupid people don't recognize my greatness…"

"Your pouting is amusing to me." said the voice of Orochimaru from behind him.

Both Kisame and Samehada jumped at the voice and turned behind them to see Orochimaru in his usual grey, morning robe with a cup of coffee in his hand, "god damn it, Orochimaru! Don't sneak up on me like that you pasty bastard!"

Orochimaru chuckled, "Of course, Kisame, kukuku…" he said as he sat on one of the couches, "Seems like they were talking a lot about us. Looks like our plan to fame and notoriety is working well."

"Yea, but they aren't talking about me a lot. It's either Hao and his stupid imaginary friend flying around or Naruto…trying to come up with theories about him or sum shit." he grunted.

"Naruto-sama is a mysterious man." said Orochimaru while sipping out of his coffee cup, "I wonder what the man has planned next for us."

"Hopefully our next Rating Game will be more funnier than the others. They've been shit." said Kisame.

"'More funnier?'" said Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow.

"That's what I said, right?" snapped Kisame.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and focused back on his coffee, "Sure thing, Kisame. Have it your way."

"Damn right….Where is the blonde idiot anyway?" asked the shark demon.

"Naruto-sama," Orochimaru made sure to put emphasis on the 'sama' part, "is out with Anna for their daily meditation session. I believe that those sessions with Anna are really helping him control his emotions."

"Eh, good for him." said Kisame, rubbing Samehada's scales through the bandages covering it, "I need some excitement in my life though. These Rating Games haven't challenged us at all. I want to actually fight somebody and have my name plastered all over the headlines and not stupid Hao." he grunted.

"What was that, Kisame?" said a voice from behind the man. Kisame turned to look behind him to see Hao, in his usual brown tunic, glaring at him with his arms folded.

"I said I want to see more of me on the headlines and not you! You're not even knocking out the competition-it's that fucked up fire monster that does all the work!" scoffed Kisame, "Me and Samehada? We do equal amount of work. I swing. She eats. It's a win-win for the both of us. You just tell that monstrous flaming voodoo doll what to do like it's your kid."

"Me and Spirit of Fire have a partnership just like you do with your sword." the older Asakura brother said while shaking his head in disappointment, "I honestly don't like the attention I'm getting from our Rating Games, but it's something I can deal with since Naruto-sama is benefitting from our victories."

"Yeah, says the guy that tried to kill him almost two months ago…" Kisame countered. He groaned as he changed the channel using the remote control, "I swear there is nothing on this morning, damn it."

Hao ignored Kisame's jab and took a seat in one of the available couches. The three men didn't speak to each other after that, allowing the sounds from the television to wash over the room. Kisame flipped back to the same channel that was talking about them previously a few times, but they had moved on to a different topic. The shark demon/devil hybrid continued to skim through channels, trying to find something of interest, but with no success.

It was a magic seal that appeared next to Orochimaru's ear that drew everyone's attention, "Hello? Orochimaru, are you there?" said a very familiar voice.

"Sirzechs?" said Orochimaru, setting down his coffee cup, "What a pleasure it is to hear from the Lucifer of the Underworld, fufufufu…" the snake man chuckled darkly, "How can I be of assistance?"

"Listen…Can I meet with you quickly?" asked the Satan with a stressed voice, confusing the snake man. Sirzechs was known to be a cheery man, so if he sounded like this than something must be wrong. "It's important but I won't take up much of your time."

"Hmmmm…I'll be at your office in ten. I need to get ready." said the [Pawn].

"That's fine. I'll see you soon." said the Lucifer as he cancel the call, his magic seal disappearing.

"Now that's interesting." said Hao, "What could he want?"

"I honestly don't know." said Orochimaru as he stood up, "However, it must be something important. He sounded worried about something, so I guess I'll go handle it. Inform Naruto-sama that I'll be meeting with the Lucifer. Once I change into my clothes, I'll be gone." he said. Hao nodded in agreement and watched as the snake man headed up the stairs towards his room to prepare for his meeting with Sirzechs."

 **Same time – Beach**

Anna and Naruto were both outside on the beach meditating not too far from the house. It was a part of Naruto's daily exercises to meditate with Anna in order to control his emotions and magical outage better. Ever since they started, Naruto could honestly say that he had improved in handling himself more than before. He hadn't had any of those crazed moments where he would laugh hysterically for no reason nor would threaten death to his peerage members for defying or holding secrets from him-not that they did either of those things. During the past month of being in the Underworld, the blonde Bael took the time to truly connect with peerage members. He wanted to trust them more and not just love them. His relationship with them had really grown in the past month and he hoped that it would continue to do so as time pasted.

Naruto and Anna were sitting in the sand with their legs crossed and their hands resting on their thighs. Both of their palms were open with a magic circle hovering above them. Pebbles were circling around each other slowly as the duo was practicing on their telekinetic powers in peace. The only sounds they heard were the small waves washing themselves onto the sand before another wave replaced the other.

The blonde Bael [King] took in a deep breath of air while slowly opening his eyes, revealing is bright shining blue orbs to the Underworld. There wasn't any madness in his eyes anymore-no more craziness at all. There was simply Naruto Bael, the Compass Needle of Victory and the man that had a plan that would shake the Underworld soon.

"How do you feel?" asked Anna with a whisper, but he heard her. The shaman/devil girl turned to her master slowly and awaited an answer.

"I feel pretty good." he said with a sigh, increasing the speed of his rotating pebbles floating over his hand, "….more in control…"

"Good." said the girl, "How's does your magic feel flowing throughout your body?"

"Calm….and natural." he answered, "Just like a calm river on a sunny day….There isn't a commotion that is worth worrying over."

"And what do you plan on doing with your magic?" she asked stoically.

"Something awesome…"

Anna sighed and dropped the concentration she had, causing the pebbles she was controlling to fall in her lap, "What do you plan on doing now…" she said with a grunt.

A mischievous smile grew on Naruto's face as he jumped up from his position in the sand and summoning his wheelchair underneath him, "Ice slide!" he shouted childishly, creating a pillar of ice beneath him that was shaped like a slide and rolled down it like it was a roller coaster. "WWWEEEEEEEEEEE!" he yelled excitedly as continued adding on to his make-shift rollercoaster that stretched over the red waters of the Underworld.

"I thought we were past your childish ways, Naruto-sama." said Anna, standing up and glaring at her [King].

"But this is so much fun!" he laughed as he created a 360 loop and shredded it like it was nothing.

Anna rolled her eyes and summoned her shikigama partners, Zenki and Goki. The duo flew across the waters and appeared in front of Naruto with their arms crossed.

"Oh shit!" he shouted as he tried to halt himself so he wouldn't crash into the two spirits. However, he was moving too fast to stop himself and continued flying towards the two. Zenki and Goki slowly stepped to the side and allowed Naruto past them, but since he stopped making his ice platform, the Bael landed straight into the red river.

Anna watched as the spirit partners helped Naruto out of the river, before deciding to throw him back in for fun, "Is everyone an idiot…" she said with a sweat drop.

"Ehh, us boys are kinda stupid at times," said a voice from behind her. She looked behind her to see her future husband, Yoh Asakura, holding two coffee cups with a small smile on his face, "but we can have our moments." he said while handing Anna one of the mugs.

"Thank you." she said silently, taking her mug and sitting back down into the soft sands. Yoh nodded and sat next to his fiancée and enjoyed the scene of a laughing Naruto brawling with Zenki and Goki within the waters.

"It's rare to see Zenki and Goki having fun. They're usual quiet, stoic, and unfunny…like you." said Yoh, sipping some of his coffee.

Anna's eyebrow twitched at Yoh's jab, "I can be…..never mind." she muttered with a barely noticeable blush of embarrassment.

"Hmmm, I'm glad you didn't finish that lie." Yoh said with a laugh. Anna punched Yoh's shoulder but couldn't hold back the smile that grew on her face. "I can take a punch from you. I'm just glad you didn't give me one of those fearsome slaps of yours." he said with a shiver.

"You can still receive one if you keep making jokes." she said with a sideways glance at him.

"Hey, you won't hear anything like that from me again." he said. She rolled her eyes at him but didn't press the issue anymore. Her focus went back to Naruto and her two guardians trying to drown each other, "When are they going to stop acting like fools?"

"Let them have their fun. It's good to see Naruto-sama laugh like that." said Yoh, watching the scene.

"YOSH!" screeched a familiar voice that hurt both Anna and Yoh's ears from the volume, "Is Naruto-sama being ganged up on by Mr. Zenki and Mr. Goki? I shall save you, Naruto-sama, with my YOUTH!" he yelled as he flew past Yoh and Anna and joined the playful brawl.

"They're going to get sick playing in the water." said Anna, sipping from her mug.

"Not our problem." Yoh replied, mimicking his fiancées as he took a sip from his mug.

 **Lucifer's Mansion**

Orochimaru appeared in front of Sirzechs' massive mansion in the city of Lilith. After being greeted by a group of servants, they lead Orochimaru to their leader's office.

"He's right inside." said one of the maids with a bow.

"Thank you very much." Orochimaru said respectfully, bowing to her as well. He pushed the doors opened and entered the office quietly. Sirzechs was sitting at his desk and was seemingly deep in thought since he didn't even see Orochimaru enter his office. "It seems like you really are going through something." said Orochimaru with a smirk.

"Ah! Orochimaru! Sorry about that," the Satan said with a head scratch, "I've really got some things on my mind…some things that I know you'll be interested in."

"Mmmm…do tell." said an interested Orochimaru as he took a seat in front of Sirzechs.

"Well, to make to make a long story short, the seals that the Sitri Clan used to suppress the memories of Naruto are gone from Falbium and Ajuka." stated the Satan, surprising Orochimaru, "We were having a meeting when Naruto appeared on the television about to enter his first Rating Game three weeks ago. They saw his face, which apparently forced the memories they had with him out of captivity, breaking the seals. It seemed like a painful process since they succumbed to unconsciousness from the pain, but the seals are now gone and the remember Naruto."

"Wow." said Orochimaru with his ever-raspy voice, "And what happened after that?"

"Well, since everyone recognized that the seals that were placed on Ajuka and Falbium were made by the Sitri Clan, distrust towards the clan has commenced." said Sirzechs.

"And who else knows about what happened during this meeting?" asked Orochimaru.

"Just the devils that were inside of the meeting, so about 30 people or so. I told them specifically to keep their mouths shut, but I feel as if some of the representatives from the clans spoke to their clan leaders and councils anyway." Sirzechs said with a sigh, "I want to make some type of damage control, but it's hard to do so when there is a whole clan people are now weary of."

"That is a strange predicament you're in, Sirzechs. It must be stressful to be you." Orochimaru said with a chuckle, but quickly went back to his serious demeanor, "So what now? How will you move?"

"I…It's based on what you'll say to this question I have for you." said Sirzechs.

"Okay?" said Orochimaru, a little confused about everything.

"Do you know what Naruto has planned?" he asked the snake man, " Not only did he reveal to the whole Underworld that I was the one that waived Kuroka of her past crimes-something I'm still catching heat for!- but he also seemingly planned this out! He was there during the meeting in that spectra orb form of his, watching everything. He revealed himself only to me and said that he was planning some crazy stuff for the future! Things that could really mess up the balance of the Underworld!" in a fit of rage, Sirzechs slammed his hands on the desk, surprising Orochimaru even more, "What is he planning, Orochimaru! We're supposed to be allies but it's like he's the one causing to me to deal with all this shit! Tell me!"

"You need to calm down…" Orochimaru growled with a glare that could kill a high-class Devil with its intensity. Orochimaru wasn't fragile enough to cower at Sirzechs' anger. He was too strong for that and he never showed any weakness to anybody- friend or foe. Plus, in his fit of rage, Sirzechs was providing some good information for Orochimaru to tell his master when he got back, but he need Sirzechs to calm down so that they could both have a conversation like adults in order to solve his problems.

Sirzechs took a few deep breaths before sinking back into his chair, "I…I'm sorry." he said with a sigh, "It's been a very stressful couple of weeks and I feel like I'm being played. This mess that I'm going through now…how he was present at the Three Factions Meeting…the growing revolution from the low-class devils…it's a bit too much…" the Satan finished.

"It's alright, Sirzechs. We'll figure this out." said Orochimaru, "Now, all Naruto-sama told us is that he wanted to make a name for himself in the Underworld, which is why we've been taking up Rating Game challenges left and right. He wants to be in public eye since it's been so long that he's been seen by anyone. That's all I know. Questions were going to rise anyway when people saw Kuroka with Naruto since she is still seen as a SS-Class criminal but has had her crime privately waved from you. If she didn't, she would be protected by Naruto and would be able to tell her story to the public in order for everyone to understand her side of the story that caused her to be a criminal."

"You're right." said Sirzechs, "But what about Falbium and Ajuka? They've recovered from their injuries, but they have questioned that they want answered. Everyone has questions about them and I can't answer them."

"To be honest, Lucifer-sama, I can't answer them as well. The only people you can get answers from is the Stiri Clan themselves. They're the ones that put seals on the Satans, including you, so they're the ones with the answers. However, since you're keeping this situation that happened private, I say you wait on it for now…I think that Naruto-sama may have that covered." said Orochimaru.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sirzechs.

"Well, I think Naruto's reveal did more than we think…and this is me just speculating…I think he wants those that did him wrong to call out themselves…he wants them to come out about what happened to him so long ago." stated the snake man.

"What makes you say that?" asked Sirzechs with narrowed eyes.

"Naruto-sama's revival to the Underworld made people think. Where was he? Why was he gone for so long? These questions are being asked more and more as Naruto-sama's face is plastered everywhere with headlines…The first question answered that the public has is why Kuroka is on Naruto-sama's peerage. They now know that you are the one that waived her of her past crimes. While everyone is still wondering why you did such a thing, which is still one small answer to this very long and mysterious turn of events. The next question they would want answered is why waive Kuroka?...which will then reveal her story and that you waived her so that we could free you sister from her arranged marriage with Riser Phenex, a deal that also involved a pint of Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri's blood…"

Sirzechs' head snapped up when it clicked for him, "It's like a line of dominoes…One by one; this whole fiasco will become public knowledge as the time passes."

"And I think he knows it." said Orochimaru, "Those seals? Falbium and Ajuka are going to want answers-so will Serafall and the others that know about them. Devils aren't beings of honesty, so no matter what you demanded, those present during the meeting probably ratted to their superiors and they'll want to know as well. Naruto-sama knows this is just watching it all happen with his feet kicked up." finished Orochimaru.

"You say this is you just speculating, but I can see this being true." sighed Sirzechs, "He didn't deserve what he went through…but he sure is making a statement with his return…he's really going to rattle the Underworld with this one."

"I guess that's what he wanted to do in the first place. Naruto-sama always has a plan. I still don't know what his end goal is." Orochimaru said, lying through his teeth. Naruto had revealed to his peerage what he planned to do a few weeks back after their first Rating Game when they made base in the Underworld. He knew Naruto was gunning for the position of Great King and by how things were going-he was well on his way to that role.

"Thanks for this, Orochimaru. You're a very good listener and it helps me get my thoughts together. Sorry for yelling earlier." said Sirzechs with a small bow.

"No problem," said Orochimaru with a dismissing wave, "Well then, since that's everything, I'll be taking my leave." he said while standing up from his seat.

"Wait, Orochimaru. I do have one more thing I need to give you." said Sirzechs, halting Naruto's [Pawn]. The Lucifer Satan dug into his desk for a while until he found a red envelope. He handed it to Orochimaru with a small smile on his face, "This is for Rock Lee. He has been invited to the Young Devils Gathering in two days."

"Really?" said Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow, generally interested in the invite, "I didn't know that low-class Devils were allowed at such an event."

Sirzechs shrugged his shoulders, "I can't tell you much right now, but just know that we're trying something different this time. You'll learn more about what's going on if he attends the meeting."

Orochimaru looked at the envelope with suspension before taking hold of it and placing it within his robe, "Well, I'm sure Lee would like to meet new people to spar against so I do believe he'll attend this gathering." he said.

"Good to know. Thanks again, Orochimaru. You've been a big help today." said Sirzechs with a smile.

"Anytime, Lucifer-sama. Anytime." Orochimaru said with a bow as he disappeared within a magic seal.

 **10 minutes later…**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"YOSH! I shall go to this meeting to show my youth!" shouted Lee as he looked at the envelope with a fire in his eyes.

"Hold on, Lee." said Naruto as he dried his hair with a towel. The group gathered themselves into the living room when Orochimaru announced that he had news that he needed to tell everyone. They all sat in the many couches in the room to listen to what happened during Orochimaru's meeting with Sirzechs with interest.

The blonde Bael was shirtless while wearing orange sweatpants. Zenki and Goki's massive bodies were sitting next to Naruto with towels in their lap. "That sounds fun and all, but from what I know and what Orochimaru just got done explaining, this is more than what it seems."

"How so, nya~" asked Kuroka while eating a bowl of ice cream.

"I know all about Sirzechs' little plan to turn this Young Devils Gathering into a tournament." said Naruto.

"A tournament?" said Orochimaru, "He didn't mention that during our meeting."

"It was when I was listening into his meeting with his council a few weeks back. They plan on having Devils from all of the social rankings to attend this meeting. Those that come will be able to fight in a battle royal style tournament. The last four standing will be a part of this generation 'Rookie Four.' They're doing this as a way to replace a possible civil war-giving the low-class and middle-class devils a chance to show off their abilities against high-class devils." explained their [King].

"I'd say that that's a good step in the right direction." said Yoh, "Allowing the low and middle-class Devils in the spotlight for a change is pretty cool."

"Hopefully those shrimps are strong enough not to get killed first." grunted Kisame from his recliner, "If they're not strong enough to hold their own, then they'll just be embarrassing themselves."

"I bet you when everyone learns about this tournament, that'll be exactly what some of the high-class Devils are hoping for." said Anna.

"So all I have to do is be a part of the last four in the tournament to win? That's easy!" yelled the ever-hyper Lee, "Not to sound cocky, but I've already beaten Sairaorg with his balance breaker and most devils believed him to be the strongest young devil of this generation. It'll only helps that he can't bring his balance breaker servant with him because it's only the [King]s that will be participating in the tournament."

"You're right, Lee. Your chances at being one of the remaining four is pretty high." said Naruto, which boosted his [Rook]'s spirits even more; "However, there is something I don't like about this tournament."

"What is it, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow.

"These low and middle-classed youths….they'll be fighting against [King]s in a tournament that will probably be broadcasted everywhere throughout the Underworld." started Naruto, "While it is a good step in the right direction for equality, allowing these young devils to show their strength in front of everyone, it'll also cause a lot of [King]s with left over Evil Pieces to sink their fangs into them."

"Ah, so you're saying that the low-class devils displaying their strength could also benefit those who are looking for strong pieces for their Peerage." summed up Anna.

"Correct," he replied, "Basically, this whole tournament is an auction house. They'll be showing off their skills and everyone would want to have a powerful, young, pure-blood devil in their peerage. Also adding in the factor that we don't know what type of lives these young kids live. They'll probably jump at the chance at being added to a prominent peerage so they can take care of their families or something…" Naruto sighed as he sank into the couch, "I just wish that they would have become high-class devils while they weren't in a peerage like me."

"What you're saying is true, but it isn't like that's a bad thing." said Orochimaru with a glint in his eyes, "It's not like we can't take advantage of this opportunity in adding someone new to the peerage."

"Someone new, nya?~" Kuroka said with interest, "You think what we need someone new, snaky?"

"No, I don't think we need someone, but it wouldn't hurt to add to our young group of people now. We have you, Kuroka, along with Lee, Hao, Yoh, and Anna. Most of Naruto-sama's peerage is young, and I think we should keep up with that trend."

"UHhhhhhh…" Yoh scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "I mean…yeah, a hundred twenty-five could be young in devil years…."

"What." Orochimaru stared at Yoh blankly, "You're over one hundred years of age?"

"So is Hao…and Anna…I thought everybody knew this…" said Yoh, highly confused.

"I guess we never really spoke about our age, brother." said Hao, sipping his favorite red wine from a wine glass.

"I don't like talking about my age…" Anna said with a glare centered at Yoh, causing him to shiver.

"How old are you, Orochimaru?" asked Kisame.

"I'm…fifty…." he muttered with disappointment.

"Ha! You're nothing but a little baby!" laughed Kisame, "I swear I thought you were a few hundred years old, but nope!" he laughed.

"Kisame is the oldest and I'm a few years younger than him." said Naruto, "Then it's Yoh and Hao since they're twins, then Anna, Orochimaru, Kuroka and Lee."

"That means were a part of the young guys! We are the YOUTH!" shouted Lee with a laugh as he hugged a smiling Kuroka and a shocked Orochimaru.

"YOUTH, nyayaya!" laughed Kuroka as she hugged the green beast.

"I'm….a child….." clearly, the snake man was very disturbed that he was one of the youngest people in Naruto's peerage, "Ahem….that doesn't matter. What I was saying that we should focus on adding more pieces to your peerage, Naruto-sama." Orochimaru was going to heavily push his plan now because being one of the younger devils in the peerage was something he was not comfortable with at all.

"I don't have a problem with it if you all don't." said Naruto with a shrug, "But we can't just add anybody. They've got to be special."

"Yosh, I shall report who I think maybe favorable to add to your peerage when I come back from the meeting, Naruto-sama!" Lee said with a salute, "That way, you can narrow your selection down somewhat."

"Good thinking, Lee, but I want you to really take this tournament seriously." stated Naruto, "This is a great opportunity to show off your abilities without us around. Yeah, you defeated Sairaorg a while back, but we need something new….something fresh to show off our dominance. I know how strong you are, but we'll prepare you for this tournament when we know who you'll be facing off against."

"Understood!" he shouted with a bow.

"Kuroka," Naruto said, catching the cat girl's attention, "It says in the envelope that those invited can bring their peerage or someone they trust along to the meeting. I want you to go with Lee. While I know you two are the youngest, I know that you'll make….uh…better...decisions..yeah, that's the word…than Lee in situations like these." he said with a sweat drop.

"Naruto-sama doesn't believe in me…." Lee said sadly, slumping down in shame.

Kuroka laughed at Lee before answering her long time crush, "I'll go with him, nya." she said with a smile, "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Great!" Naruto said happily, "Now, Lee, this isn't a formal event, so you don't have to dress up or anything, and I'm not telling you to be yourself, but I just want you to do more listening than speaking in this meeting. Whatever Sirzechs will say during this meeting could be valuable information."

"Yes sir!" shouted Lee, instantly out of his slump, "Less talk! More hear!"

"Alrighty then…Orochimaru, did you and Sirzechs discuss anything else in the meeting?" asked their [King].

Orochimaru smirked, "I told him that trying to hide what was done to you is unavoidable. People are asking questions, and soon enough the truth will be revealed."

"Good, good. You didn't tell him about my plans about becoming Great King, right?" he asked.

"He doesn't know a thing." answered Naruto's [Pawn].

"Even better. I want to see what side Sirzechs will choose..." Naruto said with a laugh, "Hopefully he chooses the winning side." he then turned back to Lee with a smile, "I'm sure Anna and Orochimaru can help you out with how you need to carry yourself," he said while looking towards said people who nodded their heads in agreement, "we believe in you, buddy."

"Hell yea, Lee! You're going to kick some ass!" Yoh said with a thumbs up.

 **Two Days Later…**

 **Old Royal Capital: Lucifaad**

The duo of Kuroka and Lee were walking through a massive castle that once owned by the original Lucifer. The Young Devils Gathering Meeting was supposed to happen somewhere within the castle, however, the two were lost from all of the corridors in the maze-like castle.

"YOSH!...We're losssttt!" cried out Lee as he started to panic, "What if we're late!? What if they don't let me in when we find out where we're supposed to be? Oh, Ms. Kuroka, this is a disaster!"

"Calm down, Lee." Kuroka said with a smile and a roll of her eyes. Lee was very entertaining to her and he was one of her favorites in Naruto's peerage which was why she was happy with coming with him to the meeting. "I'm sure we'll run into somebody soon that could help us."

"I don't understand why there isn't anybody here to help us!" shouted Lee as he clawed at his face in desperation, "What will they think when they see me? They'll probably make fun of my jump suuuuiiiittttt!" he cried.

Kuroka sighed and chopped Lee on top of his head, causing him to cry out in pain, "I said calm down, Lee. Remember how Orochimaru and Anna trained you in handling yourself. You can't look like a fool in front of the old, important guys." she smirked as she pulled out her trump card, "I'm sure you don't want to disappoint Naruto, now do we, nya~?"

A fire sparked in Lee's eyes as he stood up with a revitalized confidence, "YOSH! You are right, Ms. Kuroka! I shall remember my training that Mr. Orochimaru and Anna-sama gave me and make Naruto-sama proud!" he yelled.

"Good, now talk with your inside voice, nya." she said while covering her ears, "Let's keep on walking around until we find someone."

"Agreed!" Lee said and took the lead. Kuroka giggled as she walked behind her junior, following him down the many halls.

While they were walking the halls of the castle, the sound of a distant explosion caught their attention. Kuroka smirked as she expressed her opinions, "Seems like the little kittens are already fighting, nya. We should go to where we heard that explosion."

"Yes ma'am!" Lee said as the two started to head in that direction. It didn't take long until they found themselves in front of a door that was blown open by some type of magical attack. Standing in front of the door was two familiar [King]s and a peerage to boot. "YOSH! It's Rias and Sairaorg!" he shouted as he ran up to the unsuspecting two and trapped them into a bear hug, "I haven't seen you two in so loonggg!"

"L-L-Lee!?" shouted Rias with an embarrassed blush, "Put me down this instant!"

"Seems like you're still alive and well, Lee." Sairaorg said with a charming smile as the green beast set them back on the floor.

"Yes! Yes, I am!" he shouted. His next victims of his excitement were those apart of Rias' peerage, "YOSH! Everyone is here!"

"Yo, Lee!" said Issei, steeping up to give his friend some dap.

"Hello, Issei!" Lee said, dapping up his friend, "How are you guys?"

"We're fine, Lee." said Kiba with a smile, glad to see his friend after a month of being apart, "But what are you doing here, Lee?"

"Our Lee got an invite to this meeting, nya…" said Kuroka as she walked up to the group, "It seems like the old Devils recognize Lee as a prominent young devil, as they should."

"Really, dude!?" said Issei with happiness as he showed him a red envelope, "I got invited too!"

"That's incredible, Issei!" said Lee. The two ignored the others in favor of talking to each. They hadn't seen each other in quite some time after all.

"Hello, Kuroka." Rias said politely.

"Good to see you again, Childish Gremory, nya." Kuroka said with a giggle, causing Rias' eyebrow to twitch somewhat. Kuroka's golden orbs of mischief landed on Koneko, who was slowly inching her body behind Akeno. "Hello there, Shirone. You look well, nya." she said with a purr.

"Hello, sister." she said with a small wave, but nothing more. Kuroka frowned at her sister somewhat, but she let it slide. She didn't want to make a scene here.

"It's Zephyrdor and Seekvaira that got things started." Sairaorg said with a growl, "This is why I suggested we didn't meet before our formal debut."

"Do you wanna die, Zephyrdor," said Seekvaira Agares, a beautiful teenage girl with long blonde hair and pink eyes, "I doubt anyone would blame me if I killed you right now."

The boy she was arguing with was Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas. Zephyrdor's most noticeable appearances were his greenish-blue hair and black magic tattoos on his face. "Hah! The way you drive all the guys away, no wonder you're a virgin! That's why I offered to give you a personal 'opening ceremony' you ungrateful bitch!" he shouted with no shame what so ever.

"That guy has a nasty mouth on him…" said Issei with a sweat drop.

"This is what happens when you gather to many hotheads in one place." said Sairaorg as he walked towards the two, "I didn't want to get involved in such a nonsensical squabble, but I've got no choice."

His **KI** filled the room as he glared at the two, "If you two keep this up, you'll be fighting me." he said with absolute dominance.

"OHHH REALLY!?" shouted Zephyrdor with spit flying out his mouth, "I don't care what you say, SAI-AORG! I can do whatever I want and say whatever the fuck I want to say! And if-" he attention was curved once he saw Lee walking up towards them, "Holy shit! You're Lee the Green Beast!" Zephyrdor passed by Sairaorg, unknowingly saving himself from being destroyed by the Bael heir with one of his powerful punches, "You're fucking awesome!"

"Really?" said Lee with a head tilt.

"Hell yea, bro!" said the excited Glasya-Labolas, "I watched your Rating Game against Sairaorg a while back! You gave him that work!" he shouted happily, patting Lee's shoulder, "You're the real deal!"

"Yosh! Thank you very much. I am glad you were impressed by my YOUTH!" Lee finished.

"And you're Kuroka the Nekomata." Zephyrdor said with a smirk as he walked up to the voluptuous cat-girl. He licked his lips as he took in Kuroka's form, not even hiding the fact that he was eye raping her. "Damn…you're even sexier than I thought…" he said with impure thoughts filling his mind.

"Hello." Kuroka said plainly, shooting Zephyrdor a small glare. She didn't like this dude at all. He reeked of arrogance and selfishness-attributes that were the exact opposite of her Naruto.

"I can show you a good time later on if you come with me." he said with lust-filled eyes. His hand reached out to grab Kuroka's arm, but couldn't as Kuroka, with speeds nobody could keep up with, wrapped her right hand around his throat. "AAACHK!" he yelled as he tried, and failed, to breath.

Kuroka's glare intensified as she brought Zephyrdor's face down, closer to hers, "Don't you ever try something like that again." she said with her **KI** filling the room, overshadowing Sairaorg's by a large margin, "I'm taken. Do. You. Understand?" she growled.

"Y..Ye…..y-yess.." Zephyrdor managed to get out. Kuroka growled once more before throwing the boy into one of the walls. His body impacted the wall with so much force that he was stick in his own little crater that he was stuck in. Kuroka huffed and went to one of the chairs to sit in, "Somebody has already pissed me off, nya…" she said with anger.

"She's strong…" mumbled Seekvaira, suppressing a shudder. Kuroka's **KI** was slowly dissipating, but Seekvaira could have sworn she saw a flash of her own death for a few seconds.

"They're both strong." spoke Sairaorg as they watched Lee talk to Kuroka, wanting to make sure she was okay, "It would be wise not to get on their bad side."

"Good thing that we're not." Sona said, introducing herself to the group. She was followed by Saji, her [Pawn], and Tsubaki, her [Queen]. "Naruto-sama's peerage is filled with monsters."

"You mean the 'Compass Needle of Victory' that's popped up out of nowhere?" said Seekvaira, "I've watched his Rating Games. It crazy to me that someone that powerful has been hiding out…Lucifer knows where. He interest me, especially since I've hardly remember his name being mentioned in the books I've read."

"He likes to keep a low profile." said Sona, pushing up her glasses. While she knew the truth about Naruto, it wasn't her right to tell it right now. "Naruto-sama is a very mysterious person."

"Nevertheless, I'm sure that there are still some people that are coming for the meeting." said Rias, "Since Lee and Ise both have invites, even though their low-class devils, I'm assuming that there will be more of them coming as well."

The group of devils continued with some casual conversation for a while before the next person came in-somebody they didn't know. It was hard to tell if the person that walked in was either a boy or girl because they had bandages wrapped around most of their head, with only his left eye and ear showing. The person seemed to have a hunched back and the sleeves to their poncho were being dragged on the ground as they walked. A long straw raincoat protruded from the back of the person's camo-designed scarf, and there was a noticeable metal object on their right arm of said person's arm. They finished their outfit with black pants and blue sandals.

"This seems like the place…" muttered the person. Because of their deep voice, everyone came to the assumption that this person was male.

"Are you here for the meeting as well?" asked Sona with interest.

"Hmmm…I am..." said the boy, "Lucifer-sama personally gave me an invite a few weeks back in Lilith, where I live."

"Wow, that must mean that your pretty strong." said Issei.

"I'm not one to gloat about my skills, but I do consider myself to be strong." he said, "My name is Dosu Kinuta."

"I am Rias Gremory." she said as she walked over to Dosu, "Do you know of anyone else that has been invited? It seems as if there are Devils that aren't of the high-class that has been invited."

Dosu analyzed Rias for a few seconds before answering, "I did know that they were extending the invites to those who weren't of higher-statues, but I don't know who else they decided on inviting." he answered.

"Hmm… a shame." said Rias, biting her thumb in thought, "I wonder why they're doing this…"

Dosu lone eye narrowed at the Gremory heiress, "Do you have a problem with the council doing this?" he asked with suspicion.

"No, I don't." countered Rias, shooting Dosu a small scowl at his suspicion of her, "I am just curious, is all."

Dosu hummed to himself before walking away from the group, deciding on being by himself in one of the corners of the room.

Issei scowled at Dosu, "He doesn't seem nice." he said while poking his tongue at Dosu.

"He's just weary of us." said Kiba, putting a comforting hand on Issei's shoulder, "Even he doesn't know why he's here, so he just protecting himself from everyone."

"If you say so…" mumbled Issei.

"I should introduce myself!" said Lee as he made a dash towards Dosu, "Hello there! My name is Rock Lee, [Rook] of Naruto Bael! What is your name!?"

"Naruto Bael?" said Dosu, looking up to Lee, "You're…You're a part of his peerage."

"Yes I am! I became a devil two years ago…but that date is now approaching three." said Lee, "What is your name?" he asked again, stretching his hand out to the boy.

"Dosu Kinuta." he answered plainly. He didn't shake Lee's hand, finding his position of his arms crossed while leaning on the wall too comfortable to move out of.

However, that didn't stop Lee from wanting to learn more about Dosu as he barraged him with questions about where he was from and how strong he was. Dosu was ignoring him, but everyone could tell that he was getting annoyed of the loud [Rook].

Kuroka giggled at Lee, seeing as there was no stopping him being himself. Her ears perked up as she heard someone else walking into the room. It was a plain looking boy with dark blue hair. He was wearing formal attire underneath a white, fur coat that stretched down to the floor.

"Hello, everyone." he said with a charming smile accompanied with a wave.

"Diodora Astaroth. It's been a while." said Sairaorg, shaking the boy's hand.

"It sure has, Sairaorg." he said with the same smile, "You still seem fit as ever. I know I couldn't handle your intense training regime by how large your form is."

Kuroka ignored their conversation, finding nothing of importance out of it. He focus went towards Koneko, who was sitting next to Gasper in the row of chairs along the wall adjacent to her. _'She seems well…'_ she thought with a smile as she continued looking at her younger sister.

However, it was the voices of an approaching group of people that caught her attention, "Alright guys! We've made it so we gotta look professional!" the voice came from a boy….a boy's voice that she sworn she'd heard before.

"Who…who is that?" she mumbled to herself as she kept her eyes on the door. Soon enough, a group of four people entered the room…four people that she recognized.

Kuroka stood up in shook as her heart beat increased to insane levels, "G-ginta…" she said with wide eyes, not believing that she was looking at the same person she had left Naruto for a few years ago.

"Calm down, Ginta! Stop embarrassing us!" shouted a pink-haired girl dressed in what seemed to be a typical witch outfit.

"Dorothy…it's really them." said Kuroka. The fear that had paralyzed her once the group entered the room was suddenly replaced with anger. These were the people that left her out for her hunters when they had finally found her. She had left Naruto, believing that they would be better for her, but they left her alone just to save their own skin.

A small amount of **KI** left her body, but it was all that was needed to attract attention. Ginta and his peerage, along with a few others in the room, turned towards the source of said KI. Ginta, who was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt that was tucked into khaki pants and white shoes to finish his outfit, eyes widened when he took in the form of his former friend, "Kuroka!" he shouted with shock.

"That..that is Kuroka!" shouted another boy that Kuroka recognized as Jack. Jack also had on a sleeveless shirt, but his was green in color. His shirt was tucked into khaki pants that were a deeper shade of brown than Ginta's, but he shoes were brown with silver spikes protruding out. He had a black hair that was in small spikes, wide eyes with small black pupils, and small whisker marks on his face. "It really is you!"

"Hold on, Kuroka knows them?" said Lee, ceasing his one-sided conversation with Dosu in favor of watching the scene of Kuroka and Ginta with his peerage.

Kuroka growled at them, but she didn't make any other movements. _'This isn't the place to make a scene. I already did with that dumb jerk still stuck in the wall, but them…they just had to be here.'_ she thought while clenching her fist in anger.

"Kuroka…" said the remaining member of Ginta's peerage. Kuroka recognized her as Snow. Snow was a cute girl with short, dark blue hair with a pink bow resting on her head. She was wearing a pink jacket, pinkish-red short shorts, and red shoes. Snow stepped towards with an outstretched hand and a smile, "I'm so glad to see you. It's been so long."

"Stay back." Kuroka demanded, not playing any games with her former friends. While she did understand why they left her (they were young and afraid of the consequences of protecting an SS-Class criminal) she still held a lot of disdain and anger for the group. "Don't come near me again."

"Please, Kuroka! Just give us a chance to explain ourselves!" shouted Ginta as he made his way towards her. However, it was Lee that jumped in front of Ginta, blocking his path of reaching Kuroka.

"I don't know who you are, but Ms. Kuroka doesn't want you near her. Since she is my [Queen], I must keep those she doesn't like away from her." he said with a seriousness he wasn't known for. Ginta gritted his teeth, but he didn't do anything else. If Kuroka didn't want to talk, then they could wait until their next opportunity.

"Alright…" said Ginta, backing away. Ginta and his peerage took a seat at one of the round tables, away from everyone else.

"Thanks, Lee." said Kuroka, happy that her friend had come to defend her.

"No problem, Ms. Kuroka! I've gotta make sure you're okay because it's my duty to protect you!" he said with his famous nice guy pose.

"That was quite interesting." said Rias, walking over to the duo, "Kuroka…are those the same people that you told me about a while back? When we were taking a bath together?"

"They are…" she sighed as she sat back down in her chair, "I never would have thought they would have come here…"

"Well…just know that we're with you." said Rias, giving her a smile.

"Thanks, Red, nya." she said with a nod.

It was long after another person entered the room. This person, same as Dosu, was hard to figure out their gender because of how they kept their hair. Said person had slanted blues eyes and long, golden blond hair that was drawn into a half ponytail with the rest hanging down freely. They were wearing a blue and grey kimono jacket with a fishnet under-shirt inside and khaki pants with sandals and a belt-like pouch with a chain. "There's a lot of people here, hmm." they said.

"You're here for the meeting?" asked Saji.

"I am. Got the invite right here, hm?" they said as they showed off their invite.

"Well the meeting hasn't started yet, so you're here early. My name is Saji, [Pawn] of Sona Sitri." Saji said with a polite bow.

"Oohhh, so you're a part of one of those uppity peerages, hmm? You don't seem like much, ha!" they laughed.

"Hey, no need to be disrespectful." said Saji, shaking his fist at the person.

"What's going on here?" asked Sona, moving next to her [Pawn].

"Nothing, just this dick head over here." said Saji, pointing towards the unnamed devil.

"Dick head, hmm? I'm far from such a disgusting thing. I am an prominent artist and if you keep calling me names, you'll get to see firsthand how deadly my art can be, hmm?" they said.

"Who are you?" asked Sona while stretching her arm in front of Saji, stopping him from engaging the mysterious person.

"My name is Deidara and I was chosen to be invited to this meeting because the council of Devils obviously recognized my art as something very powerful, hmm?" said the newly named Deidara.

"What is this art that you speak of?" asked Sona.

Deidara just laughed as he passed by the duo, "Hope that you never get the chance to know." he said with a laugh.

Saji growled at Deidara's back, "Why are all these people assholes?"

"It's just something we have to deal with Saji." said Sona, her eyes narrowing in at Deidara, "We'll just do what we have to do here before leaving. Until then, keep a cool head."

"Yes ma'am…" he muttered.

After Deidara's entrance, the next person to come in was another male. He looked a little plain with no to many attention-demanding features. The boy was lean-built and average height, straight white hair with a light-blue tint, and almond shaped purple eyes. He was wearing a purple, sleeveless shirt with blue pants, brown sandals and a belt around his waist with water bottles attached to it. On his hip was a sheath sword that was also attached to his belt.

"'Sup." said the boy as he entered the room, waving at everyone while drinking from his water bottle.

"Another person? This is quite the number." said Sairaorg. He did walk over to greet the newcomer though. "My name is Sairaorg Bael. What's yours?" he asked nicely.

"Suigetsu Hozuki. Just call me Suigetsu." he said with a shrug.

"Well, at least you aren't an asshole like a lot of these guys." said Issei, walking up to Suigetsu, "I'm Issei Hyoudou, Rias Gremory's [Pawn]."

"Nice to meet ya.'" said Suigetsu with a tooth-filled grin. Issei gulped in fear when he noticed that all of Suigetsu's sharp, pointed teeth. "Don't worry about the teeth, I don't bite…without reason, that is." he said as he took another sip of water.

"Are you a [King] to a peerage, Suigetsu?" asked Rias, inserting herself into the conversation.

"Nope, just a regular old low-class Devil. I'm a part of the military of the Underworld so I've done some work protecting the mother land…a lot of security work if you want to call it that. Apparently, they saw that I was pretty good with my sword and gave me an invite to this thingy a couple of days ago." he summed up while patting the sword on his hip.

"So you're a swordsman?" both Xenovia and Kiba perked up at meeting another person prominent with swords, "I'm a [Knight] that uses swords as well. What is your style of fighting?"

Suigetsu took another swing of water before answering, "…the art of murder…" he said with a grin before going back to drinking his water.

"Oh…" sweat dropped Kiba. That information didn't really give him a lot to work with.

"Do you guys know why we're here?" asked Suigetsu, scratching the back of his while looking around the room, "They gave me the invite but didn't really give me a lot of info about what this was about."

"We still don't know anything as to why the invites were giving to those that aren't of high-class, but these meetings usually end up with the [King]s arranging Rating Games against each other to show off their skill." said Seekvaira, "One of the reasons why I didn't want to bring my peerage with me because I wanted to keep them a secret before having our first Rating Game."

"Smart move. I guess some of the other [King]s thought similarly." said Rias, referring to Zephyrdor (who had finally dislodged himself out of the wall) and Diodora, "I was going to do the same, seeing as I haven't been in a Rating Game yet, but I wanted my newer peerage members to have this experience."

"I've already been in Rating Games, so people already know of my peerage, however I decided to give my servants a break. We've been training non-stop so that we can win more." said Sairaorg.

"Eh, being a [King] sounds hard…" mumbled Suigetsu as he drank from his bottle, "I couldn't handle all of that."

"You mean you wouldn't want a harem of sexy ladies following you!?" shouted Issei, totally shocked that Suigetsu wouldn't want a harem for himself. As a pervert, it was his responsibility to convert Suigetsu into the wonders of harems!

"Not too much into the love thing, so no." Suigetsu said plainly, shocking Issei even more, "I like to keep to myself."

"Un…unbelievable…" muttered Issei.

"What maybe important to you may not be important to other people, Issei." said Kiba, "I guess you just have to learn to accept that."

"Whatever this thing is, it needs to hurry on up and start." Suigetsu said with a sigh, "It's pretty boring in here."

"So this is it…" said a deep but melodic voice from the door. All eyes turned to the door to see the owner of the voice. It was a woman with a figure that would make most women jealous and look at themselves in shame. It was a red-head, whose hair flooded down to the middle of her back like a blood red river. She had fair skin, green eyes, and a noticeable tattoo on her face-a red kanji for _love_ on the left side of her forehead. She was wearing a long-sleeved crimson coat that covered most of her body. The coat's length continued downward to her ankles on her left-side, while it was cut short mid-thigh on her right leg, giving a nice view of her fishnet legs accompanied with a pair of dark blue shorts. She matched her black fishnet pants with a pair of black boots. On her chest was a purple vest that had a slight budge where her breasts were. The last defining detail on the red-headed goddess was the massive gourd on her back that looked extremely heavy.

Lee, who decided to sit with Kuroka after the Ginta incident, had hearts in his eyes as he took in the form of the newcomer. "She's beautiful." he said quietly as he stared at the beauty.

"You actually like a girl?" said Kuroka, very interested in this turn of events. Lee, who she had known for a while, had never tried to make any moves towards her or any of the other girls in Kuoh. Any association he had with girls would be the same way he would talk to boys, she just came with the assumption that Lee really didn't care for love and relationships. So it was really interesting and funny to see that somebody had finally caught the green beast's eye.

"Shhheee'ssss ammmaaaaaazzzziiiiinnngggggg…" he dragged out, the hearts in his eyes growing even larger.

"If you like her than you should go talk to her, nya~." she said with a smirk as she nudged at his side with her elbow. Even though she suggested it, she knew that he wouldn't do it. Lee never talks about his feeling and she knew that he zero experience with girls, so she knew he woul-

"I should!" he said as he walked away from Kuroka. His target? The amazing redhead that gifted his eyes with her figure.

"Nya?" said a highly confused Kuroka. She was NOT expecting this to happen.

"Hello!" Lee said with a smile as he stop in front of the nameless beauty, "My name is Rock Lee!" he said while stretching out his hand to her.

Said girl looked down at his hand with indifference, almost believing the gesture to shake his hand beneath her. However, after a few seconds of internal debate, she grasped Lee's rough hands with her soft hands. "Gaia…" she said with her deep melodic voice.

Lee had to hold back of shiver of pleasure as her voice entered his ears and filled his body, "We're you invited to the meeting as well?!" he asked with excitement.

"I was…about two weeks ago was when I received my invite." answered Gaia.

"Seems you two are hitting it off, fufufu." Akeno interrupted with a giggle, "My goodness, Lee. I never knew that you were such a conversation starter!"

"Yosh! I've trained in the art of starting polite conversations with Mr. Orochimaru and Anna-sama for the past two days!" he said with his usual excitement, "I just hope that I don't say anything to weird in front of the old guys."

"I don't plan on saying anything." said Gaia, "I just want to see what this is all about."

Lee shivered at her voice again, loving how it sounded coming from her red lips. After internally debating on it, he finally decided that he should tell her his feelings. "Gaia, I like you and I ask if you can go out with me?!" he said with his nice guy pose, his pearly whites shinning.

Kuroka watched the scene with her mouth slightly ajar. _'I didn't know Lee was that confident, nya!'_ she said, thoroughly shocked at her junior's boldness.

Gaia looked at Lee plainly before answering, "No." she said as she passed by him.

The hearts in Lee's eyes split in half and broke like glass as his world shattered around him. He was frozen in nice guy pose, but his eyes were lifeless.

Issei frowned at his friend, "Poor Lee." he started, "That's a pain that he'll always remember."

"His confidence is truly something, however." said Sona, pushing her glasses up a little, "I would have never even guessed he came over to ask her out."

"It's alright, Lee." said Kuroka, walking over to her friend and patting his back, "If you give up now, you'll never get to show her how much you like her, nya."

Instantly, a fire appeared in his eyes as gripped his hands together, "You're right, Ms. Kuroka. I just have to keep on trying and show her my YOUTH!"

Everyone, even Gaia, sweat dropped at the beast. Kuroka sighed and took her hand off of his back, "At least you're happy."

Everyone's attention went to the other door that was in the room. An older devil with formal clothes on entered the room and spoke, "It seems like everyone is here. All of those that were invited please follow me. Everyone else can wait here until we're done."

"Seems like it's my time to go, Ms. Kuroka." said Lee, "I'll be back in a jiff and shall remember my formal talking skill training with Mr. Orochimaru and Anna-sama."

"Good…even though I thought that I'd be able to come with you…" she said with a growl, "but just make sure to take care of yourself. Remember, you're representing Naruto while you're in there."

"Yes ma'am!" he said with a salute, "I'll see you later!" he waved at her as he followed the group into the other room.

Kuroka sighed as she watched the doors to the room Lee went into close, leaving her with the rest of the uninvited devils. She sat down in her seat and checked her nails out of boredom, "If I wasn't allowed to go inside in the first place, I don't know why I'm even here, nya." she said with anger evident in her voice. She felt the eyes of multiple people on her skin and she looked over to see Jack, Snow, and Dorothy all staring at the cat girl. She blew on her bangs out of her face and crossed both her arms and legs, "Now I may have to deal with these idiots." she said with a childish huff.

 **Inside Meeting Room**

' _Thirteen devil youths…'_ thought Sirzechs as he looked down from his position. He was seated next to his fellow Satans, with the rest of the council had seats to his far left and rights. ' _These are the devil youths that may be responsible for stopping a civil war…'_

He was proud of their selection, especially the devils that weren't of high-class. Since he did have a tournament set up for the his chosen thirteen, he had to make sure that it they would all be proficient enough in skill in order to make things fair and interesting. _'Only four will be a part of the Rookie Four. While they're fighting for that title, we'll use this to not only lower tensions with the Devils with the Underworld, but with other Factions as they are invited to watch this historic moment happen with us.'_

It was the same older devil that lead the youth into the meeting room would be the one to start things off, "We are here to evaluate the noble leaders of the next generation." he started, "This meeting is of upmost importance and it would do you good to listen to your Satan leaders."

Sirzechs was the next to speak, "The thirteen of you represent the next generation of your esteemed families and clans, and possess outstanding skills and power. As such, I aim to have you compete in the hopes of bettering one another in front of the whole Underworld."

"Rating Games among the young lords, I presume?" asked Seekvaira.

"Something like that, "said Sirzechs, lacing his fingers together in a very business-like matter, "However, before we continue, I must give you all a warning. The things that we're about to talk about are very important. So important, that it will impact the entire Underworld as we know." he let silence reign over the room for a while before continuing, "If you feel like you cannot handle something of such magnitude, I suggest you leave now."

He smiled when he saw that they all stayed in the room, although he did see Issei twitch a little. Satisfied that they all stayed, he continued, "Good. Now, as you may be wondering, we extended the invites to those outside of the usual high-class devils because we've noticed the troubling times that the Underworld is going through. Low and middle-class devils are calling for equality as they are stepping out of the shadows of abusive masters. It has gotten to the point that a civil war is possible between lower-class devils and high-class devils."

"So you wanted to show inclusion in what is usually reserved for high-class youths only by inviting those of lower class?" Rias summed up.

"Correct. While it won't solve everything, we consider this to be a large step in the right direction." spoke Ajuka, "What usually happens is that we pit the young devils against each other to show their families' strength in front of everyone, giving a glimpse as the future of your particular clans. Seeing as times are changing, we needed to do something to calm the growing tensions in the underworld, which is why Falbium came up with a plan that he'll explain to you now."

The usually sleeping Satan was wide awake for this meeting. He gave a rare smile to the youth below him as he began to speak, "I devised a plan that will include devils of all social rankings together. Instead of the youth of prominent clans facing each other in a Rating Game, I suggested that we gather devils from each of the social classes and pit them all together….battle royal style."

"Battle…royal…" said Sona, shocked, along with some of the other young devils in attendance, "You mean that you want us to face each other at the same time?"

"Absolutely." said Falbium, "This gives the devils of a lower-class the platform to show what they are capable of against high-class devils. The [King]s won't be allowed to use their peerages as they will have to fend for themselves in this battle, which will show if you all are truly stronger or are you just hiding behind your peerage." he said while looking down upon those with peerages.

Dosu raised his hand, asking for permission to speak. "Do you have a question, Dosu?" asked Sirzechs.

"I do." he said. He quickly pointed towards Rias and Issei who were standing next to each other, "While this battle royal does sound pleasing, I must point out that he is a part of the Gremory's peerage. If this truly is a 'every man for themselves' type of battle, why would somebody who is a part a peerage be invited to this meeting even though their [King] has been invited as well? They'll just team up in the tournament, giving them an unfair advantage against the rest of us."

"This is true…" Sirzechs said with a sigh as he looked towards Rias and Issei, "I'm going to need you two to promise that you won't team up with each other nor show any favoritism towards each other in this battle royal. As I've said before, in order for this to work, we need you to be against each other like enemies of another peerage in a Rating Game."

"But why invite Issei if he is a part of my peerage?!" said Rias, very displeased that she was being pit against her [Pawn].

"Issei is this generation's Red Dragon Emperor. People would like to see what Issei can do with his power since he hasn't had an opportunity to do so since being reincarnated by you, Rias. It also helps that he is a low-class devil, which will push the advancement of our mission of creating equality. He needs to be here and that is all I shall speak of it." Sirzechs finished sternly.

Rias growled but didn't say anything in return, knowing that it wouldn't be wise to fight against the Lucifer of the Underworld-even if he said Lucifer is your older brother.

"I assure you, Dosu that these two won't be teaming up with each other during the tournament. Does this quell your worries?"

"Yes, even though I was never worried. I plan on cleaning through these pampered babies anyway." he said with a shrug.

"Pampered babies?" Seekvaira sent a glare at the hunched back boy, along with some of the other [King]s.

Dosu rolled his lone eye at Seekvaira's attempt to make him scared, "You all don't scare me one bit. I can promise you that some of you so called 'high-class' devils only have that social statues because you were born that way. Even some of these older geezers in this room don't deserve social stature of that level."

"You watch your mouth!" said one of the councilmen, "You should be honored that you're even in our presence."

"Settle down, councilman." Sirzechs said with a glare that shut him up indefinitely, "You can continue now, Dosu."

"As I was saying," he continued, but not before giving Sirzechs a nod in thanks, "Some of you don't deserve the position you are in. You were born in power. Your parents were born in power. You all have done nothing to show why you deserved to be named a 'high-class devil.' Me? I've fought to get to where I am today and I know for a fact that I can clean through that Gremory girl with ease." he said, continuing to attack Rias.

"What problem do you have with me?" said Rias, clearly annoyed that Dosu was focusing a lot of his attention on her, "I've never done anything to you."

"You exist. That's all you have to do to me." he countered, "You are just a prime example of not doing anything to earn your notoriety. I'll be the one to expose a lot of you [King]s in this battle royal."

"While some of the things you speak on are true, you're bringing a lot of attention to yourself before the fighting has even started, Dosu." said Sairaorg.

"It's attention that I can handle." he said with a wave, dismissing Sairaorg, "While I consider you to be one of the better ones in this group of high-class devils, don't act as if you're unbeatable yourself."

"I never said that." said Sairaorg.

"You haven't, but I just want to reveal the facts. That Lee kid over there beat you while you had on your Balance Breaker. However, because your Balance Breaker is your [Pawn] and seeing as you won't be able to bring servants into the fight, you won't have that factor to depend on anymore."

"I only use my Balance Breaker for times of urgent need." Sairaorg said sternly, "I don't depend on it to be strong. I'm strong on my own and I will show that in this free-for-all formed Rating Game. While Lee did beat me a few months back, there are other factors that you aren't including here. Lee could face a few other opponents before me, tiring him out. That maybe all I need to defeat him. While I don't like winning that way, in this type of battle you need to use strategy to win."

"If you say so…" said Dosu, closing his lone eye and crossing his arms, "Again, you're one of the few high-class devils that had to put in some type of work to get to where you are now, so I have a respect for you and I'm pretty sure that you have a high chance at winning. These other guys though…I'm not sure about…"

"This whole thing has got me pumped!" said Ginta, speaking for the first time, "I've never been in a Rating Game before but I feel like this is the best opportunity to show what I'm made of!"

"I'm glad you are, Ginta." said Sirzechs, "It was Ajuka who had picked you to be in this special Rating Game. He sees potential in you."

"I do." said Ajuka, looking down upon the spiky haired boy, "I know you're parents as they worked with me a few times in my lab. I'm sure that you're just as impressive, if not more, as your parents."

"Thanks for that Beelzebub-sama!" Ginta said with a bow, "I won't let you down!"

"I have a question!" Zephyrdor said loudly, "What's the prize we get if we win!?"

"Along with a handsome money prize to the winners, those with the most impressive display of skill will be part of the historic 'Rookie Four' group. It's a group of four young devils recognized for the strength and strategic thinking in the midst of ba-

"A cash prize!?" shouted Suigetsu, not even caring about being a part of the Rookie Four, "Just how much cash are we talking 'bout?"

Sirzechs smirked at his enthusiasm, "Enough to buy you three mansions in the Gremory Territory."

"Holy shit! Now I've gotta win!" said Suigetsu with a large grin, "I can buy me my own private lake!"

"That does sound good, hmm…" said Deidara with a grin as he thought about all the things he could buy, "I do have another question."

"Which is?" asked the Lucifer Satan.

"My magic spells tend to be on the more…destructive side. If I were to kill anybody, would I be punished, hmm?" he asked with a small, but murderous, grin.

"While we aren't projecting the fighting to such an intense level, this is technically still a Rating Game, meaning all deaths are considered accidental." said Falbium.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" said Issei, not feeling to comfortable around Suigetsu as he saw his eyes change from excited to very, very excited, "I feel like some of these guys are going to take things a little too far…" he mumbled with a sweat drop.

"There is something else I want to clear up." said Sirzechs, "While being one of the last remaining four of the tournament is the goal, it won't certify you a spot in the Rookie Four. We will all be judging you all, unbiased of course, on your performance. Things like how many people you retire, how long you last in the tournament, planning and strategies you use, and more will be determined on who will become a member of the Rookie Four."

"This is getting better by the second, hmm?" said Deidara with a grin.

"When do you plan for this specialized Rating Game to happen?" asked Seekvaira.

"We are giving you all twenty days to prepare for this battle. This is a really big event and many prominent figures will be in attendance. Of course, the Underworld will be watching, but I plan on having those from other Factions come to the Underworld to watch as well. This is really a big event and the last thing that we need is for one of you to not show up when we need you the most. Peace maybe ridding on this Rating Game and we need full cooperation, understood?' said Sirzechs.

"Hai!" they all shouted in return.

"Good…" he said with a smile, "We may or may not have another meeting before the Rating Game. We'll inform if we decide to do so."

"I have a question." said Lee, speaking for the first time and drawing everyone's attention, "What is the formal name of this tournament?"

"The Devil Exams." said Ajuka, "It's simple, but it fits the bill. A tournament that will feature's the Underworld's future…Devil Exams seems to sum that up in a way."

"I agree and I just want to thank you all for giving me this opportunity." said Lee with a bow, surprising those that knew him. Lee acting calm was a rare sight to see. "As I represent my master, Naruto Bael, I assure you that I will not displease you in this Rating Game. You can expect your best from me."

"The same from me." said Ginta with a smirk, "No holding back. Can't afford to do that for an event like this."

"This is quite interesting." said Diodora with his ever-present charming smile, "I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited for this tournament."

"I have similar thoughts as you, Diodora." said Sona, pushing up her glasses, "This tournament will be a test to see how strong I really am against other powerful devils my age."

"I'll get show everyone just how great my art is!" shouted Deidara, "You'll see that true art is at an instant, hmmm?"

"Somebody should really watch these two…" sweat dropped Issei as he watched Suigetsu and Deidara hyped themselves up about the possible murders they may be able to cause during the tournament, "But I've gotta work on myself if I wanna win this thing! Seems like some special training is in order so that I can dominant my way to the top!"

Everyone was professing their feelings for the tournament, all except for Gaia and Rias. Gaia looked on with in-difference, as if the idea of the tournament was boring to her. However, it was Rias that seemed worried. She watched as everyone else was pumping themselves up for the tournament, but she couldn't help but frown as a wave of discomfort washed throughout her body. _'Everybody else seems like they're on board with the idea of this tournament, but I'm not sure if I can do much…'_ she looked down at her soft, beautiful, manicured, scar-free hands with worry. _'That Dosu guy…while he's an asshole, what he said was true. I've never done anything for myself to prove that I deserve my statues as a high-class devil. I had someone else free me from my arranged marriage with Riser because I wasn't strong enough to do so myself. High-class devils are expected to be stronger than the rest, but now I'm not so sure in myself. Am I strong? Can I really enter this battle by myself and do good?'_ she wanted to be happy and excited like everyone else, but the feeling of self-doubt that she had for herself was what was stopping her from doing so.

"You all are now dismissed." said Sirzechs, "We'll be in contact with you though, so keep a look out for our messages. Good luck and make use of the twenty days we're giving you!"

They all nodded and slowly made their way out of the room. Sirzechs sighed, for what felt like the tenth time that day, and sat back into his chair, "At least we got that part over with…" he muttered.

"Satan-samas, I noticed that we didn't talk about the Khoas Brigade to the children. Why not tell them when they could help us fight against those terrorist in the future?" asked one of the councilmen.

"The Khoas Brigade is our problem," stated Falbium, " We don't want to worry them with things like terrorist. Their only job for the next twenty days is to get ready for the Devil Exams. We'll handle the Khoas Brigade. Maybe after the tournament is done they can join in on the fight, but now they have more important things to focus on."

"Which reminds me, we need to talk about security for the Devil Exams. If the Khaos Brigade attacked you all while at the Three Factions Meeting, then it may be possible that they'll try to attack again during the Devil Exams." said Ajuka.

"We'll handle that later, but for now…" Sirzechs looked at the council with narrowed eyes, "We need to quickly talk about the situation with Ajuka and Falbium's seals…I know some of you have been talking with your superiors about it as word has gotten back to me concerning it."

"It was deathly quiet in the meeting room. Sirzechs spotted a few guilty faces within the crowd, but he knew that they wouldn't admit to their crimes. Some of them looked away when he made eye-contact with them, not wanting him to see the fear in their eyes, "I'm not going to punish you for it, but I'm ordering you all to go to your superiors and tell them to keep tight-lipped about this. We do not need this information getting out to the public."

"Hai!" they shouted.

"You there! Sitri representative!" Ajuka shouted to a dark-haired man. Said man jumped in his seat before speaking hesitantly, "Y-y-yes?"

"What's the current statues in the Sitri Clan? How are they reacting to the news that we've figured out their treacherous secrets?" asked the Satan.

"We-we've been trying to come up with a w-way to explain ourselves, but failing in coming up with a lo-logical excuse!" the representative said with a shaky voice.

"Of course they are…" Ajuka said while rolling his eyes, "Those damn bastards think they can get away with putting seals on three Satans? We'll see what they have to say in front of us when we summon them for a private meeting."

"What do you….what do you plan on doing to them, Ajuka?" asked Serafall. While she was very mad that her parents did to her friends, she was still biased towards them because they were her parents. She just didn't want their punishment to be too harsh.

"I don't know yet, it all depends on what they say." said Ajuka, sending a small glare at the Leviathan Satan, "But don't think you're not out of the waters yet either, Serafall. I still feel like you had something to do with this somehow and I will figure it out." he said before disappearing in a magic circle.

Falbium sighed as he stood up from his seat, "This mess is really stressful…Ajuka's mad at Serafall and the whole Sitri family. This will complicate a lot of things in the future."

Serafall looked down in guilt as she gripped her skirt. While she didn't know that her parents placed seals on her friends, she had come up with some reasons as to why they did it-and she was in the middle of a lot of the scenarios. A lot of the problems they were facing could have been prevented back then if she would have stood up for herself, but she didn't. She didn't blame Ajuka for being angry at her, but it still hurt to see her longtime friend angry at her.

"We'll talk about this on a later date. As for now, you are all dismissed." Sirzechs said, following Ajuka's lead and leaving the room by teleportation magic.

 **Outside Meeting Room**

"You pussies better get ready for me in twenty days, 'cuz I'm going to get that money!" shouted Suigetsu, his laid back personality doing a 180 ever since he learned about the prize money he could get if he won the tournament, "If I see you in that tournament, prepare to lose your head!" he shouted with a shark-like as he disappeared in a teleportation seal.

"Seems like he's fired up." Sairaorg said to Issei with a smirk as they entered the room, "But I can't act as if I'm not hyped about this tournament as well. It will be a great measuring stick to see how far I've gotten."

"Hell yea! I'm gonna make it to the top!" Issei said with a grin, "I've always wanted to show everyone what I can do and this will be my first time having that opportunity. That means I'm doubling up on my training!"

"YOSH! And I shall do the same!" shouted Lee with excitement. His eyes landed on Kuroka still sitting in the same seat and rushed towards her with blinding speeds, "Ms. Kuroka, we've gotta go! Time to go to work!"

"Finally…" Kuroka said while standing up, "Those losers have been trying to talk to me for the past half-hour, nya. If you hadn't come any sooner, I would have lost my temper."

"Bye, you guys!" Lee said, waving at everyone. When he saw Gaia, he blew her a kiss that floated over to her, "Bu bye, my love!~"

Before Lee's kiss of death could make contact with Gaia, the red-headed girl disappeared by magic circle. However, the kiss landed on the unfortunate Zephyrdor he walked in behind Gaia. "AAAHHHHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?"

"Time to go." Lee said quickly as he and Kuroka disappeared.

Rias walked into the room with a puzzled look on her face, something that Sona noticed. She seemed lost in her own thoughts, and based on the face she was making, those thoughts weren't so pleasing. "You seem troubled." said Sona to her close friend.

"I…I am…" she admitted, "I don't feel confident in myself at all, Sona. I know that I'm strong, but this is my first actual Rating Game. I would have thought that I would have my peerage with me during my first Rating Game….but I'm going through this by myself. I don't know if…I don't know if I can do it."

"Doubting yourself…while you are a potential enemy, I shouldn't be helping you," she said while pushing up her glasses, "but you are my friend. You don't have to listen to me, Rias, but know that you are a powerful devil. You have the powers of Bael and Gremory flowing through your veins. You must have confidence in yourself if you want to bring honor, not only to yourself, but your clan. If you don't….then I'll take advantage of that during the tournament."

"Sona…" Rias whispered.

"You are my friend…one of my closest friends, but friendships won't matter during that game." she said with narrowed eyes, "You need to believe in yourself, because I won't believe in you-for you."

"I understand." Rias nodded with some conviction.

"Good. I'll see you at the tournament then. Stay safe." she said with a wave as she went to reunite with her peerage members.

Watching her friend walk away, Rias thought over what she said, _'I felt like I've always had confidence in myself…maybe I had confidence…whenever I'm around my peerage. We've done a lot together and we are hardly apart. Maybe I depend on them too much…'_

"What she said was right." said a familiar voice coming from behind her. It was Dosu, slowly making his way down the hall. He stopped beside Rias as he watched everyone in the room talk amongst themselves, "If you don't have confidence in yourself, she, along with everyone in this room, will take advantage of you."

"So now you want to give me pep talks after grilling me during the meeting?" said Rias with a scowl.

"No, I'm just confirming what she said." he replied, "I don't care if you listen to it or not. Even if you do, I don't believe that it would do any good for you. I can see that you're not ready for something like this. You've never done anything by yourself. Always needing help…" while he only had one eye showing, the intensity of his glare created a wave of fear within the Gremory heiress, "This tournament….is the worst possible thing that could happen to you."

Rias flinched, taking a step back from the hunch back boy, "S-shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes I do...You're not built for this. You're not built like I am. I can handle the pressure. I can handle millions of eyes on me…and I can handle every doubting me….betting against me…." his eye narrowed, "But you…by yourself…you are weak….and I'll be the one to expose you for weakness, heiress to Gremory."

"Hey!" said Issei, stepping up to the duo, "I don't know what you're saying, but keep away from Rias, you understand me, bandage face?!"

Dosu closed his eye and chuckled, "Sure thing, 'Red Dragon Emperor.'" He slowly step around Issei and made his way to the door, but not before giving the two a back handed wave, "Things are going to be interesting…when [Pawn] and [King]…are pitted against each other." he stopped and looked back at the two and Rias and Issei swore they could feel the evil grin from under Dosu's bandages, "I'll be watching you two…and then I'll end you." he finished. Dosu turned around and made his out of the room, leaving an angry Hyoudou and a worry-filled Gremory.

 **Wheeeewww, that was satisfying!**

 **Yup, yup, yup, that update came hella quick! Not used to such quick updates anymore huh? I'm taking advantage of this time off from college and making sure to provide the best content for all of you, my followers and supporters.**

 **SHIT GONNA GET CRAZY NEXT CHAPTER!**

 **Yes, I am taking peerage consideration again! I've given you all a few new characters to pick from in this chapter. I've been praised for my character selection in the past, so hopefully you all will agree with these characters as well. I've always liked Suigetsu, Deidara, and Gaara's character in the story, but Dosu has always been a favorite of mine. His character was so cool to me when I first saw him and I feel like he's heavily slept on. He could've been a great character in Naruto if he didn't die so early in the anime/manga (fuck you, gaara)**

 **Some people were wondering who was Ginta because his name was mentioned in the Filler chapter. Reffer back to chapter 12-KingAndQueen. Also, if you want to know what Ginta and his peerage looks like, look up their names with the 'Mar'. It was a popular manga/anime back in the day.**

 **Oh yea- FEMALE GAARA IN THE BUILDING! WHOOT WHOOT!**

 **I've been sitting on this idea for a few months and I've finally got around to introducing her character! Gaia! ooOOOOOHHhhhh that's a nice name if you ask me. And she bad too, bru. Like, bad bad. Mh mh MH! Ass fatter than a-**

 **But yea, if you want one of these characters to be a part of Naruto's peerage, hit up the reviews, ya dig! If you have another Naruto/Dxd character in mind, don't be afraid to leave a suggestion. I will be listening to you all for this special arc of the story. I can add another young devil into the tournament before it starts if that's what you want. Just make sure that your characters suggestions make sense (no female Jesus or bullshit like that. If you get this joke, you a real BreakThrough fan)**

 **The tensions are piling up high in the Underworld, but you can expect an action-packed chapter coming soon! Tell me what you want to see! Who do you want to win?! How awesome do you think NarutoPlug-sama is!?**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Christmas/New Years and every other holidays whose names I can't spell or I'm forgetting. I did buy my Ma some clean ass Nikes for those that were wondering. My bank account then took a hit this Christmas, but happy. Ima have less money to spend on food when I get back to college tho…..**

 **I want to update this story at least two more times before I leave for college again. Keep me motivated by REVIEWING YOUR ASSESS OFF! WE NEED THEM NUMBERS UP LIKE A…..A…..a…..damn, I usually come up with something funny right there….just make sure you run them numbers up tho.**

 **For a real one like NARUTOPLUG!**

 **The next chapter gonna be action packed, so Ima listen to that old 21 Savage shit. Even tho his new album crazy good, I need that old shit if Ima type up some dope figh scenes. Prolly need to listen to some Meek Mill too.**

 **I just want to say thank you for everyone supporting me. A lot of yall were confused as to why I didn't have a Author's Note on the Filler chapter, but I just wanted to keep that one simple. I hope you laughed a little in this AN. I know you all enjoy my crazy personality.**

 **Thank you all for the support. I love all of you and I truly mean that shit. No cap. None of this shit would be possible without all of my supporters.**

 **Stay Dangerous everybody.**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	20. TheDevilExams

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, looking like a caveman cuz ian had a haircut in bout a month, ya digggggggg?**

 **Ight, so a few of yall had some suggestions on who to add to the peerage or the tournament. I did like some a few of the suggestions that I got, but I think I'm just gonna stay with this core group of devils that I've already added to the story last chapter. I do have my reasons and I shall list them here.**

 **Any Uchiha- They're just too powerful. Just that simple. Now some of you may bring up the argument that I've already inserted two Akastuki members in the story (Kisame and the newly introduced Deidara) but I brought those two in for good reason. Kisame is just insanely strong and a unique character so I wanted him in and Deidara, while he is strong, he's also one-trick pony. He blows stuff up. That's it. He is powerful, but I feel like he's more exploitable and vulnerable than a guy with eyes that can predict future movements, create illusions that hard to decipher from reality, has fucking hawk or snake summoning (in Sasuke's case-both), master in weaponry, and is just awesome. It's kinda hard to logically explain a guy like that in the Dxd universe, so yea. No Itachi. No Sasuke.**

 **Other Akastuki members- Yeah…..just no more of them *shrugs shoulders* sorry**

 **Female characters in Naruto – This was a big one. I've always expressed in my Author Notes that I wanted to add a female character into the story. The Naruto series, while great, doesn't have good female characters and that's just facts. I wish it did so I can bring some of those lovely females over to the story, but they wouldn't work out. I REALLY wanted to have Temari in the tournament, but I already have a wind user in the tournament in Zephrydor. With all that factoring in, the only thing I saw as the smart thing to do was gender bend one of the male characters and incorporate them into the story; which gives us Gaia.**

 **Anybody outside of the Dxd/Naruto/Shaman King universe: I've said time after time that I didn't want to pull people from other anime. Why? Because it may mess with what I have planned in the future, hehehe…**

 **Ingvild Leviathan – Shout out to DustyDusty for this great character recommendation! Gosh I really want to add her in when I read your review, dawg! She perfectly fits the age group that I was looking for and is a Dxd character as well! The only thing that I stopped me from adding her to the tournament was that she isn't really the fighting type-more like a support character based off of her abilities. Also, since I haven't kept up with the manga, I don't know her personality either and really don't have the time to get her character down because I need to work on this chapter. Again, great character recommendation, DustyDusty. Just wanted to let you know that I pay attention to your reviews along with everyone else.**

 **Yup, so we're sticking with the original 13 tributes y'all! It's bout to be the Hunger Games in this bitch-but better cause guess who's the guy in charge?**

 **THE FUCKING PLUG-SAN, YA DIGGGGGGGGGG!?**

 **Lol, before I start, I just want to recognize that my first story, 'The Corrupted Mind', just hit 1000 reviews. Its crazy cuz that's my first story…where all this started…..I made that story while I was in the tenth grade….and now I'm a freshman in college….**

 **I feel old…..**

 **Let's continue the story…**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheDevilExams**

 **19 Days Later (Day before the Devil Exams)…**

 **Old Royal Capital: Lucifaad Palace**

"Fuck, I'm nervous…" said the red-headed Satan as he placed his chin on top of the table he was sitting at.

"Language, Lucifer-sama." said a familiar, grey-haired maid that was standing behind the man, "Why are you nervous?" she asked him with her usual stoic voice.

Sirzechs sighed, blowing some of his long red hair out of his face, "I want this to work…I really want this tournament to change some things…but I don't know if it'll be enough."

"The original purpose of the tournament was to start the process of popularizing equal rights-not to force the ideal down society's throat." Grayfia wisely stated, "You'll only disappoint yourself if you continue thinking like this, Lucifer-sama."

"I knnooooooww…" he groaned as he slammed his forehead into the table repeatedly, " . . . . ."

"Please refrain from doing that, Lucifer-sama." said Grayfia's voice, "Your attracting attention."

It was the day before the Devil Exams were to be held and the council decided on having a party instead of a meeting. This way, the audience would be able to meet the participates before the actual fighting started. There would be a small meeting held for the participates after the party, but for now, Sirzechs had to wait until the party was finished-something he wished would hurry up and end.

For one, the thirteen selected devils were supposed to meet here now that they're training was up so they could give some final information about the tournament. Sirzechs prayed to whatever god that accepted the prayers of devils that there wouldn't be a fight during this party. While most of the youths seemed okay with each other during the meeting (except Dosu, something he expected cause he knew how the boy acted), he hoped that they could hold their excitement for tomorrow instead of at a party where there were many nobles in attendance.

He hadn't even seen Rias since the meeting, so he had hoped that she was getting in some good training. It was one of the things that he was excited to see-his little sister's growth.

"Seems like there are a few of us missing." said the familiar voice of Dosu. Sirzechs turned around to see the hunchbacked boy standing next to his wife. He was dressed in an all white dress shirt, khaki pants, and black shoes, but the boy wouldn't take off his scarf and straw raincoat, even when Sirzechs demanded him too. However, Sirzechs allowed him to wear them since he already looked highly uncomfortable in formal attire, "I saw Sairaorg and the Astaroth boy here, along with the Agares heiress. They're talking to a few nobles."

"While I would say that you should as well, I know the conversation would go." Sirzechs said with a chuckle.

"I'm glad you understand." Dosu said with a low chuckle of his own, "I still don't see why you put up with me, Lucifer-sama. I'm a low-class devil. There's nothing special about me. You also know that I have it out for your little sister…"

"I know all of that, but I know that you're a good person, Dosu." said Sirzechs with a smile, "You're strong and I know this from those street brawl videos of yours that I've watched. While you do have a rivalry with my little Ria-tan, she needs something that will continue to push her forward. She can't hide behind her peerage and the Gremory name forever."

"Hmph. You're smiling now, but you won't be smiling when I beat her to a pulp." said the boy.

Sirzechs just laughed, "You're highly underestimating Rias. She powerful and you'll see so soon."

"Hmmm…" Dosu closed his lone eye and mediated on the Satan's words. Sirzechs sighed as he sat back in his chair and watched the party go as planned. He spotted Zephyrdor talking to a few high-class women, using that charm of his to woe them. He also saw Gaia standing in a corner by herself. _'She really likes to be by herself, huh?'_ he said with a sweat drop as the loner atmosphere was heavy in her direction.

"YOSH! So many foods!" said a very loud voice from the entrance of the party room. It was Lee, in an, obviously, green suit. Underneath the suit jacket was a black shirt and orange tie. The [Rook] of Naruto Bael dashed towards the food tables with a plate in his hand, surprising some of the other devils as he ran past them.

Sirzechs laughed at Lee, "He seems like so much fun. Even when surrounded by people of higher stature, he still acts like himself."

"While he does act like a childish idiot, he's powerful." said Dosu, opening his eye once more, "I predict that he'll have the most forced retirements out of the thirteen of us. I plan to stay away from him if I can during the tournament."

"If that's your strategy then I hope it works." Sirzechs said as he continued to watch Lee as he asked the servants what foods were what, "I knew adding him to the tournament would be a good idea since he is a part of 'his' peerage. He's the talk of the Underworld ever since he returned."

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Dosu said while motioning towards the door. Suited in….orange gym pants and a black t-shirt was Naruto….like he just got out of the bed.

Sirzechs slapped his forehead in disbelief, "He does this shit to fuck with me….I know he's doing this on purpose…"

"That isn't the proper attire for an event like this…" Grayfia said, her right eyebrow twitching a little in quick show of anger before regaining her usual stoic expression.

"Hello, everybody!" said Naruto with a cheeky grin and wave, attracting a lot of attention to himself, "Sorry I'm late! I forgot about this party and I didn't have a suit, hehehe! Hope nobody minds!"

Orochimaru, who was standing behind his [King], face palmed, "I knew bringing you here would be a bad idea…"

"YOSH! Naruto-sama! They have ramen! All types of ramen!" Lee shouted from within the food line, holding a plate on each of his hands while balancing one on his head-which was filled with food.

"Oh really? Seems like duty calls…" said the blonde Bael as he zipped to the line, ignoring the looks of curiosity, disgust, and enjoyment centered towards him. Orochimaru sighed as he followed his [King] to the food tables.

"So that's him…" muttered Dosu, watching Naruto analyzing all of the available ramen with keen eyes, "The legendary Naruto Bael."

"If he were to hear you, he'd say something like 'Yup, yup, yup.'" Sirzechs chucked, "But yeah, that's him alright. I can introduce you to him if you'd like?"

"I would like that…but later." said Dosu, continuing to stare at Naruto, "I don't want to bother him while he's…searching for the right ramen…"

"Then we may be waiting for a while." laughed the Lucifer Satan, "You also have to add in the fact that he eats a lot of ramen in one sitting. The cooks are going to have a hard time with him."

It took some time, but Lee and Naruto finally sat down at a table with a plates filled with food. Orochimaru sat beside his [King] with a plate of salad in front of him. He wasn't going to disgrace his own image unlike Lee and Naruto. He had an image that he wanted to keep and was going to do so, no matter how his junior peerage member or his [King] acted. "Just make sure you two eat with the proper utensils and not your hands."

"Sure thing, Orochimaru." said Naruto, breaking a pair of chop sticks, "Itadakimasu!" both Naruto and Lee said happily as they dug into their food. While they weren't eating properly like everyone else, they weren't stuffing their mouths like savage animals.

"Idiots…" Orochimaru muttered under his breath as he chewed on some of his lettuce. While his master and Lee were eating, he would remain vigilant and watch everything happening around them. This party was filled with high-class devils that could turn out to be possible allies that can fuel Naruto's goal of becoming Great King. _'And it seems like our first ally is approaching now…'_ thought the snake man as he watched two devils walk towards their table.

One of the devils he recognized as Seekvaira Agares, one of the competitors that would be participating in the Devil Exams. Next to her was a tall, tan-skinned, dirty blonde male that Orochimaru recognized as Lord Agares, head of the Agares Clan. Orochimaru stood and meet the duo halfway, showing his respect, "Lord Agares. It's good to see you."

"Mhmm…You as well, Orochimaru." said the bulky man, shaking Orochimaru's pale hand.

"And you are Seekvaira Agares? I've heard a lot about you during my meetings with your clan's council." said Orochimaru.

"I must say the same, Orochimaru." she said with a small curtsy. Her eyes trailed to Naruto and Lee, who had noticed the Agares' presence, "Naruto-sama, it a honor. I've heard much about you." she said to the blonde Bael.

"Hehehe! Hiya!" Naruto said with a wave, "You seem like a nice person."

"We've come to talk about this 'alliance' that we have." said Lord Agares, taking a seat at the table with Seekvaira mimicking his actions, "I believe that this is the first time we can make use of it since we formed it nearly two months ago."

"Do you need us to do something for you, Agares-sama?" asked Orochimaru, sitting back down in his seat.

"Yes…we'd like Lee to team up with Seekvaira during the tournament." said the clan head of the Agares Clan, "While I know winning the tournament doesn't certify her placement in the 'Rookie Four', it would still look good in her favor during the judging process."

"An alliance?" Naruto perked up, "That does sound interesting. That could help Lee a lot if he were backed into a corner."

"That's why I've come to suggest the two team up." said Lord Agares, "Seekvaira is a very capable fighter. She can use our clan's time manipulation magic just as well some of our more experienced members and will support your [Rook] during any fight. She also has a mind of a battle genius; she has the talent of analyzing any predicament she may be in and figure out a plan for victory in a matter of seconds."

"Hmm…a very important skill that Lee lacks, seeing as all he does hit rush his opponent recklessly." said Orochimaru, causing Lee to slump in depression at his words, "I don't see why we shouldn't have them team up."

"Just to make things clear, I was against this plan." said Seekvaira, shooting her father a small glare, "I wanted to prove my strength alone. This tournament would be my way to show everyone how powerful the Agares Clan really is!"

"And you will have that same opportunity, but you will do so with Naruto's [Rook]. I will not tolerate any more of this nonsense, Seekvaira." her father said harshly. Seekvaira held back her tongue and ceased her complaints. She knew that she would make her father angry if she spoke out of turn again.

"Yes sir…" she mumbled.

Agares resumed the conversation with the three after handling his daughter, "The Agares Clan has an alliance with you, Naruto Bael, because of your efforts during the war that really helped us. We are serious about helping you with your goals, but we need proof that you're a reliable ally to us. All of we ask is to help my daughter make it to the Top Four of the Devil Exams and that will prove to us that you'll be taking this alliance between us seriously."

"Hmmm…I'm pretty sure that Lee was going to make it to the Top Four in the first place…" Naruto said, glancing at his [Rook], "But it'll be a tougher task now that he has to look after someone else…"

"I can take care of myself…" Seekvaira growled out, but a harsh glare from her father shut her up.

Naruto smirked at the girl before continuing, "I think Lee could do it. As long as she helps out instead of putting all the work on Lee, then your daughter will be one of the remaining four. You have my word." he said, stretching his arm out to shake the man's hand.

"Sounds like a plan." Lord Agares gave a rare smile as he shook Naruto's hand in agreement, "With that done, we shall be taking our leave. We don't want everyone else figuring out that we have an alliance between us. We'll see you soon." he said while standing up, his daughter following his every move, "Good luck, Rock Lee." he said to Naruto's [Rook] before heading to talk to some of the other devils.

"Things are really starting to get interesting…" Naruto said with a malicious smirk as he laced his fingers together, "Who would have thought that the Agares would take advantage of our alliance to certify their heiress a spot in the Top Four."

"I wonder if they would allow something like that." said Lee, referring to the devils over the tournament.

"I'm sure they would." started Orochimaru, "By what you told us previously, those over the Devil Exams only made it illegal for Issei and Princess to form an alliance since they are [King] and [Pawn]. I'm pretty sure that some of the other participants have made pacts with each other as well, so this is really for your benefit that you have the heiress of the Agares Clan on your side."

"Just make sure you meet their demands, Lee." said Naruto to his [Rook], "We really need the Agares on our side in order for my plans to work."

"Then I'll protect her with my life!" said Lee with a salute, "I will make sure she is one of the remaining four in the tournament!"

"Good…good…but make sure you get yourself there first." said Naruto, "With you being in the Top Four, people won't have a reason to complain when you win one of the spots for 'Rookie Four'. You'll beat everyone that's in your way and show everyone that you mean business. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" said Lee.

The three continued eating and had some casual talk with some other high-class devils that wanted to meet Naruto in person, seeing that he was the talk of the Underworld for almost two months. While people did look at him weirdly because he was wearing gym pants and an undershirt, they put it to the back of their minds as they listened to the Bael talk.

The trio was taking a break from conversations with others when they noticed a particular family enter the party room. It was the Gremory family, which included Venalana, Zeoticus, and Rias, who looked like she was going to fall over in exhaustion if the heavy bags under her eyes were real.

"Check them out, Naruto-sama." said Lee, nudging his [King]'s side to get his attention, "The Gremory's arrived."

"The Gremory's?" Naruto said while looking up from his plate. A huge smirk filled with evil intentions grew on his face as he stood up from his seat and stretched out his arms. "The Gremory's!" he said loudly, catching their attention as well as many other devils in the room, "Hey guys! Come over here and sit with us, huh? Gotcha' some seats right here!"

"Not him….anything but him…." groaned out Zeoticus. It was too late to act like they didn't see him, and even if he didn't, Naruto had created enough general attention towards them that it would look weird if they flat out ignored his request. Regretfully, Zeoticus walked over to Naruto's table with his wife and daughter following slightly behind. "Hello…Naruto…" he sighed.

"What's going on, man? Ya look great!" said Naruto as the trio sat down, "And is that Venalana I see? Wow, it's been…oh….over 500 years since I've seen you, hm?" said Naruto with a grin.

Venalana didn't entertain Naruto's insanity as she responded, "Yes, I believe so." she said plainly and nothing more.

"Hmmmm…." Naruto was practically oozing with mischief as he turned towards Rias, "Childish Gremory! You look…you look like somebody stole your favorite teddy bear and you searched all night to find it but never could. What happened?" he asked with concern.

"H-Hello, Naruto-sama." Rias said with a small bow, "I've been training for this tournament…but I'm really stressed out about it."

"The Princess? Stressed out about something?" said Orochimaru, deciding to join in on Naruto's pettiness, "Why, that's very uncharacteristic of you. Why are you stressed?"

"It's….it's nothing really." Rias said with a shrug, but they all knew that she was lying, "I've been working a lot to prepare of this tournament. I just hope that it pays off is all…"

"Well I hope it does…" said Naruto with a smile, "How have you two been? Heard any….news lately? Those Sitri's huh?"

Zeoticus wanted to literally strangle Naruto at this point. He knew that the Sitri's were exposed for placing seals on three of the four Satans, including his own son, Sirzechs. While he never knew that the Sitri's did it, he knew that he was linked as to WHY they did it. Zeoticus gripped his pants in anger, trying to hold back some of his fury. "I don't want to talk about such…complicated things here."

"Hmm…" hummed Naruto, "Lee. Why don't you take Rias with you to meet up with the other contestants? You two can catch up on what you've been doing these past few weeks."

"Yes sir." he said with a nod as he stood up, "Come on, Rias. I wanted to go meet up with Sairaorg anyway!" he said while holding out a hand to the red head.

Rias glanced at her parents. She knew that they were going to talk about something confidential and wanted her gone…or it could be that Naruto wanted to talk about it while her father didn't. Rias knew that Naruto was very manipulative and dangerous, so whatever they would be talking about, she didn't want any part in it. She sighed as she took Lee's hand and allowed her to lead her elsewhere, "I'll meet back up with you two later." she said as the duo left the table.

"Awwww! You all seem back happy again." said Naruto as the two young devils left. His smile quickly turned into a frown, "That's no fun."

"What do you want from us, Naruto?" asked Venalana, but by the tone she used, it was more like she demanded an answer. She knew everything about what happened with him. She also knew how Naruto tried to turn her daughter against her by revealing the truth about his disappearance to her. While their relationship was strained, Venalana and Zeoticus were finally back on speaking terms with their daughter.

"I don't want anything!" said Naruto, holding his hands up, "I just want to sit back and watch the show."

"And what show is that?" asked Zeoticus.

Naruto smirked evilly, "People are starting to ask questions, Zeoticus~. They're starting to wonder why there were seals placed on three of the Satans that prevented them from remembering me."

"I had nothing to do with that." the head of the Gremory Clan said sternly.

"But you're tied to the reasoning." said Naruto, "I don't have to do anything to expose you. People will find out. Sooner or later…They will find out. When the right people crack and the floodgates open…I want to see how you react." Naruto admitted, "I want to see how you Gremory's adapt to all the fingers pointed at you…how you will live when everyone turns their backs on you."

"You threaten the name of Gremory…" growled out Venalana, "You are playing a dangerous game, Naruto. You should turn back before it's too late…"

"Too late for what exactly?" asked Naruto with interest, "Is somebody planning to put me in a box again? Because I can assure you that won't be happening ever again."

"No…I don't know what 'he' has planned, but he knows you're alive." said Venalana, "You do not want to cross my younger brother."

"Ahhh, the Great King of the Underworld…" said Naruto, "Do you think he scares me, Venalana? What could he possibly do to stop the madness that's soon to come?"

"I don't know what my younger brother may have planned, but know that it won't be good for you if you continue to let this happen." she said with absolute authority, "I know you are not ready to face the council of the Bael Clan because I can personally attest to how powerful they are. They will crush you like the insignificant bug you are if you continue with these childish shenanigans."

"Revenge isn't a shenanigan, Mrs. Gremory…" Naruto growled darkly, "You should worry about yourself instead of your brother…the Sitri may try to form some type of damage control by putting some the blame on Gremroy…"

"Enough of this!" said Zeoticus, "This talk is meaningless. If you don't have anything else to say then we are leaving this instant!" he said while standing up from the table, his wife following his lead.

"Sure then…leave…" said Naruto with a wave as he leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the table, "Just know that I'm watching…." Naruto's blue eyes flashed a dangerous red as some of his anger leaked out, "And know that I'm coming for everybody…."

Zeoticus and Venalana left the table, leaving a laughing Naruto and a smirking Orochimaru, "I must say, Naruto-sama…" said Orochimaru as he focused his eyes on the retreating Zeoticus' shaking hand, "You really know how to make them mad."

"Eh, the Gremory's are emotional people." said Naruto with a yawn, "I just want to see what's going to happen to them. They're son, Sirzechs, was one of the main people that helped with my freedom and he's now handling the case of my sealing. Since they'll be dealing with that mess, it'll distract them from my real plans of domination. Of course, our good friends of the Agares Clan will help us out, but I feel like we'll need some other people on our side to really make things possible."

"And who do you think would support you in your quest?" asked Sirzechs.

"Easy: Falbium and Ajuka." stated Orochimaru's [King], "They have to be pissed about having seals placed on them without their knowledge; especially since those seals were the reason why they forgot about their amazing long time friend. I'm surprised they haven't come to me with questions, but they probably still believe that I'm just as clueless as they are about the whole situation."

"So what will be next when this tournament is over with?" asked Orochimaru, "If you have anything specific you need planning for, you know that I'll be there to help."

"Thanks Orochimaru." Naruto said with a kind smile, "I really don't have anything major planned coming up. After Lee wins, we'll go back to defeating peerages in Rating Games and continue our streak up the ranks…probably need to face some of the more powerful peerages for now on…"

Meanwhile, Rias and Lee were sitting at the bar having their own conversation. Of course they weren't drinking, seeing as they had an important Rating Game tomorrow and that Lee doesn't even drink alcohol. Rias requested for a simple glass of water while Lee just sat a listened to Rias as she released her frustrations.

"This game is really going to be something…and I don't know if I'm prepared." she said as she sipped from her glass.

"Why do you feel like this, Rias? Didn't you train for the Devil Exams?" Lee asked with curiosity.

"I did…Azazel actually helped me and my peerage out by giving us assignments on things we needed to work on. Issei went to train with Tannin, an Ultimate-class dragon that's been reincarnated as a devil…I studied up on everyone, learning as much as I could about my competition. I also worked on my Power of Destruction. I'm trying to control it like how my brother and Naruto-sama does…but I'm not getting anywhere near them…" she finished with a sigh, "I don't know about this tournament, Lee…I think that I'm not ready."

"You can't give up, Rias. If anything, you should stick this tournament through and prove to yourself that you're strong!" he said with determination, "Plus, I bet there are many devils that want to see you perform well during the game, so you gotta do good if you don't want to embarrass yourself."

"But aren't you worried?" asked Rias while biting her lip, showing her nervousness, "This is a battle royal-every man for themselves. Aren't you scared as to what may happen in there?"

"Nope." Lee said plainly, "I've got faith in myself that I'll make it to the top since I've trained for this!" he said happily, "If you have such self-doubt, why didn't you come and see if Naruto-sama would help you train?"

"Oh come on, Lee. Naruto-sama wouldn't help someone that could be a potential enemy." said Rias, "Remember, we are technically opponents. I'm sure he didn't even reach out to Sairaorg or even Sona."

"You are right…" said Lee while scratching his head, "While it was Mr. Kisame, Mr. Yoh, and Anna-sama that helped me with my training, Naruto-sama would help every now and then. He's been quite busy with a few things…"

"So…so you really think that you could be one of the remaining four in the tournament?" asked Rias with a bit of hesitation.

"For sure! I've been working on extending my stamina to the max just in case this tournament last a few days!" he said with a thumbs up.

Rias bit the bottom of her lip again before speaking, "Do you think…that we could team up then?" she asked.

"Team up?" said Lee, "Sorry, Rias, but I want to do this on my own to show everyone that I'm strong! I'll get to show them my youth!" he said while flexing his muscle and lying through his teeth, a skill he had been practicing during the break with Orochimaru and Anna.

"O-of course…sorry that I asked." she said with disappointment. Teaming up with Lee would have boosted her confidence by a large margin. While making it to the Top Four still seemed like a stretch, she believed that she could have made it close to that goal if she had Lee on her side. She didn't want to win the tournament; she just didn't want to be one of the first to lose.

Lee, however, sensed her disappointment. Wanting to help his friend, he gave her a suggestion, "Why don't you try to team up with Sona?" he asked, "You two are friends, right? Maybe she'll be open to teaming up?"

"I've already asked her when I met up with her a few days ago…" Rias said with a huff, "She said she'd think about it…but I think she'll just reject my offer."

"Well, not to make fun of you, Rias, but I would too." said Lee, surprising the girl with his revelation, "You don't look well. You look like you need some sleep."

"I've stayed up later because I've been training so much!" she said, "And even then, I still have these moments were I just get depressed and I think I can't do it…It's…it's infuriating, Lee…"

Lee frowned. He didn't like seeing Rias like this. She looked like she hadn't slept in days and she was acting like the exact opposite of her usual confident self. However, his internal thoughts were put on hold when he saw a familiar boy headed in their direction. He smiled as he nudged at Rias, "Looks like your [Pawn] has arrived."

"Issei!" said Rias with the most happiness Lee had heard from her since they started talking. The Gremory heiress ran over to her [Pawn] and hugged him with all her might. "It's so good to see you, Ise!"

"Yo, Buchou." Issei said with a smile as he returned her hug, "It's good to see you, too."

"You look stronger…" muttered Rias as she gave his body a run down. He did look physically stronger and she could feel his impressive muscles when she hugged him. She smiled up at her [Pawn] with adoration. "You've been training a lot. I'm so proud of you, Ise."

"Thanks!" he said with a cheeky grin. However, he did notice the bags underneath his [King]'s eyes and that put him on alert. "What's wrong with you, Buchou? You look like you just got out of a training session with Kisame." asked the [Pawn].

"I've been training a lot…just making sure that I'm ready for this tournament." she answered.

"Well I feel ready!" he said with a grin filled with confidence, "Training with Tannin-sama really pushed my skills to another level! After a good night's sleep, I'll be ready to take on anybody!"

"YOSH! That's the spirit, Issei!" shouted Lee, "I can't wait for this tournament to start!"

"And it seems like we won't be waiting for long." said Sona, walking towards the group with Tsubaki following close behind, "You're brother is about to speak, Rias."

Sure enough, Sirzechs was at the front of the hall. He was standing on a small platform while calling for everyone's attention. "Attention, everyone. I want to thank you all for coming to this pre-Rating Game party for the Devil Exams. If you are a participant in the tournament, would you please make your way towards me."

"Seems like he's calling for us…" said Issei, "Glad I came when I did."

"Come on. Let's go." said Sona, leading the group to where Sirzechs was. All thirteen participants lined up similarly to how they did during their first meeting. Issei had to hold back a growl at Dosu, who was standing next to him. Dosu sensed the boy's anger, but didn't care for it at all as he focused on Sirzechs' next words.

"You thirteen well be facing each other in the Devil Exams tomorrow. This is the first time ever that we've had this many candidates to chose from to be a member of this generation's 'Rookie Four' and the first time low-class devils and middle-class devil are able to compete to be a part such a group. This generation is the start of a change for the Underworld. With tomorrow's tournament, we'll get to see the strength of the youth of each social class and we'll get a glimpse of the future leaders of the Underworld in action at the same time!"

Everyone clapped in agreement of Sirzechs' speech. The whole Underworld was excited to see the youths battle it out against each other during the tournament tomorrow. All eyes would be on them to see where this generation was in skill and strength.

"I want to thank you all for coming to the party tonight. This will be the last time you'll see the participants until their debut at the tournament tomorrow, so take this time to wish them well. After you all are done, I ask for those participating in the exam tomorrow to meet me in the meeting room that we were at before. Good night, everyone! We hope to see you tomorrow watching these young devils provide an entertainment never seen before!" finished Sirzechs with a bow.

He received his final applause for the night before everyone started to head out. There were a few that remained to talk with some of the participants, particular those from the same clan. Zephrydor had a small crowd around him with those with similar markings on their face, signaling that they were all from the Glasya-Labolas Clan. Sairaorg was talking with a few Bael Clan members while Seekvaira and her father were having their final conversation for the night.

Rias, after searching for them for a while, had finally found her parents, "Well…this is it…" she said with a lack of confidence, causing both of parents to frown.

"Rias…are you sure you want to do this?" asked Venalana, placing a comforting hand on her only daughter, "You're tired. I understand that this tournament is important to you, but you don't look well. Maybe you should pull out."

"No, I can't. Then the Gremory Clan would look weak." said Rias, shaking her head in denial, "I can't give up."

"I understand that you want to keep up the image of the clan, Rias, but I care about you more than anything. If you want to retire from this tournament, then we'll be okay with it." said Zeoticus, "Yes, there will be those that will be disappointed, but your health is what's most important right now. It's okay to be selfish and think about yourself."

"I….." Rias clenched her fist, an internal debate brewing about in her mind. Should she retire from the tournament? She had doubted herself ever since the idea of the Devil Exams was presented to her during the first meeting with the Four Satans and Devil Council. It had been a stressful few weeks as she trained her heart out, really dedicated into becoming stronger to represent her clan with pride. However, after seeing how confident everyone else was about how they would do in the tournament, her self-doubt only increased. She could hardly sleep during their break because she was too worried on what would happen during the tournament. Would she embarrass herself? Would she bring shame to the Gremory Clan? Those thoughts echoed in the back of her mind all the time and no matter how much she tried to run away from it, they would always reappear and haunt her.

What Dosu also told her really affected her as well. ' _This tournament…is the worst thing that could happen to you.'_

Rias flinched as his words echoed throughout her mind, which worried her parent's even more, "Rias, are you okay?" asked Zeoticus. He had never seen Rias so distraught over something, not even when they told her that she would be in an arranged marriage with Riser Phenex. This tournament was clearly affecting her negatively. She was stressing her too much in order to think clear during the Devil Exams. So, with a heavy heart, Zeoticus decided that it was time for Rias to-

"Princess." the familiar voice of Orochimaru was what stopped Zeoticus from speaking. Orochimaru, who was followed by Naruto, stopped in front of the red head. "You seem like you're confused about something."

"I am, Orochimaru…this tournament…it's really doing a number on me mentally, if you know what I mean." she said with a sad smile while shrugging her shoulders.

"Hmm….I can tell." said the snake man, "I just came over here to give a few words of encouragement before the tournament started is all."

"Words of encouragement? Since when did you start doing that? I would have at least thought you came over here to make fun of me." said Rias.

"If this was anything else I would, but I felt like I should help you a little." said Orochimaru, "I do look forward to seeing you in the Devil Exams tomorrow. I'm sure that you'll surprise a couple of those arrogant fools that think they could take your Power of Destruction head on."

Naruto's only [Pawn] dug into his sleeve and pulled out a small pill bottle. Rias recognized it as the same pill bottle that Orochimaru gave her a long time ago. The same sleeping pills that the two had a running joke on. He grabbed Rias hand and placed the pill bottle in her palm. "You look like you need these. Make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight so you'll be at full strength to put on an amazing show tomorrow."

"Orochimaru…" Rias whispered. She couldn't believe that the snake man was this concerned over her.

"Look at Orochimaru! Being all nice!" said Naruto, playfully nudging into his [Pawn]'s side.

Orochimaru coughed in his hand while pushing his [King] away from him with this other hand, "I just wanted to support Princess since she seemed troubled. That's it."

"And I appreciate you for this, Orochimaru. Truthfully, I really do." she said with a small, true smile.

Orochimaru nodded, "Just add it on the long list of favors you owe me from all the times I've helped you with something." he smirked, causing the young red-head to giggle somewhat, "I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Rias Gremory." said the snake man, shocking Rias because he actually said her real name and not the usual 'Princess.'

"S-sure…" she stuttered.

"Good day, Gremory's." Orochimaru said with a bow before headed toward the exit.

"See ya' later, Childish Gremory!" laughed Naruto with a wave as he followed Orochimaru out the door.

Rias smiled as she looked down at the sleeping pill bottle in her hand. She tightened her grip around the bottle as a small wave of confidence washed over her. It was something that she needed. For the first time in a long time, she felt comfortable.

Zeoticus and Venalana stayed silent during the confrontation of Orochimaru and Rias. They were internally surprised as they saw their daughter's mood slowly improve during their conversation. Even when they tried to help their daughter, Rias' continued to doubt herself, but now that Orochimaru gave her a few words of encouragement and a pill bottle she was okay now? Zeoticus found that worrying since the person that she found comfort was in Naruto's peerage- the same person that was plotting their downfall. While he didn't like it, he would have to deal with that later. His daughter was what came first right now.

"Rias, are you okay?" asked Zeoticus.

"…I am…" she said, pocketing the pill bottle for later. She turned to both of her parents with a smile, "Sorry for worrying you two. I'm better now."

"So you're going to participate in the tournament?" asked her mother.

"Yes…I want to do it." she said with a new found determination. She saw that some of the others were headed to the meeting room to hear what Sirzechs had to say to them. "I should go. I'll see you two later."

"Alright…make sure to take care of yourself." said Zeoticus.

"Yes sir." she said as she headed out the room, "I'll see you two soon!" she said with a wave.

Rias, after a long walk through the castle, made her way to the same waiting room she was at nineteen days ago. She heard voices coming from within the meeting room, so she knew that there was a decent amount of people in it. However, standing in the middle of the room and was seemingly waiting for her, was Dosu Kinuta. While he was dressed in formal attire, he still had his scarf and straw raincoat that was going down his hunched back. His lone eye met with Rias' own as she stopped at the entrance when she sensed the tension in the air.

Dosu chuckled somewhat, "I didn't even think you would even come…" he started, "I saw how worried you looked when you entered the ball room…and those bags under eyes must mean that your sleep deprived."

"It's none of your business…" she growled at the boy, "Now get out of my way. You're not going to stop me from entering this tournament."

Dosu sighed as he shook his head, "It was never my goal to stop you from entering this tournament because then I wouldn't be able to accomplish my goal in beating you with no interruptions…However, it seemed like you took my words a little too seriously by how tense you are."

"I don't care what you think about me. I'm doing this for myself…" a veil of her Power of Destruction slowly surrounded her body as her anger started to increase, "and I can't wait to see you in the Devil Exams…"

Dosu smirked, even though she couldn't see it. He shrugged his shoulders as he turned around, headed towards the door. "Alright then." he said as he opened the door. However, he didn't go in it. Rather, he was holding it open for Rias. "Let's go then, Rias Gremory…"

Rias had to suppress a shudder. Just by the way he said her name put fear in her heart, but she remained strong. She recalled her Power of Destruction and slowly made her way to the door. Her glare at the one-eyed teen intensified when she passed by him. He chuckled as he followed Rias inside, the duo headed to the last meeting they would have before the Devil Exams would start.

 **A few minutes later…**

"Seems like everybody is here." said Sirzechs with a smile, "I'm glad everybody- "When are we gonna start fighting, hmmm?!" Deidara interrupted, "I want the damn prize money, now!"

"Ya damn right." said Suigetsu with a shark-like grin, "After I beat these preppie kids out their shit, I'll be a part of the 'Rookie Four', buy me a private lake, and live out my days in peace."

"Oh, and you sound so confident like that's going to happen!" shouted Zephrydor, "I'll show you that I mean business when we're sent to the pocket dimension for the exams! You all will bow before my might!"

Sairaorg sighed, "Here we go…" he mumbled.

"Bow before your might, hmmm?" said Deidara, "What might do you have?"

"I have more than enough to blow you all away!" shouted Zephrydor, "Just you wait!"

"Can we please settle down so that Lucifer-sama can continue talking?" said Sona while pushing up her glass a little, "I swear…dealing with you all is like dealing with children."

"We'll see who's the child when the tournament starts, hmmm?" said Deidara with a cocky smirk, "I'll be sure to make you all tremble as you see my art! Because my art…..heheh…Art is an-

"Pay attention!" shouted Falbium, making his presences known to everyone, "We need to explain some of the rules for tomorrow so save your energy for then if you really want to win."

That quieted everyone down as they listened to the Satan, "Now, the Devil Exams will start at exactly 12 noon tomorrow. You all will be staying in rooms, here in the Lucifaad Palace, to make sure you don't get any outside help. Make sure you bring your gear with you when we head off to the place where you'll be sent to the pocket dimension where the Devil Exams will be held. We'll be leaving this palace at around ten in the morning and you won't be able to come back for anything." he finished.

"Right. Now for the tournament itself." said Sirzechs, "The environment will be a mixture of places. There will be lakes, mountains, hilly terrains, flat lands, and more. However, the forest terrain is what takes up largest amount of space inside the dimension. While there isn't a set time for the Devil Exams, the majority of our analytics suggests that the exam will last for at least three days."

"Three days?" said Issei, "Then what about food? I know for a fact that I'll get hungry in there."

"Good point, Issei." said Sirzechs, "Because of the possible long time-span of the tournament, we will have food sent to you twice a day: once at noon time and the other at ten p.m. We'll only be feeding you twice because there will be food sources available in the dimension. Since we didn't want anything dangerous in the game with you all, we've released various animals from the human realm that you can find for yourself that can hunt. While the two food service times will have more than enough food for you, we wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be any excuses of someone retiring purely out of hunger."

"So this is included in the survival aspect of the game…" said Sairaorg, "You all really thought of everything for this game."

"Again, this game will probably be the most important Rating Game of the year. We need to make sure everything is right so that we can get the maximum amount of effort from you all." explained Sirzechs.

"So I guess we've gotta find our own place to sleep to huh?" asked Suigetsu.

"Not technically, however that's information that we want to reveal to you all during the game." said Falbium, "The announcement will be made before your ten p.m. feeding time, so make sure you're paying attention to the announcers."

"As for the fighting aspect of the Rating Game…anything goes." said Sirzechs, "You can be as crafty as you want…team up with others if you want, except you two." he said while pointing to Issei and Rias, "But you can do whatever- any underhand tactics that you deem necessary for your advancement. In this game, you need to think about yourself before anyone else if you do decide on teaming up with someone. This is a survival game to see who can make to the Top Four, but remember, you still have a chance at being accepted to the 'Rookie Four' without being one of the remaining four. It's the performance you present us is what will be judged."

"Sirzechs is right. Remember, those of you that are [King]s, you are here to prove that you can handle yourself without your peerage members. As for the rest of you, you're here to prove that you are powerful-no matter your social ranking." said Falbium.

"Also, there's the fact that everyone will have their eyes on you…and not only those on our side of the Underworld." he continued, "We know that the leaders of the Fallen Angels and Angels will be in attendance, as well as some of the gods of Norse mythology." he finished, surprising some of the young devils.

"Holy shit. This really is the real deal." said Issei.

"It is. That's why we ask that you all get a good night's rest and get ready for the tomorrow." said Falbium. The door to the meeting room opened and a group of maids and butlers entered the room, "They will lead you all to your specific rooms. You'll all be distributed around the palace, but you are still allowed to leave your room whenever you want. Just make sure that you don't cause any problems."

They all nodded and split up. Both Satans watched as they left the room, leaving them by themselves. Sirzechs sighed as he sat down in his chair. "This is really happening."

"Yup…sure is." said Falbium, sitting next to his long time friend, "I just wish Ajuka and Serafall would've come as well."

"Ajuka still doesn't trust Serafall…I hope nothing bad happens between them tomorrow because we don't need two Satans not co-operating with each other while leaders of other factions and mythologies will be here."

"I'm sure they'll behave themselves since they know the severity of this event. We'll deal with the meaning behind those seals once everything has settled down." stated the bald Satan.

"I guess so…" whispered Sirzechs as he looked up at the ceiling, "Man…tomorrow is going to be hectic."

 **An hour later…**

 **Lucifaad Palace – Lee's Room**

Naruto's [Rook] walked back into his room with a towel around his waist. He had just taken an extra long shower so that he could mediate and calm his thoughts. It was something that he practiced with Anna and Naruto every morning and it really helped him collect himself during times of stress. However, the boy wasn't stressed at all. He was very excited for the Devil Exams that would be happening soon and couldn't wait to show everyone what he could really do.

Lee was pulled out of his internal mulling when he heard someone knock on his door. Not even caring that he didn't have any cloths on. He opened the door with only a towel around his waist to see Seekvaira, who had changed into a pair of pink slippers, pink gym shorts and an oversized t-shirt with a mecha anima picture printed on it.

"YOSH! Hello, Seekvaira!" said Lee happily, glad to see his teammate.

The girl blushed and looked away from Lee, covering her eyes with her hand, "H-how indecent! How could you open the door to someone like that!? Go put some clothes on!"

"Oh. Excuse me for a second." Lee said as he closed the door. However, just when the door clicked shut, it opened back again with Lee clothes in a pair of black sweatpants and a muscle shirt, which hardly hid all of his bulging muscles, "Is this better?" he asked his teammate.

Seekvaira peeked a little to make sure he wasn't 'indecent' anymore. While she could still see a lot of his chest area, she was satisfied that the boy at least had on pants. She sighed as she removed her hand from her face. "I guess that will do. Now, let me in before someone sees."

"Hai!" he said, stepping to the side and letting the Agares Clan heiress enter his room. He closed the door behind her and quickly asked, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't we be sleeping to save up all of our energy for tomorrow's battles?"

"Yes, but I wanted to speak with you before the exam started." she stated as she sat on the edge of his bed and crossed her arms under her breast, "I wanted us to share our abilities and fighting styles so that we can get a feel for each other. It'll help us adapt to each other better when we're actually fighting someone."

"Ah! You're a genius, Seekvaira!" praised Lee, "I didn't even think of that at all! Very responsible of you."

Seekvaira smirked a little as she pushed her glasses up on her nose a little, "Well…while I already knew that I was a genius, I do appreciate the praise."

"Before we start, I wanted to ask you about your shirt." said Lee, pointing to it.

"What about it?" she asked with a small glare, just waiting for him to make fun of her love for mecha anime.

"Isn't that Neon Genesis Evangelion?" asked Lee, surprising the Agares heiress.

"Y-yes it is. Do you know of it?" she asked.

"Yes! Me and Anna-sama watched it together a few weeks back!" Lee said excitedly, "It was wonderful; however, I wanted to know why there are a few new characters on your shirt that I don't recognize."

"Oh…that's because this is a shirt from the second movie 'Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance."

"YOSH! You mean there's more movies that the first one!?" asked Lee excitedly.

Trying to control her inner otaku and so that they could stay on task, Seekvaira answered, "Yes, there is, but we need to-

"Do you have them?" asked Lee.

"Yes…yes I do, but we really shou-

"YOSH! Can we watch them? Plllleeeaaasssssseeeee?!"

Seekvaira's eyes gleamed and a large smirk slowly grew on her face as her inner otaku was released….

 **Morning - With Rias**

Rias yawned as she slowly opened her eyes. She smiled and stretched her body out before succumbing to the comfort of the bed again. Last night was the best sleep she had for the past couple of weeks and was something that she needed. After her maids led her to her room, she quickly stripped out of her cloths and hopped in bed. She took Orochimaru's sleeping pills and waited for them to kick in- which that didn't take so long to do. In a matter of minutes, Rias was snoozing like a newborn baby.

After taking another quick nap, she sat up in her bed and yawned again, "That…..was the best sleep I've had in so long…" she mumbled to herself, pushing some stands of her hair out of her face.

She perked up when she heard someone knocking on her door. Slipping to the bathrobe that was given to all the participants staying in the palace, Rias made her way towards the door. Opening, there wasn't anybody there to greet her; however, there was a tray with her breakfast resting on the ground. She picked the tray up and closed the door behind her, intending on feasting on the food before she had to depart.

Once she was finished, Rias decided on taking a quick but calming shower. The warming waters of the shower really settled her mind even more. After all of those days of training, it was nice to finally relax, even if the tournament she was training for was only hours away. After stepping outside of the shower, she took off her shower cap and dried off with a towel. She then put on her school uniform that she summoned with a magic circle. It was when she finished putting on all of her cloths when she heard someone knocking on her door again. Opening it, Rias was face to face with one of the maids that led her to her room last night.

"Rias-sama, its time." she said with a bow, "Do you have everything with you?"

"Yes." said Rias, closing the door behind her, "I'm ready to go..."

 **Lilith Coliseum**

In the capital city of the Underworld, there was a massive coliseum that wasn't so far from Lucifer's Mansion. Thousands of devils were pouring into the coliseum to watch the spectacle of thirteen of the strongest young devils this generation had to offer battle it out in a Rating Game that was formatted like none other. The Devil Exams was the headline news within the devil's side of the Underworld and everyone was pouring in their thoughts and opinions on what would happen and what this meant for the Underworld.

Inside one of the many suites that Lilith Coliseum had to offer was Naruto and his peerage. Since Lee, a member of his peerage, was fighting in the Devil Exams, Naruto was offered premium seating in the form of one of the massive suites for him and his peerage to enjoy. The suite came with many couches for everyone, servants lined along the walls, TV displays surrounding the room, and had a nice view of the entire Coliseum, especially the middle of the massive structure where the entire tournament would be projected to the public.

"This is pretty nice." said Hao, sipping an expensive red wine that the servants poured for him, "I could get used to something like this."

"We're at the tippy-top, nya!" said Kuroka, her eyes dazzling at perfect view they had. The feeling of fame and importance was starting to get to her head. They were in a private suite that only some of the most prestige devils could afford and they were offered it for free! "I feel so rich, nya! And we'll be even richer when Lee wins this tournament and gets the prize money!"

"Don't let money cloud your thinking, Kuroka." said Yoh. Both Anna and Yoh were sitting on one of the various couches, with Yoh laying his head in Anna's lap while she was rubbing his head.

"That's easy for you to say, nya. You're family is rich." she said while sticking her tongue out at Yoh.

"Hey can I get….Hmmm…so many choices…" muttered Kisame. He was sitting in his recliner (that he brought with him because the other chairs in the room were 'uncomfortable') with Samehada on his lap. He was flipping through a menu that one of the butlers gave him that was filled with dishes he couldn't pronounce. "You know what…just give me everything that has fish in it."

"Uh…are you sure, sir?" asked the man.

"You know…you're right. Samehada is probably hungry too. Double that for me will ya, bro?" asked Kisame as he handed the butler the menu back, "And make my drink an orange juice too."

"Are you here yet?" Naruto asked. He was talking into a magic circle, catching both Orochimaru and Kuroka's attention, "You're down the hall?"

"Who is that, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru. He was sitting next to Naruto but he couldn't hear who he was talking to.

Naruto smirked as the magic circle dissipated, "You'll see." he said as he stood up and walked over to the door. Not long after, there was knock on the door. Kisame, thinking his food came, shouted, "They came that fast?! Talk about good service."

Naruto opened the door, revealing that it was Gabriel that he had been waiting on, "Naru!" Gabriel said happily, jumping at him, "It's so good to see you!"

"Good to see you too, Gabriel." he said with a soft smile, "It's been a while."

' _What is that bitch doing here?!'_ Kuroka screeched in her mind as she glared at Gabriel's perfect form in anger.

"It really has." she said. She then turned to great everyone else. "Hello, everyone! I'm so happy to see you all are well!"

"Hey there, Gabby." Kisame said with wave, "Did you see anybody with some plates of food out there in the hall?"

"No, sadly, I haven't." she said, "Are you all waiting for some food?"

"Just Kisame." said Hao from his seat, "This room will smell like various types of fish soon, so prepare yourself."

"Noted." she said with a nod as she followed Naruto to the couches. Orochimaru moved to another couch so that Naruto and Gabriel could have one for themselves, however Kuroka, in a fit of jealously, hopped in the seat of Naruto's left and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You wouldn't mind if I sat here would you, nya~?" asked Kuroka with low-lidded eyes.

"I don't mind, Kuroka. Get comfortable." said her [King] with a smile. Kuroka hugged his arm to her chest and snuggled into his side.

"Thanks, nya." she said, but she made sure to keep a keen eye on Gabriel.

"I hope young Lee does well." said Gabriel, "It would be really impressive if he wins."

"And he shall." said Orochimaru, "We've trained him to be prepared for anything that could possibly happen in this tournament. He will be a member of the 'Rookie Four' when this tournament is over with."

"I hope so…I prayed for him last night…just in case." said Gabriel.

"And I'm sure Lee would appreciate that." said Yoh, "I'd bet it would boost his spirits just knowing that you came to support him, Gabriel-sama."

"That's nice." she said with a beaming smile, "I can't wait to see him in action."

The group continued with some casual conversation until they were interrupted by a group of servants entering the suite. They were all holding plates and the smell of cooked fish entered everyone's noses. Kisame perked up and started to drool at the heavenly smell. "Awwww, HELL YEA!" he said happily as he grabbed a long tray to put on his lap so that it would b easier to eat his food," Let's start the parade!" he said while grabbing a plate and setting it on his food tray.

Outside of their suite, Serafall was just about to pass by the room. She glanced inside of the room when she heard Kisame yell and her eyes widened when she realized that it was Naruto and his peerage inside of that suite. She got a quick glimpse the back of Naruto and someone with familiar long, blonde hair before one of the servants in the room closed the door.

She huffed as she continued her walk, "Stupid Gabriel…" she whispered under her breath.

"What was that, Serafall?" asked Falbium, walking up to Serafall, "You seem a little mad."

"It's nothing." she said as she continued her walk. Falbium shrugged his shoulders and joined her, "Are the Norse mythology Gods here yet?" she asked.

"They are. Sirzechs isn't with them right now because he's giving our entertainment a last minute pep talk before they start the tournament." he said.

"Oh…Is Ajuka there?" asked Serafall.

"Yes…he's with the Norse Gods now." stated Falbium.

"Is…is he still mad?" she asked with a stutter.

"Yes, but he promised both Sirzechs and I that he would behave himself for the time being. However, he wanted to make it clear that he doesn't trust you." said Falbium.

"Oh…" the Leviathan Satan mumbled in sadness. While she understood why Ajuka didn't trust her, it still hurt to know the fact. She could only hope that they could get together and talk about things soon.

"We'll figure things out soon." said Falbium, patting his friend on the back, "Let's just get this over with. We'll meet up with Sirzechs soon."

 **A few minutes later…**

 **Entrance of Lilith Coliseum's Underground Tunnels**

"And we have an impressive group of young devils that are prepared to show you their skills and power to you all- the devils of the Underworld!" the voice of Sirzechs ringed out, along with a massive cry of excitement from the tens of thousands of devils in the stands.

Rias, along with the rest of the participants of The Devil Games, were standing not too far from the entrance of the tunnel. They had a clear view of Sirzechs, who was standing on a large platform in the middle of the coliseum. He was delivering a speech to everyone about the Devil Exams before they were introduced to the public.

The heiress of Gremory, while she was feeling confident in herself earlier, was starting to have doubts again. While it wasn't as bad as before, she still felt a little shaky about the tournament. _'Just don't get out first, Rias. Don't embarrass yourself and your clan,'_ is what she would repeat over and over again in her head. She had to stay vigilant and prepared for anything that could happen in the tournament.

She was brought out her inner musings when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Issei, who had a frown on his face. "You alright?" he asked her.

"I am…I'm better than I was last night, but I'm still a little jumpy about this." she admitted.

"You'll be fine, Buchou. You can do it." he reassured her.

She nodded, "Right!" she said.

"YOSH! I hope we all have fun in this tournament! I can't wait to face you all!" Lee shouted happily!

"You really are a weird one, hmmm?" said Deidara, who had changed from his blue kimono and was now wearing an all black cloak, similar to the one Kisame wore, blue pants and black sandals, "You're only making yourself a target with all that talk."

"I can handle the pressure! I've been training hard during the break and I'll show everyone my YOUTH!" shouted Lee, pumping his fist in the air.

"Ehhhhh, surreee." said Deidara with a sweat drop.

"And now!" shouted Sirzechs, catching everyone's attention, "For the moment we've all been waiting for! I present to you, the participants of the Devil Exams!"

"Seems like that's us. Let's go." said Sairaorg, exiting the tunnel first. They all followed the Bael's lead and made their way out of the tunnel and into the coliseum. The cheer of all the screaming devils filled the air as the group made their way to the platform in the middle of the coliseum.

"Woah…." said Suigetsu, placing his water bottle on his hip as he took in the scene of all the people in the coliseum, "This is crazy…"

"I've never seen so many devils in one place like this before." said Diodora, who was usually quiet but had to express his awe as they made their way to the platform.

"Hello! Hello! My name is Rock Lee!" shouted Lee, waving and blowing kisses at the crowd.

Sona pushed her glasses up on her nose, "He seems to love the attention…"

"That's Lee for ya.'" Issei said with a sweat drop, "Always active…"

"He needs to calm down." said Seekvaira. While she was trying to keep up appearances, she couldn't deny that she actually liked Lee after their mecha anima marathon last night. Yes, he was annoying and loud, he was still a good person at heart. While they did get some sleep, they should have gotten more if they hadn't stayed up so late.

The group made their way onto the middle platform where the Lucifer Satan was awaiting them. Once they all made it, Sirzechs continued his speech to the crowd. "These thirteen devil youths are here to show you their strengths! Skills! Decision-making! Spells! And their overall want to win it all!" he yelled, receiving another loud howl of approval from the crowd.

Sirzechs then turned to the devils that would be fighting in the Devil Exam, "You all are now about to be sent inside of the pocket dimension where the Devil Exam will be taking place. Take a look at the ground." he said. Suddenly, thirteen magic seals appeared around the rim of the platform. "Within these magic circles will have the names of the specific person they've been made to teleport. Please find your magic seal so that we can send you all off."

"Good luck, everybody!" said Lee as he found his magic circle right away, "Let this be a fun tournament."

"Yea yea…I'm sick of your positive ass." Dosu as he rolled his lone eye. Gaia, who was standing next to Dosu, remained quite as she awaited the start of the tournament.

"Hehe! Good luck to you too, Lee!" said an excited Ginta as he gave him a thumbs up, "I can't wait to see you on the battlefield!"

Rias' magic circle was in between Sairaorg and Sona. She looked to her left at Sairaorg, who was smirking confidently- no worries present on his face. Both of hands were clenched tightly against each other as he tried to contain his hidden excitement. Sairaorg was one of the stronger devils in the tournament, so of course he'd have confidence in himself. The only time Rias witnessed a battle Sairaorg lost was to Lee, who was, quite possibly, his only competition in the Devil Exams. Surely, her battle manic cousin was made for a tournament like this.

To Rias' right was her long time friend, Sona Sitri. While she held a neutral face, Rias could tell that her best friend was excited for the Devil Exam as well. _'And she never gave me an answer on if she wanted to team up…I guess it's because she never planned on teaming up on the first place.'_ thought Rias. Of course Sona didn't want to team up with her. Not too long ago, Rias was thinking about dropping out of the tournament. Sona knew that she wasn't mentally stable and probably thought that Rias would be more of a hindrance than a helpful ally. Sona is a crafty and analytical battler. With a mind like hers that was great at decision making, Rias was sure that she would last long. This tournament was made for somebody like her.

Rias' eyes gravitated towards Dosu, who was standing across from her. He was already staring at the girl, but when their eyes met, Rias' heart was struck with a dosage of fear- fear that she had never felt before. Dosu's dead stare centered at her with his lone eye was all that was needed for all of those feelings of self-doubt to resurface itself to the front of her mind. Even when she tried to pull her eyes away from the hunch back's eye, she couldn't because her body wouldn't listen to her. She was lost in a space where the only thing that she could focus on was his face. The roaring of the crowd morphed into the sound of menacing beast growling in her ear. All of the eyes of the crowd morphed into yellow eyes that screamed danger. All of this and Rias couldn't get herself out…

Until Dosu closed his eye and turned away from Rias, snapping her out of her fear-induced trance.

However, the fear had not left her as she muttered, "W...w-wait, I-"

"And now!" shouted Sirzechs, "Let the Devil Exams beginning!" When he said his last word, the thirteen devils were consumed by their magic circles. Their destination: a war-zone.

 **Rating Game Dimension: Swamp Environment**

The fear-struck Rias appeared in a swamp. She was on small hill that protruded out of the murky waters that surrounded her from all sides. Trees covered the sky line, but there was a gap in the trees that was right above her which allowed light to wash her body. Looking at the area around her, she noticed that she was the only person in the area. She couldn't sense anyone's magic nearby either, so everyone must have been split up throughout the dimension in random areas.

"Okay, Rias…" she said, taking a few calming breaths, "You can do this…"

" _Hello to the participants of the Devil Exams."_ said a voice that echoed through the forest. Rias assumed that it was the announcer that was talking. _"To make things fair, we have split you all apart in different parts of the dimension of equal distance. It is up to you to go out and find the others and retire them to add points to your overall performance. I will announce when someone has retired, but I will not announce who retired them. We have plans of making everyone group together if there hasn't been a retirement in a certain time span. While it is noon, there will not be a food delivery now since the tournament has just started. We thank you all for participating. Now go out there and show everyone just what you're capable of!"_ the announcer finished.

Rias sighed as she thought about her next move, _'Well…it wouldn't be smart to move by flight because then someone could spot me from the air, so it would seem like walking would be the best option.'_ She sweat dropped when she realized that she was surrounded by disgusting swamp water and that she would have to get in order to get out.

"They just had to put me here, huh…" she said with a growl. She perked up when a thought hit her, "Well, maybe I can fly…I'm surrounded by trees, so nobody should see me if I fly underneath the tree line." Deciding that this was her best bet to get out the swamp, Rias summoned her wings and jumped off of her small island.

 **Rating Game Dimension: City Environment**

"Seekvaira! Oh Seekvaira!" shouted Lee. He was walking down a concrete road and surrounded by buildings. His environment was a reflection of a big city, filled with skyscrapers, roads, streetlights, just about anything one could find in a large city.

After a while of searching, Lee took a seat on one of the benches at a bust stop and started to think, "If they dispersed us randomly, then that means I don't know where Seekvaira is! And she probably doesn't know where I am, too! Which means we can't help each other!" shouted Lee, realizing just how dire their situation is. "But we we're supposed to help each other…"

A fire of determination flared in Lee's eyes as he clenched his fist, _'I've got to find her…I can't let Naruto-sama down!'_ he thought as he summoned his wings and flew above the tall buildings to get see where everything was.

"Wow…this is huge…" said Lee, taking in the landscape. While he knew this Rating Game was important, he didn't think that they would make such a large battle field for them. He could see the barrier dimension protecting them from the Dimensional Gap outside, but he was still a fair ways away from it all. He could see all of the various environments inside their own private dimension and was at awe at it.

Lee shook his head, "Gah, I have a mission that I need to accomplish! I can't get caught up in the beauty of the landscape!" the green beast took off, heading towards the mountain range to his south, "Here I come, Seekvaira. Rock Lee shall come and protect you!"

 **Lilith Coliseum – Naruto's Suite**

"MMh mu wmth mmmH MMhphe mmmemhhhhyymm!"

Orochimaru face palmed as he looked over towards his peerage member, "Kisame, we cannot understand you when you're mouth is filled." he said with a sigh.

Kisame munched on all of the food in his mouth before swallowing it. Hao grimaced at the large lump that protruded from Kisame's throat as the food slowly went down his stomach. "AHHHH! Sorry bout that." said Kisame, snatching another plate before Samehada could get to it, "I said why the fuck is he flying in the air! Somebody's gonna shoot him down!"

"You know how Lee is." said Anna. She was still playing in her fiancée's hair, which had his head resting in her lap, knocked out, "He gets to excited and doesn't think logically at times. If he were to lose, it would be because of that."

"He'll be okay." Naruto said, "Lee can handle himself. He uses his mind in the midst of battle. I'm sure he's looking around him to make sure no one sneaks up on him."

"I sure hope that's the case. I wouldn't want Lee to retire this early in the tournament." said Gabriel with worry.

"He's gonna be fine, nya." said Kuroka, rolling his eyes at Gabriel, "My junior can take a few hits from us, and I know those little kids he's playing with aren't on our level, so he'll have the stamina to keep on battling."

"If you say so…" said Gabriel, but she made sure to say a quick pray for the [Rook], "Keep strong, Rock Lee."

 **20 minutes later…**

 **Rating Game Dimension: Pond Environment**

After a long stretch through the torturous swamp, an angry Rias walked out of the tree line and to an open field. She had mud and leaves all in her hair from the trees and it really pissed her off.

"And I just took a damn shower this morning." she said with getting flicking some mud off of her legs and skirt. She sighed as she looked up at bright red skies of the dimension, which she could finally see since she was out from under the trees. "At least I'm free from stupid swamp…and all those stupid, weird-eyed bugs…." she said with a shiver.

Continuing her quiet walk alone, she finally made it to the pond. She looked down at the water and was happy that she could see her own reflection for once, as well that the water was dirty like it was in the swamp. "Actually, this water looks very clean…" she mumbled to herself. The memory of Sirzechs explaining to them that there wouldn't be anything in the dimension that could hurt them, which could also mean that there may not be any harmful bacteria in the water. "I did work up a sweat in that particularly hot swamp." she said as she crouched down closer to the water, "It wouldn't hurt to get a small drink."

Scooting a little closer towards the water, she cuffed both of her hands together and dipped them in the water. Acting as a bowl, the brought her hands back out of the pond and drank all of the water in her palms. She gave of a satisfying gasp as the cool water went down her throat. "That was pretty good!" she said happily as she went for another sip.

Not too far from her, a pair of purple eyes blinked opened, seemingly apart of the water. The sound of a small giggle could be heard as the eyes closed again.

Rias continued to drink from the water and used to clean her face and hair from all the mess that latched on to her body during her journey in the swamp. However, as she cuffed her hands again to grab some more water, two arms from the water appeared out of nowhere, shocking Rias. She could hardly a scream out before the arms pulled her underneath the water.

Rias struggled as she sank deeper and deeper into the water. She didn't know what pulled her into the water and she didn't have the opportunity to find out either as the pressure from her unknown assailant kept her arms locked to her sides. She kicked and twisted her body, trying to find some way out of her watery prison, but to no luck.

' _I-I can't breathe!'_ she panicked. Her eyes bulged when she felt something hit her stomach hard, causing her to open her mouth and gasp for air. Instead of air, she got water as it started to flood her body. _"I….I need to…break free….'_

In an act of desperation, Rias chanted a magical spell within her mind and created a magic circle. From it came a large amount of electricity, shocking her and, hopefully, whatever was in the water with her. While she was hurt from the surge of electricity surging her body, whatever had a hold on her was now gone. When she recovered from the shock, she made a beeline line upwards to the surface.

"GAh!" she gasped once she resurfaced. She pulled herself out of the water and crouched on the ground with a fierce coughing fit. She threw up a lot of water before she rolled over and laid out on the ground. "Wh..what…was…that…" she said in between breaths.

From the corner of her eye she saw something glint in the sunlight…something metal. Alarms went off in her head and she rolled away again, which saved her head from being dismembered from the rest of her body.

"Fuck!" said a familiar voice. Rias jumped to her feet and saw that it was Suigetsu, who was wincing in pain, "Why the fuck would you do that! Shooting the whole pond with fucking lightning? We're you trying to kill us both!?"

"You mean that was you that was trying to drown me?! And trying to cut my fucking head off!?" Rias shouted back in anger. In a fit of rage, Rias summoned a magic circle and shot a bolt of her Power of Destruction at Suigetsu. Because he took the brute of the lightning spell, he was still somewhat slow and couldn't dodge her attack. He moved his body out of the way, but his right arm was vaporized from the power her bolt.

"Fuck again!" he yelled, "That god damn destruction shit stopped my regeneration!"

"Regeneration?" asked Rias, feeling a bit more comfortable now that she hand injured Suigetsu, "What are you talking about?"

Suigetsu growled out the Gremory while thinking up of a plan, _'Since she has that Power of Destruction, I can't just take hits from that without major consequences unlike any other type of spell or physical attack. Her Power of Destruction literally destroyed all of the water in my arm, meaning that if she were to hit a vital spot, it could mean big trouble.'_

The fish-like boy stepped his right foot into the pond. The water slowly traveled up his body and to the stump that was once his arm. Rias watched in amazement as the water slowly transformed itself an arm. Suigetsu grunted as he picked up his sword and pointed it at Rias, "You'll be a problem if I let you stay. Time to die."

"D-die?!" sputtered Rias, taking a step back.

"You're Power of Destruction is one of the only abilities that can actually harm me. You need to die now!" he shouted, sprinting towards Rias with his sword drawn.

 **Rias Gremory, Full Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Suigetsu Hozuki, Full Blooded Low-Class Devil**

Rias quickly summoned a barrier seal to block Suigetsu's powerful sword swing, "Listen! We don't have to fight! I can just leave!"

Suigetsu, using his free hand, created a magic circle and summoned a miniature water serpent, similar to what Sona would do but only with less magic. The serpent flew over Rias' barrier and was about to crash into Rias if she hadn't created another barrier. Taking advantage since both her hands were occupied, Suigestsu spun around the barrier that was blocking him and kicked Rias in her side, sending her flying.

She yelped at the pain coursing through her side, but she didn't have time to whine about it as she had to shot another bold to PoD to keep Suigetsu at distance. _'I need to keep him away from me!"_ she thought as she tried to come up with some plan that could work.

"Look alive, girly!" shouted Suigetsu as he dodged another bolt of destruction and headed straight towards Rias. Rias summoned her wings and flew over Suigetsu. Creating small, compact softball sized bullets out of her PoD, she shot them towards Suigetsu, hoping that it would be enough to retire.

"Blade…" whispered Suigetsu, sending magic into his sword. A blue hue covered his sword as he quickly sliced through all of Rias' bullets, saving him from retirement. He shot towards where she would be landing and sliced at the air in front of him. A blue shockwave of energy flew towards Rias, who had just landed but instantly created a few barriers between her and the shockwave. Her barriers were able to block the magic blast, but just barely. From the sides and above her barrier were three water serpents, the same spell Suigetsu used before.

"Shit!" she screeched as she recalled her barriers and flew away. The water serpents kept following after her until she was flying over the water surface of the pond.

Suigetsu smirked as he jumped towards the edge of the pond and drove both of his arms into the water, "I've got you now!" he laughed manically as large arms of water shot out of the pond, intending on pulling Rias in.

' _It was his plan all along to get me over the water!'_ she thought as she weaved through the barrage of water arms. She blasted through an arm that appeared in front of her, only to be met by a group of them coming from all around. The only direction left was upwards, so she flew high into the air, Suigetsu's water arms were persistent as they continued to follow her.

' _Sorry Akeno. Seems like I'm going to have to steal a few of your spells today.'_ thought the Gremory heiress as she created a yellow magic circle that was charged with electricity. The stopped mid-flight and turned towards the approaching water arms of death. "Take this!" she shouted, delivering a large blast of lightning at the aqua arms. The lightning tore through them like they were nothing and filled the pond beneath her with lightning.

She huffed as she watched the ground beneath, looking for any signal of Suigetsu. "Where is he?" she said out loud. She couldn't find him at all. "Maybe he got caught up in the blast. But then the announcer would have called out his retirement."

Her danger senses kicked in as she sensed an energy right above her. Creating another barrier, she was saved from being split in half from Suigetsu sword stroke.

"Shit! I thought I had you there!" he laughed, flashing all of his shark-like teeth, "This is kinda fun, Gremory!" he shouted as his arms suddenly grew a large amount of muscle and her forced his way through Rias' barrier, surprising her. She had to move out of the way if she wanted to be cut in half, but Suigetsu's sword did slice through some of the flesh of her thigh, causing her to cringe as she flew away.

"Where ya' think you're going!" he yelled as he followed her. Rias shot an assault of her personalized bullets of destruction at Suigetsu, but his sword sliced them like they were pebbles. Boost his speed, he out speed Rias sliced her side open, causing her to scream out.

"There's no room for little princesses like you in this tournament!" he shouted as he pointed his finger at Rias. By the way he had his fingers, it looked like he was interpreting a gun, "See ya!" he shouted as a magic circle appeared over middle and index finger. A blue ball of magic shot down towards Rias, enveloping her.

Suigetsu sighed as he recalled some of his muscle. His large muscles in his arms slowly disappeared, giving him the look of a regular teenager as he made his way back to the ground. He walked over to the crater where Rias' body should have impacted the ground. "Seems like she isn't gone yet since there hasn't been an announcement of her retirement." he said as he popped his neck, "I would have thought she would last longer than this. She is the 'heiress of the Gremory Clan' after all. Ha!" he said with a laugh as he checked the inside of the small crater.

Sure enough, Rias was at the bottom of the crater. Her clothes were cut up in a few places, and she looked like she took some from the fall, but she generally looked alright. Suigetsu clicked his tongue in anger, "You must have created another one of those barriers to save you from the brute of the attack."

"Checkmate…"

From the sky was a large lightning bolt that rocketed straight at the unsuspecting Suigetsu. The boy howled out in pain as lightning surged throughout his body. It hurt him more than a regular devil since his body was made out of water, which conducted electricity. However, with brute force, Suigetsu gripped his sword and stabbed it into the ground. The lightning flowed from his body and into the ground, thanks to the metal of the sword directing the flow of energy.

"Fffffffuuuuucccckkkkkkkkkkk…." gasped Suigetsu once the lightning bolt had dissipated. He stumbled a little at first, but regained his bearings and pulled his sword out of the ground. "Oh, I'm going to fucking cut off all of your limbs for that one!" he shouted as he checked the crater for Rias, only to see that she wasn't there, "The fuck?"

He looked behind him to see the weakened Rias, who was holding her side to stop some the blood from pouring out, flying back into the swamp where she came from.

"I could go back in there and kill her…it is a swamp, so the ground has to be covered in water…" he deduced, "But I'm not going to. I need to recover from that bullshit ass cheap shot." he thought logically.

He took in a breath before yelling, "I'll let you go this time, but I will find you soon, Gremory!"

Rias heard him, but didn't look back as she flew back into the swamp that she once thought was hell. Now it looked like a good resting place.

 **Rating Game Dimension: Beach Environment**

"I guess she isn't here either…" Lee said sadly as he finished looking around the area.

So far, Lee had covered the mountain, grassland, marsh, and now beach environment in search of Seekvaira. He hadn't heard the announcement of her retirement, which mean that she was still alive somewhere.

"Probably either looking for me or hiding somewhere." he guessed as he flew back into the air, "I guess that means I've gotta find another place to look until I find her." he said as he took off into the air.

After a couple minutes of flying and exiting the beach environment, Lee was hovering over a forest area, which took up most of the space within the dimension. "Maybe she got lost in there?" he said to himself as he dropped down in the trees.

Landing a branch, he expected the area to see if he was alone. Not seeing nor sensing anyone, Lee used his supreme muscles to jump from tree to tree with no problems at all. He made sure to keep quiet as he moved and stayed alert for any possible enemies.

He took a break on one of the branches to rest. He had been moving ever since the start of the tournament and wanted to regain the stamina he lost searching for Seekvaira, even though he still had enough energy to fight multiple people at once.

"This…is kinda boring…" muttered Lee, "I haven't seen anybody since we left the coliseum…I wonder-" Lee quickly turned to his right and sat up against the bark of the tree. He had heard something…something that wasn't too far away. "An explosion, maybe?" he whispered to himself as he felt the ground vibrate. It had to be a battle happening somewhere close by and he was going to investigate.

Checking to see if the coast was clear, Lee jumped off of his tree and to another, hopping all over the place as he headed towards where he heard the explosions. He landed on another tree and hid himself amongst the leaves as he looked down upon the ground.

It was Ginta, the boy Lee didn't know too much about, and Sona facing off against each other. Sona had many magic circles behind her, which were shooting compressed shots of water at Ginta, who was using the trees as shields as he steadily made his way closer to the Sitri heiress. _'I'll just watch for now and see if I can make my move later.'_ thought the [Rook], _'While I do know that Sona is good at long-distance water spells, I don't know what Ginta's abilities are. In order for me to properly counter him, I need to learn what he can do!'_ he finished as he focused in on the battle.

 **Sona Sitri, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Ginta Toramizu, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

' _He's trying to wear me out.'_ thought Sona as she quick shot a blast of water at Ginta when he took a peek from behind the tree he was hiding in, _'He wants me to use up all of my magic and then come in for the kill, something I'm not going to do.'_

She looked around at the landscape and narrowed her eyes at the trees, ' _This is a bad place for me to be at. I'm a long-ranged fighter and he's using the trees as shields. I need to move from here if I want to deal any significant damage.'_ agreeing with her plan, Sona summoned her wings and flew out of the forest.

Ginta walked from behind the tree he was hiding from, "Is she running away? What the hell! I was just about give her the beats!" he complained.

Sona stopped once she made her way to the Grassland Environment, which was right next to the forest. She turned around and waited for her opponent. "He better have followed me. It was in my plan to cause at least a retirement a day so that I could add a decent amount of points for my performance." she said.

However, Ginta wasn't coming from out of the forestry, frustrating Sona, "Damn it…he probably took to opportunity to run away. Coward." she said with a glare as she lowered herself down to the ground, "Now I have to go find someone else for today's retirement.

Sona's head snapped up when she heard what sounded like a chain rattling. A flying object came from out of the tree line and was headed straight towards Sona. She quickly jumped out of the way of the object and analyzed it the moment she had a clear view of it. _'Is that an iron ball attached to a chain?"_ she questioned herself as the ball flew back into the forestry.

"Damn it, I would have thought that my spot on aim would have got you." Ginta's voice rang out from the trees as he made his way out of the forest.

"AH! Ginta! What have I told you!" said another voice, surprising Sona, "We gentlemen don't curse in front of the ladies!"

"Oh yeah, sorry about that." said Ginta.

Sona looked to see that Ginta was now holding something in his hands. _'Is that…is that a kendama? And did it just talk?'_ she said as she prepared for another fight.

"I guess my weapon has caught your attention." smirked Ginta as he held up his weapon, "Presenting to you, the best Sacred Gear in the world: ARM Babbo!" the weapon Ginta was holding up was a giant metal kendama. In one hand, Ginta was holding a chain attached to the top of the iron ball. On the iron ball was, surprisingly to Sona, a face. The face had a long, thick cylindrical nose with a thick, dark mustache underneath. It had small black eyes with thick, dark eyebrows and a soul patch underneath its mouth. The chain was attached to a double-sided hammer, which had a cross design on its side. The handle was longer than most hammers, and a sharp point was protruding from the top of it.

"A Sacred Gear? That's impossible. You're a full-blooded devil. You shouldn't have a Sacred Gear." she said.

"Just know that I'm special." he smirked as stopped not too far from Sona.

"And we're gonna beat the snot out of ya!" shouted Babbo.

"Let's go!" shouted Ginta as he charged towards Sona.

Sona summoned a large magic circle in front of her and a barrage of water needles poised to kill shot towards Ginta. Creating a barrier to protect himself, Ginta continued his streak towards Sona.

"You won't get close enough to hit me." she said, morphing her seal into another one. Wolves made out of water shot out of the seal and headed towards the approaching Ginta with the mission to kill.

Ginta smirked as she recalled his barrier and threw Babbo's iron ball, crashing it into one of the wolves, which lost its form and showered the area with water. Gripping the hammer part of Babbo, Ginta used it to slam to the first wolf that finally made its way to him. Grabbing Babbo's chain, Ginta dodged the next wolf's attempt to tackle Ginta and wrapped the chain around its body. While stabbing another wolf in its head with the point on top Babbo's hammer, Ginta pulled the slack from the chain, which trapped the wolf that was wrapped in it. The pressure exerted on aqua wolf because of the tightness was enough to cause the wolf to implode.

"Babbo!" shouted Ginta.

"Got it!" the gear shouted as he retracted itself back to Ginta, the long chain magically becoming shorter again as Ginta grabbed the chain and used Babbo's head as a battering ram, swinging the chain in all directions and hitting all the wolves with the iron ball whenever they jumped at him

Ginta jumped in the air once all the wolves were destroyed and was headed straight for Sona with Babbo's hammer pulled back. Sona clicked her tongue on the top her mouth as she created another powerful barrier to block Ginta's attack as he smashed Babbo's hammer into it. Sona's eyes widened when spider-web cracks danced along the surface of her barrier, a testament of Ginta's strength.

"Babbo! Version 1 A!" commanded Ginta as he landed on the ground. In a quick display of magic, Babbo transformed into a gauntlet over Ginta's left hand with a metal ball at the end.

' _His Sacred Gear changed forms?!'_ thought Sona in shock as she watched Ginta uppercut her barrier with his gauntlet-enhanced hand. The strength of the blow easily broke through Sona's weakened barrier with the extra force pushing Sona off of her feet and on the ground.

Sona roughly slid against the ground as she held back a pain-filled scream. She ignored the pain rushing through her side as she created a swarm of water hawks. They rocketed towards Ginta, flying low to ground as the surrounded Ginta.

"Version 1 B!" shouted Ginta. The base of the gauntlet remained the same, but the metal ball at the end of Ginta's hand was replaced with a long dagger. "Come!" shouted Ginta as the hawks all shouted as locked in on their target.

Dodging one hawks' attempt at a dive bomb, he rolled on the ground and blocked another hawk, who's wings were as sharp as steel. Ginta dived underneath the bird and stabbed it in its stomach, the hawk's weak point, causing it to drop down onto the ground as a regular puddle of water.

Not losing focus, Ginta back flipped over a hawk that tried to attack his back, and cut through the hawk's body like it was nothing. Landing back on his feet, he ran towards a group of hawks that were all charging towards him with their sharpened wings gleaming from the sunlight beaming down upon them.

Sona, who was watching Ginta battle with her creations, created another magic circle in her hands. A massive amount of water collected together in front of her magic circle before a massive water serpent burst forward, its huge jaw wide open as it prepared to consume its prey.

Notice the approaching water serpent, Ginta sliced through another hawk as his wings grew from his back and he erupted off of the ground in a burst of speed. The serpent changed its trajectory and shot up with Ginta with some of the remaining hawks flying with the serpent.

"Let's move to Version 2, Babbo! Bubble Launcher!" shouted Ginta. In a flash of white light, Babbo's form changed again, now a small gun with multiple holes in the front. Suddenly, multiple purple bubbles that looked exactly like Babbo's face shot out of the various holes from Ginta's gun. The water serpent and hawks entered the field of bubbles. One of the hawks sliced through one of the bubbles, causing it to explode. A chain reaction occurred as one explosion caused another, creating a mass-scale explosion in the air. The powerful explosions destroyed the small hawks, but water serpent pushed through, erupting from out of the black cloud caused by the explosions and was in front of Ginta with its gigantic maw wide open, ready to consume the blonde boy.

"Back to Version 1 B! And make it big." commanded Ginta. The gauntlet with the dagger at the end appeared again on his hand, but dagger extended out three meters (almost ten feet) and held it over his head. "Slash!" he yelled as he flew down at the behemoth in front of him. With no fear, Ginta brought his extended dagger down on the water serpent, slicing it down the middle as he continued to travel down.

Sona pushed her glasses up as she commanded the split ends of her water serpent to move separately. Once Ginta had cut through the entire water snake, he turned back around to see both sides were now smaller serpents with minds on their own. The quick transition was something he wasn't ready for as both serpents crashed into his stomach. "Gaah!" he yelled as he plummeted down towards the ground.

" _ **Focus, Ginta!"**_ Babbo's voice rang through Ginta's mind, thanks to the telepathic connection the two shared. Gripping Babbo's form as it changed back to its original kendama form. Stretching his wings outward, Ginta saved himself from crashing into the ground as he sharply pulled himself up-now flying inches above the ground and blitzing towards Sona.

" _Freezing maiden that stands in front of the mirror…_ " chanted Sona as a white magic circle, double her size, appeared in front of her. She waited for Ginta as he increased his speed and morphing Babbo into his 'Version 1 A' form. Pulling back his arm, Ginta put all his strength into breaking through Sona's defensive barrier. However, he was shocked when his arm went through the seal like it was water. He couldn't stop himself as he continued through the seal.

Sona ducked down as Ginta's body past over her. She peered over her shoulder to see that Ginta's entire body was encased in ice. She sighed in relief as Ginta's body dropped in the ground as an ice sculpture. "I'm glad that worked. That's a new spell that I've been working on during the break and I'm glad that it worked so well." she said as she made her way towards Ginta's frozen figure, "You were full of surprises, but I came out the victory." she said she stretched out her hand at Ginta's body and summoned a magic circle, "I learned a lot in this battle. Thank you."

Before she could make the finishing move, a green blur dashed across the field and towards Sona. In an effort to protect herself, she summoned a multi-magic circle barrier to protect herself.

"Dynamic Entry!" was what she heard, following the sound of all of her barriers being destroyed. Pain filled her side as she was sent soaring from the force of whatever hit her. Her body hit the ground and rolled around a few times before she came to a halt. She gasped as both of her hands moved to her side as she quickly created a magic circle. A blob of glowing water stuck to her side as the healing waters started to tend to her side.

"Sorry, Sona," the Sitri heiress instantly recognized the voice to be Lee's. With a little trouble, Sona looked up to see that I was Lee, who was now standing beside Ginta's body, "but I can't allow you to get this retirement."

"S-shit…" she gasped as the pain from her side was enough to keep her from forming sentences.

"You're lucky. Those barriers you made weakened my kick, but it still had enough force to leave you incapacitated." said Lee, "But do not worry! I shall force your retirement right after I'm done with Ginta's!"

The sound of something sizzling alerted Lee to move. He jumped away from Ginta's body, which was glowing with a blue hue before all of the ice covering him broke. The boy gasped for breath as he stood back up, "Fuck that was scary!" he shouted, "You alright, Babbo?" he asked his partner.

"C-cc-c-ccc-col-llldd" stuttered his Sacred Gear with jittery teeth.

' _This isn't good…'_ Sona thought as both of the boys entered their individual fighting stances, _'This injury…I can't fight with my side hurting like this. I need to retreat. N-now…'_

"What the fuck, Lee?! You were going to knock me out while I couldn't move!?" shouted Ginta.

"Forgive me, but I had to. In order to win, I'm going to have to use underhanded tactics that I don't usually use. I have to throw away my honor so that I can survive." said Lee.

"I guess I can understand…" said Ginta, "But that was still a dick move." he said with a pout.

Suddenly, a powerful gale of wind rushed through the field. Both Lee and Ginta covered their eyes and withstood the power of the wind. The two waited for the wind to calm down, but it was only getting more powerful by the second. Their bodies were slowing getting pushed back as they tried to stand their guard.

"What's happening!?" Ginta shouted to Lee. Babbo wrapped his chain around Ginta's waist so that he wouldn't fly away, but his head was caught up with the wind and was flailing around behind Ginta.

"I don't know." screeched Lee as he kept this guard up.

' _This is my opportunity!'_ thought Sona as she unraveled her wings and flew in the direction of the strong winds, increasing her speed even though she was injured.

"Gotcha bitches!" shouted the familiar voice of Zephrydor as he landed on the ground, recalling his wings. He smirked as he saw both Lee and Ginta were trapped in his strong wind. "You think you could make all that noise and go unnoticed?" he said with a laugh.

"Shit…" growled out Ginta. He couldn't move from the strong winds. Even if he tried, the moment he would push off of the ground would be when he would be blown away.

"Seems like I've got two rats to take care of." said Zephrydor as he pulled out a small dagger, "I'll make this swift and clean. You won't feel a thing." he said as he walked over towards the trapped duo, walking through the strong winds as if they were just a small, insignificant breeze.

"We've gotta go!" shouted Lee, jumping up and letting the wind push him away. Ginta shortly followed Lee, wanting to get away from both Zephrydor and his winds.

Zephrydor only laughed at Lee and Ginta's attempt to flee, "You stupid's! Where ever I go, the wind follows!" he shouted as he summoned his own wings and flew after the two.

"Shit, he's following us!" shouted Ginta as they continued to fly away.

"And that strange wind is following him wherever he goes!" Babbo shouted as he continued flailing around.

"We need to find some type of cover to beat him!" shouted Lee.

Ginta pointed over towards the forest, "The trees can act as a barrier from his winds. We can take him out from there!"

The two nodded at each other, an unspoken truce between them as they swiftly changed directions, now headed into the forest. Zephrydor only laughed as he followed the two inside of the woody environment. "The trees won't help you! I can blow through these measly things like nothing!"

Lee and Ginta suddenly split up, confusing Zephrydor. They flew deeper into forest with no sense of direction until they disappeared from the Glasya-Labolas heir's sight.

"Running away like little pussies, eh?" said the boy, landing on the ground and pocketing his blade, "*Sigh* so uncool of you two, especially you, Lee. I'm used to you whooping ass, not running away with your tail between your ass! Highly disappointing…"

Zephrydor slowly walked on the forest floor, keeping his eye out for anything strange. Everything around him was quiet, but he knew that was nothing but a disguise. This was tournament based on survival and a 2-on-1 situation would be stupid to pass up, seeing as there weren't many people in the Devil Exams on the first place. He knew they would act on their advantage of him being by himself, but that was exactly what he wanted.

' _These little kids aren't ready to feel the power of the Glasya-Labolas Clan! I cut them to shreds once I find them!'_ he thought as a evil smirk slowly grew on his face.

After a while of no action, Zephrydor stopped walking, "This is really pathetic. I know you're out there! And if you're not gonna come to me…" he held out his hands as two, green magic circles appeared, "I'll force you to run out of your hiding spots!" he shouted as a barrage of visible wind blades shot out in all directions, tearing through the trees like they were wet paper.

Both Lee and Ginta were hiding behind trees above Zephrydor, but had to move in order to avoid the wind blades of death. Zephrydor caught the glint of Babbo's chain and focused his attention towards there, "I see you, little boy!" Zephyrdor yelled as focused his attention to Ginta.

' _Yosh! Now's the time to attack!'_ thought Lee as he avoided all of the wind blades in his direction. Flapping his wings, Lee dive bombed towards the ground before pulling up, flying inches above the ground and heading straight towards Zephyrdor's exposed back.

The blueish-green haired boy sensed a presence coming from behind him, "You can't fool me!" he shouted, summoning another gale of wind that pushed Lee back, "Got you! Stupid low-class devil!" he shouted as he pulled out his blade and shot after Lee.

Lee's back impacted against the trunk of one of the fallen trees. The strong winds trapped his body against the bark. He couldn't move as he watched Zephrydor close in on him with his dagger. "Die!"

However, the tall male was intercepted by Ginta, who had Babbo's 'Version 1 B: Dagger ARM' active. He blocked Zephrydor's attempt at forcing Lee to retire and kicked him away. "You good?" he asked his new teammate.

"YOSH! Ginta, you're amazing! Thank you!" shouted Lee. Even though he had it covered, he was still grateful for his new-found friend helping him out.

"Gahhh…Fucking peasant…how dare you scratch my fucking face!" Zephrdor yelled as he stood back up, "If that's how you want to play, then let's go!" he shouted as he created the same powerful gale of wind with one magic circle. In his other hand, he created another magic circle with a ball of fire hovering over it.

"Run!" shouted Babbo. Both of the boys listened to the talking kendama and ran away from Zephrydor. Zephrydor smirk was filled with bad intentions and he shot his powerful winds after the duo first before following it up with simple fire-based spell. However, from the added wind, the fire grew to massive proportions as the fire spread throughout the forest.

"Ahahahahaha!" Zephrydor laughed as he watched the destruction unfold around him, "You think you can actually beat me? A high-class devil born from the Glasya-Labolas Clan! All you two are is a pair of unknown devils! A boy born in a family of scientist and a reincarnated devil! Hahahaha!"

Ginta and Lee were finally a safe distance away from Zephrydor, but if they were to try and attack him, he would easily blow them away again-or he could kill him with the combination of his wind and fire spells. "Damn it, Lee! What are we going to do!?" _'I didn't want to show off everything this early into the tournament, but if we can't figure out a plan to defeat him, it seems like that's my only option if I want to get out of here alive!'_

Lee growled in rage, something he wasn't known for. He was actually starting to get angry. And it wasn't because he hasn't defeated their foe yet, but because of the nonsense Zephrydor was shouting. While he was a reincarnated devil, that didn't automatically make him weak. He had trained for situations like this ever since his master had saved him almost three years ago from a life he didn't want to live. A life without being able to use his legs…

Ginta looked over to his new partner when he felt a spike of killing intent from him. Lee's hair hung over his eyes as his energy continued to increase. "Lee? You alright?" he asked.

"Excuse me…" Lee muttered before disappearing in a burst of speed.

"Reveal yourselves! Don't you want to try and retire me!?" shouted Zephrydor, walking through the wreckage that he caused. His eyes narrowed when he saw a green blur headed right for him. "So now you wanna play bitch!?" he shouted as he sent another blast of wind and fire magic at Lee. Zephrydor lost sight of Lee within the explosion. "Heh. He was cool, but even he couldn't- GAAH!"

Lee had reappeared from behind Zephrydor and delivered a bone-shattering kick to Zephrydor's back. Zephrydor didn't even get the chance to realize what hit him as he was sent rocketing through all of the wreckage. His body broke through every obstacle in its path as he continued to suffer from his slip up, allowing his confidence and arrogance to underestimate Lee.

Zephrydor finally crashed into the ground, almost 10 meters outside of the forest, "GAcK! god DAMN IT!" he yelled out in pain as his body skidded to a stop. He groaned out in pain as he, surprisingly, stood back up, a testament to his durability and resilience, "You fucking piece of shit! How dare you-HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!"

Lee walked out of the forest with a scowl. "Shut up…" he growled.

"Did you just tell me to shut up!?" shouted Zephrydor with a river of blood pouring out of his mouth. He ripped his jacket and shirt off, revealing his chiseled chest. "That's it! I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT THIS DAMN TOURNAMENT ANYMORE!" He shouted as he ran up to Lee, who was standing still, like he wasn't worried about his approaching doom, "DIE!"

Landing not too far away from Lee, Zephrydor created a barrier around him before surrounding himself with both green and orange magic seals, "You can't dodge this from this range! It's over!"

"Gate of Opening…" whispered Lee before the explosion consumed him.

The explosion ripped through the earth and the nearby forest, leaving nothing untouched. The trees looked like dwarves compared to the size of the explosion as it burnt through the surrounding area. Ginta, who was a decent distance away from Zephrydor and Lee, hand to summon his wings and fly away as quick as possible because of the growing ball of fire that was quickly spreading with no sign of stopping.

"What in hell is this…" muttered Ginta as he flew above the explosion. Zephrydor's attack left the entire area singed. While the Forest Environment was the largest environment in the Rating Game dimension, a small portion of the thriving forest was gone-replaced by a significantly large black mark on the earth below him.

"Even though Lee retirement hasn't been announced, I don't know how he could survive something like this." mumbled Babbo as he took in the sight.

"I don't even see them down there." said Ginta, trying to find either Lee or Zephrydor.

"Wait! Over there!" shouted Babbo, motioning to a certain spot on the ground.

"Argh!" grunted Zephrydor as he landed on the ground, right outside of the blackened ground of that he caused.

' _That fucking cunt!'_ Zephrydor thought as he tried to push himself up, but he was too tired to even move, _'The bastard broke through my barrier, grabbed me, and fucking escaped the blast zone of the explosion!'_

Suddenly, two large objects drop on top of Zephrydor's arms, "AAAARRRHAAHHHH! AAAHHH! WHAT THE HELL!?" he screeched as he identified the heavy objects that trapped him. _'Are…are these weights?!'_

Floating high in the sky, directly over the struggling Zephrydor, was Lee. He had recalled his first gate because it wasn't necessary anymore. He had won.

Lee sighed as he quelled his anger. It wasn't like him to get angry, but the things that Zephrydor was saying angered him. He knew who he was and what he had to do to come this far.

Feeling the warm wind blow through his hair, Lee closed his eyes, stretched out his arms…..and recalled his wings…

"What the fuck are these things made out of!?" shouted Zephrydor as he tried to pry his arms free, but the insane pressure the weights were exerting on Zephrydor was too much for him. "Eh?" he said when he looked up to the sky. He saw something….something failing from the sky…

And it was descending right on top of him!

"No…No, no, NO NO NO NO! YOU CAN'T RETIRE ME! I NEED TO WIN! I NEED TO WIN!" he screamed out to Lee's approaching body. However, he cries fell on deaf ears as Lee continued his decent back to the ground.

"Oh shit…" muttered Ginta as he watched Lee's body rocket downwards, heading straight for Zephrydor.

"I am Zephrydor Glasya-Labolas, future heir of the Glasya-Labolas Clan! You can't do this!" he cried out as Lee continued to get closer and closer, "I need to win! I need to win this god damn tournament! I NEED TO WI-

He was cut off when both of Lee's feet landed straight into his stomach. Zephrydor's eyes rolled to the back of his head as his body was consumed by a blue light, before disappearing into nothingness.

" _Zephrydor Glasya-Labolas has retired, the first retirement of The Devil Exams."_ said the announcer as his voice was projected throughout the dimension.

 **Lilith Coliseum – Naruto's Suite**

"Hell yea!" Kisame jumped out his recliner and pumped his fist in the air when Lee forced Zephrydor's retirement, "The rookie got the first kill of the game!"

"That's it, Lee." Naruto said with a proud smile as he looked at his [Rook] on one of the many tv displays in the suite.

"Lee's amazing, nya!" Kuroka said happily as she applauded her junior's performance.

"Being the first person to force another's retirement is a good look for our Lee. I'd say he's on his way into winning this thing." Orochimaru said from with smirk.

"Support your friend." Anna said stoically as she slapped Yoh's cheek, who was still sleeping on her lap."

"Huh? Wha-Wait?...Oh, GO LEE! You can do it, bud!" rejoiced Yoh. He was slapped again by Anna when he tried to go back to sleep in her lap. The force of her slap plastered Yoh's body to the window overlooking the coliseum. The audience below was going crazy with Lee's victory, happy that they witnessed the first retirement of the tournament.

"Lee is very strong. He deserved the victory in this battle." Gabriel said with a smile.

"Seems like we should celebrate! Go get the alcohol!" Kisame demanded to some of the servants.

"Alcohol, nya!" clapped Kuroka.

"Nope. Bad Kuroka." said Naruto, chopping the top of Kuroka's head.

"Mou~ why not!" she cried as she rubbed her head.

"Your only 19. That means you're under aged." said Naruto.

"He's right, Kuroka." said Gabriel, "We have to drink responsibly and follow the laws-

"What a second…we're devils! We don't listen to rules! Get the alcohol!" said Naruto.

"Yaayyy!" clapped a happy Nekoshou.

 **Rating Game Dimension – Grassland Environment**

Lee stepped out of the small dent in the ground where Zephrydor's once was. An explosion of happiness erupted from the [Rook]'s as he jumped in the air. "I DID IT!"

"Lee, you're fucking awesome!" shouted Ginta, flying over to Lee, "That was insane! You looked like a whole savage!"

"Yes! Yes I did! Savage Rock Lee takes care of everything!" Lee said, flashing his pearly whites and posing with a thumbs up.

"Why didn't you do that earlier though?" asked Ginta, "That would have saved us a lot of time and energy."

"Oh, I didn't really want to use my Eight Gates causes they do take up a lot of stamina…even though I've trained enough to handle the strain. I just wanted to use it when I was in a situation that called for it." said Lee as he lowered himself back to the ground with Ginta and Babbo following.

"I guess. I was going to do something similar, but I'm glad you handled it." said Ginta with a shrug.

"You were very impressive, Lee." complimented Babbo.

"Thank you, talking metal thing!" said Lee with a smile as he slipped on his weights.

That pissed off the talking kendama as he screeched at Lee, "How dare you! I am Babbo- the ultimate gentleman! Remember the name, do you hear me?!"

"Sure thing, Mr. Babbo!" Lee replied as he finished strapping his weights around his ankles.

"So what now? I'd hate to have to fight you, Lee." said Ginta.

"I say we go our separate ways. I don't want to fight you either, so let's just leave now." suggested Lee.

"Alrighty then. Sounds good." said Ginta as he called forth his devil wings, "I'll see you again soon, Lee. Stay alive until then so I can be the one to battle you. And I'll win!" he said with determination.

"Haha! I'll see you then. And as my friend Kisame would say: 'In your fucking dreams you fucking piece of shit!' So long!" Lee said with a wave as he flew off, leaving a highly confused Ginta and Babbo.

 **Lilith Coliseum – Naruto's Suite**

"Hehehe…" chuckled Kisame, "I'm teaching the boy right."

 **Timeskip – Night Time**

 **Rating Game Dimension – Swamp Environment**

Rias sighed as she finished healing herself. The cut Suigetsu made had really gone in deep, but she wanted to make sure she was as far away from Suigetsu as possible. She few through all types of vines and ran through the water in a panic just to get away from Suigetsu. After all of that running, she had finally returned to the spot that she first started at- the small island in a pond of murky swamp water.

She glanced up, through the part in the trees directly above her, and to the night sky, "Time is really passing by…it's already night time…." she muttered.

She yawned as she lied on her back, "So far…I haven't really done anything. Someone's already on role when they caused Zephrydor's retirement…probably Sairaorg or Sona. They're strong enough to defeat him…" she said with a mumble.

She sighed again and rolled over to her side, "At least I'm not the first person out in the tournament, but I was damn close. If Suigetsu were paying attention, I would have never hit him with that lightning spell I created before he hit me…."

Rias closed her eyes as she tried to force herself to go to sleep, but all the sounds of animals screeching made it very hard task to do. She grunted as she stood up, "Shut up! Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep!" she shouted in a fit of rage. The swamp was quiet for a few seconds, before all the animals continued making noise, causing her to sigh in defeat. "I need get out of here…this place is depressing…..and smells…"

The sound of an alarm caused her to sit up, _"Hello participants. It is now 10 p.m., meaning that we will now commence our food delivery. While you are eating, we have an important announcement to make."_

A magic circle appeared beside Rias. A medium-sized bento box appeared along with two bottles of water. Rias' mouth watered and her stomach grumbled at the sight. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was as she jumped at the bento and popped it open.

While she was eating, the announcer continued, _"For the night, we have something special planned. We already had a form of protection set for everyone during the night, however, because of the lack of retirements, we've adding an extra 'factor' that we're hoping will cause many of you to gather in one place."_

"Form of protection? Extra factor?" Rias mumbled while eating her food.

" _First the protection that we all had planned for you all before the tournament started. During the night, some of you will be sleeping, which would be the perfect time to attack. In order to avoid this, we've set up cabins for each of you within the dimension. The cabin is for your own use and will have a protective barrier set around it. This barrier will only allow you to bypass and it will protect you through the night so that you, the participants, can rest peacefully and recover your energy to use the next day."_

' _So they want us to be full of energy when we're trying to rip each other's heads off.'_ she thought with a roll of her eyes.

" _A map will be appearing in front you with the location of your cabin."_ said the announcer. Sure enough, a map came from a magic seal above Rias and floated into her hands. She quickly located where her cabin's location was based. A cabin where she could be protected over the nigh was exactly what she needed.

"The Mountain Environment…" she mumbled. Based off of the map, the mountain environment wasn't that far off. The only things separating the mountains from where she was now was the Forest and Marsh Environment.

" _If you have taken the time to find your cabin, I shall now explain the 'extra' factor that we've just created to increase the fighting."_ said the announcer, catching Rias' attention, _"Since you are all alone, you don't have anyone to heal you. Also, none of the participants were allowed to bring any healing items with you. However, we have a way for everyone to receive one Phenex Tear if you follow our instructions."_

"A Phenex Tear!" shouted Rias in shock. A Phenex Tear would help her immensely! Because of her battle with Suigetsu, and that she had to heal her own injuries, her magical reserves were cut in half. While she would recover it over the night, she knew that if she were to continue this tournament, she was going to need that Phenex Tear so she could be at maximum power in an instant.

" _In order for you to receive a Phenex Tear, you must first make it to your cabin. Passing through the barrier will register that you've made it to your cabin. The second qualification needed to receive a Phenex Tear…is that you must leave your cabin and head towards the middle of the dimension- the Rainforest Environment!"_

"And that's where they want all the fighting to occur…" mumbled Rias as she continued listening.

" _If you make it to the Rainforest Environment, your Phenex Tear will be sitting on a pedestal with the same protective barrier as your cabin. This means that nobody else can steal your Phenex Tear. However, if you do decide to leave your cabin and pursue your own Phenex Tear…_

" _Then, for three hours, you cannot re-enter you're cabin! You must fend for yourself in the night until your time limit expires. When it does, you may re-enter your cabin's protective barrier until morning!"_

"Shit…" said Rias, gripping her fist together. She NEEDED that Phenex Tear. It would increase her chances of survival for sure. "But the terms to get it…" she muttered.

" _There is one more thing."_ the announcer's voice pulled Rias from her mussing, _"If you do decide to leave your cabin, your name will be projected in the dimension's sky, notifying the rest of the participants on who is out hunting for a Phenex Tear. You're cabins are set in their given locations. It's for you to decide whether or not a Phenex Tear is worth three hours of no protection."_ the announcer finished.

' _This….this is big.'_ thought Rias, _'I could just stay at the cabin…that'll get me out of this god-forsaken swamp…but I need that Phenex Tear. The way I am now, it's impossible for me to win against someone like Lee or Sairaorg. That Phenex Tear could be the game changer that I need!'_

Stuffing the map into her pocket, Rias flew through the gap in the trees, now hovering over the swamp. _'Nobody seems to be near me…'_ she thought as she checked the surrounding area.

Her attention was pulled to the sky when a name appeared. Her eyes widened as she read the large white letters in the air. The letters were so big in the sky that somebody could see it from any side of the dimension.

Rias' body shook as she read "Dosu….Kinuta…"

' _This tournament…is the worst possible thing that could happen to you.'_

Dosu's voice rang throughout Rias' mind. He said that to her twenty days ago when they finished the meeting with the Satans and devil council. He thought that she was weak- that she couldn't defend herself!

Rias grit her teeth as a flame of determination erupted in her heart. "This tournament…" she said as she started to fly towards the direction of her cabin…

"Is the BEST possible thing that could happen to me!"

… **.**

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 **WHHEEEWWWWW! God dawg that's a lot of typing in one week!**

 **Over 21,500 words to be exact! (well, an exact estimate, but you get the point)**

 **Shit this week has been stressful! I've been planning up different scenario's to happen during the Devil Games and I feel like this was a very strong chapter. Ya got two good fighting scenes going on and we all get to enjoy Rias' character development! And who doesn't love some good ole Rias character development?**

 **Rias haters! That's who! (I used to love evil Rias stories tho… loved that shit)**

 **But yeah, hell shit went on in this chapter. I'm not going to talk about it all though because my fucking brain hurts. It's twelve o' clock in the morning right now…I just finished watching this new Pokémon movie on Disney. That 'Power of Us' movie. It was pretty good. Because of it, I like Sudowoodo more as a Pokémon now, so there's that.**

 **Yo…my brain really fucking hurts…and I have church in the morning…I love me some Jesus, but I might just tell my ma I'm suffering a migraine or I'm afraid my head will explode or sum shit, I don't know.**

 **I really do hope you all like how the Devil Exam is going. Comment on how you want things to turn out now that you have a good depiction of what's going on. Who do you want to win? Should we get some more Lee action? Do you want me to focus on another character?**

 **If you want any of those- REVIEW YA ASSES OFF!**

 **I swear, I love reading reviews. It just gives me a lot of motivation reading from all of you. The reason why I continue to update this story is to read those amazing reviews. I really do look forward to it, so leave me some good ones!**

 **Man my brain hurts. I've been thinking too hard-which I shouldn't be doing cause I'm still on my BREAK! I'm sick of feeling like I'm still at school when I'm in my bed typing this!**

 **Oh-one other thing. So, for like…a lot of these chapters, every time I update the story, Fanfiction throws on an extra hundred words or so to the word count. Don't know why, (I'm currently at 22,040) but I just wanted to throw that out there. if anyone knows what's happening, hit me up.**

 **Shit….I love you guys….just know that…**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

 **…..**

 **….**

 **….**

 **…..**

 **Hey guys! I'm back!**

 **Just got through reading through the whole thing...ya know...actually looking for grammar errors for once! Check out ya boy! Out here being educational and shit!**

 **My brain doesn't hurt anymore (thank god) and I went to church, so that's good. Watching Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Lakers while I'm about to update the chapter...please god, let us keep the lead and win...**

 **But yea, please review on who you think should win and if you like the layout I have for the Devil Exams. Who do you think should win? What battles do you want to see? Reviewing is the best way to for me to format the story so that a majority of my readers are happy, so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

 **But yea, that's it for me (for real this time, ya diggggg?)**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should...**


	21. TheDevilExamsPart2

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, who finally got a haircut after not having one for bout a month. I swear my fade was all fucked up. Thank god I haven't been going out a lot lately cause then people would have been making fun of me….**

 **The last chapter, from what you all have told me, was pretty good. Everyone is on Team Lee right now, in which you should be. Lee is an underrated character in the Naruto universe and I'm glad I'm giving him the spotlight here in BreakThrough. It's even better that you all enjoy Lee's character.**

 **As for the Devil Exams, a lot of comparisons were made between it, the Chunin Exams, and the Hunger Games. Of course, I wanted to take some of the elements from the Chunin Exams, because it is mirroring them (this is a Naruto x Highschool Dxd crossover after all) and some elements from the Hunger Games cuz-why not? It's the Hunger Games**

 **Which reminds me…..i haven't seen the third or fourth Hunger Game movie…..eh, probably wasn't as good as the first two anyway…**

 **However, I do have to give some props to a story here on FanFiction that gave me the idea of the cabin situation. While I did do my own little spin on it, the cabin idea was not my original idea.**

 **Shout out to JungJaco, author of 'Tournament of Kings'. I studied that 12 chapter story for a while, taking note of what JungJaco did and manipulating it into my own design. While it is an incomplete story that hasn't been updated in over two years, it's still a good read and I do recommend everyone reading this chapter to go give it a look. That's 'Tournament of Kings' by JungJaco. It's a pure Highschool Dxd story with no crossover stories. Very good read.**

 **As of now, people are still split on who should win the Devil Exams, which is great for me cuz no matter who I decide on to win the Devil Exams, not everyone will be coming for my neck!**

 **Expect a lot of action in this chapter. I don't know if the Devil Exams will end in this chapter; it all depends on how much I feel like typing and any new ideas popping up in my head. I manly right my stories on the fly, so even I hardly know what could happen.**

 **Shout out to everyone favoriting, following, and reviewing the story. The best way for me to know your thoughts about the story is to review- SO REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

 **I'm telling ya, the more y'all review, the more motivated I am to keep this story up.**

 **This will be final chapter I put out before heading to college. Let's see...its Wednesday, January 16, and I move in on Sunday, the 20** **th** **….hopefully I can type around 18k words in about three days….hopefully I don't get distra- oh look! Soulja Boy has an interview on the Breakfast Club! Let me go check that out real quick….**

 **(I'm probably not going to make my deadline. Enjoy the chapter)**

 **BreakThrough**

 **DevilExamsPart2**

 **Night Time**

 **Lilith Coliseum – Naruto's Suite**

"Hmm…Seems like the coliseum is closing for the day…" muttered Hao. He was standing in front of the window and was looking down at all the devils that had stayed for this long. They were all heading out to for the exits since the projection of the Devil Exams was cut. "Time to head back home.

"At least we don't have to cook for ourselves. They feed us well here." said Naruto with a chuckle. Both Gabriel and Kuroka had gone to sleep on Naruto, with Gabriel sleeping on his right shoulder and Kuroka resting her head in his lap. "I don't wanna wake these two up though…"

"Tell them to get they asses up before they kick us out!" said Kisame as he stood up from his recliner a stretched out, "Damn, today was a good day…ate hella food and watched the rookie put in work."

"Lee's doing very well in the tournament. So far, nobody else has forced a retirement except for him. I pray that he stays in his cabin for the night. He doesn't have any reason to risk it all and go try to get his own Phenex Tear." said Orochimaru. He was sitting on the couch to the right of Naruto's, "He needs to rest up."

"Knowing him, he'd probably go check out the Rainforest Environment just to see what's going on." said Yoh with a yawn, "If I were him, I'd sleep in that cabin until the time ran out."

"Of course you would. You're lazy." muttered Anna.

"So true…so true…" Yoh said with another yawn.

"Yo…Gabriel...I gotta get up…" whispered Naruto to his seraph friend as he hesitantly wiggled his shoulders, not wanting to cause too much discomfort. Gabriel whimpered a little in her sleep before slowing opening her eyes with a yawn, "Wa...what's going on?" she asked.

"The exam is over for the day…or at least, they're over for us." said Naruto, "It's time to go."

"Oh…" she said with another yawn while stretching out her arms, "Before you go, I want you to meet somebody, Naruto."

"Really?" said a curious Bael, "Who?"

"My brother, Michael, leader of the Angles." she said with a smile as she stood up from the couch, "I know you saw him during the Three Factions Meeting, but I don't think that you two have formally met."

"Uhh..sure." he said with a shrug as he carefully lifted Kuroka's head and scooted from under her. After making sure his [Queen] was comfortable, he stood up and grabbed Gabriel's outstretched hand. "Lead the way."

Kisame chucked as he watched the duo leave the room, "So he's meeting her brother? Ha! I didn't know they were so involved with each other."

"And it's real obvious that they like each other." said Yoh with shrug. He frowned when he glanced over to the napping Kuroka. "I feel bad for Kuroka though. It must suck for her to see all of that when she loves Naruto-sama…"

"Who knows? Maybe he'll nab 'em both!" laughed Kisame, "There ain't anything stopping him from doing that."

"I don't think our master is the type of person to have a harem." said Hao, "He's too distrustful to love so many people at once."

"ShIIIIIEEEEEEEEETTTTT, I don't know what's wrong with him then." said Kisame, "I don't plan on falling in love or anything, but multiple females following me around like I'm god? Oh yea, that sounds like the life."

Suddenly, Anna randomly slapped Yoh. He yipped in pain as he quickly jumped away from his fiancée with a hand covering his burning cheek. "What the hell was that for!?"

"Just in case you were ever thinking about starting a harem." she said with a growl, "You're mine."

Hao laughed at his brother and soon to be sister-in-law, "One of the many reasons why I approve of you, Anna."

In the hallway, Gabriel was walking down the hallway with Naruto. They were still holding hands, but they were walking side-by-side now at a slower pace.

Naruto glanced at Gabriel, noticing the small, barely noticeable blush on her face. He chuckled a little, causing her to turn to him, "What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing…you're just cute to me." he said with another chuckle.

The blush on Gabriel's face expanded a hundred times over as her face was now as red as a tomato, "I-I-I'm cc-c-c-cu-cute?" she stuttered.

"You are…and I like that." Naruto answered.

"Oh…thank you." she said while turning away from Naruto. He laughed again he tightened his grip around her hand. She looked down at their hands and smiled a little as a wave of happiness washed throughout her body as she walked with a little extra pep in her step.

Before they could make it to the suite Michael was in, a door to another suite opened, revealing a tall, middle-aged looking man with black hair and violet eyes. He was suited in noble attire and was exuding a strong aura of dignity. "Time to head out. This was pretty interesting." he said to himself before noticing Naruto and Gabriel, "Ho hoh? Is that who I think it is?" said the man, stepping towards the duo, "You are Naruto Bael, correct?"

"Yes, yes I am." said Naruto, "And you are?"

"Oh forgive me. My name is Zekram Bael." Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the name, "I was the first head of our clan, but now I'm retired."

"Forgive me for not recognizing who you were, Bael-sama." said Naruto with a respectful bow.

"Just call me, Zekram!" the man said with a hearty laugh, "And who is this lovely lady here?"

"This is Gabriel, one of the Seraphs of Heaven and really good friend of mines." he said with a true smile, "Trustworthy."

Gabriel beamed happily at Naruto complement while stretching a hand out to Zekram, "Nice to meet you, Zekram Bael."

"And you as well." said Zekram, shaking her hand, "I recognize you, Naruto, from your name being all over the place. Every time I turn on my TV, I see something about you and your unique peerage. You're doing well since your return and I just wanted to let you know that I'm a fan."

"If the First Generation Bael recognizes me, then I must be doing something right." Naruto said with a cheeky grin, "Thanks for that! It really means a lot."

"No problem." said the first Great King, "You're [Rook], Rock Lee, is doing great so far. He's very entertaining and I'm rooting for him as well."

"I've been working with Lee for a sometime now. He's ready for any challenge, so this tournament will really put him in the spot light, something I'm happy about. He deserves it." said Naruto.

"Lee is a funny person." said Gabriel with a giggle, "I like how he's being himself during the tournament while entertaining everyone. I'm sure he will win a spot in the 'Rookie Four.'"

"I hope so. It would really shock some of those high-class knuckle heads if he retires some more high-classed youths and wins it all." said Zekram, "Whelp, I have somewhere I need to be, but you two enjoy the rest of your night…and Naruto….let's talk sometime."

"Yes sir. Good night, Zekram-sama." said Naruto with a bow.

"Good night. Hope to see you tomorrow for the rest of the tournament." Gabriel said with another beaming smile as the two groups walked in different directions. However, Gabriel and Naruto didn't see the frown Zekram had on his face when he looked back at the two, specifically, their conjoined hands. He sighed as he continued his walk down the hallway. "I've gotta talk to him now…"

Meanwhile, after the two were farther down the hallway, Naruto quickly started to panic, "Holy shit! I hope I looked good enough? Was my hair alright? Is there something in my teeth!? Oh Lucifer, I hope there isn't something in my teeth. I just ate some spinach so I hope-

"Naruto! What's wrong?" asked Gabriel, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The blonde Bael sighed as he calmed himself, "It's just that….Zekram…I used to love that guy. I used to have posters of him on my wall as a kid. He was super cool to me."

Gabriel's face softened, "And that was your first time meeting your idol…" she said with a whisper.

"Yeah…that was a cool moment to have." he said with a smile, "Let's move off of that. We're supposed to be meeting your brother, right?"

"Right!" she said with a jolly smile, "Come on! They're this way!"

After leading Naruto down the hall, the duo stood in front of a large door, leading to probably the largest suite in the coliseum. Gabriel knocked on the door a few times and waited for someone to open the door. After a while, the door was opened by a familiar Satan. "Ah, Gabriel...and Naruto!" said the green-haired Satan.

"Yo! Ajuka! I haven't seen you in a while." said the blonde as he gave the Satan a hand shake, "You look well."

"And you look great man! I haven't seen you in so long!" he said happily.

"Yup, yup, yup! Sorry about that! Some stuff happened and I had to go away for a while." said Naruto with a grin.

"Yeah, I know." he replied, surprising Naruto. Before the Bael could ask what he meant by that, Ajuka continued, "You two come in. I'm sure everyone would love to meet you, Naruto."

He nodded and followed Gabriel inside. The room itself looked like a control room. There were devils sitting on top of a massive magic circle and a few sitting at tables, operating computers. Naruto noticed that the devils working the computers were operating the cameras inside of the Rating Game dimension, which must mean the devils inside of the magic circle were the ones keeping the dimension stable and safe from the Dimension Gap.

In the back of the room was a group of people. The Four Satans, Azazel, Michael, and a few others were sitting in various couches as they watched what was going on inside of the Rating Game dimension by all of the projections on the wall. There were tons of camera angles around each competitor inside the dimension.

Ajuka walked over to the group and introduced them, "For those who may not know, this is Gabriel, Michael's sister, and Naruto Bael, a high-class devil here in the Underworld."

"Oh, so this is the man my sister has been talking about recently." said Michael, standing from his chair and approaching the two, "While I saw you during the Three Faction Meeting, I know that we haven't formally met. My name is Michael, leader of the Angels."

"And I am Naruto Bael, leader of badassery and awesomeness." he said with as laugh as he shook Michael's hand.

"Gabriel speaks very highly of you." he said.

Gabriel blushed and turned away from the two, "We-well, Naru's a n-nice person and I appreciate him." she said with a cute stutter.

"Aww, that's so nice of you." he said with a devious smirk, causing her to blush even more.

"I do appreciate you for handling her. Gabriel told me of the times you two had traveling around the world a few years ago. She had been complaining of being bored for a while, so I'm glad she had a friend to sight see with." said Michael.

"It was a nice time and I had fun with her." said Naruto, "Hopefully we can do that again in the future."

Michael nodded and sat back down. Ajuka stepped up beside Naruto, "I'm sure your remember Falbium? He wasn't at the Three Factions Meeting so he was also mad that he missed out on you."

"How can I forget about the big war machine!" said Naruto, moving over towards Falbium and hugging the oversized man, "What's going on, bro! Haven't seen ya in a while!"

"Hello, Naruto." Falbium said with a chuckle, "It has been a while…"

Serafall, who was sitting next to Sirzechs, bit her bottom lip in contemplation. She didn't want to ruin the mood in the room by speaking to Naruto, but she did want to talk to him. She decided that she would just say hello and see where that would take her. "Hello, Naruto." she said with a small smile.

Naruto, who was currently rubbing Falbium's bald head (to the Satan's annoyance), glanced over to his past lover. Their eyes met for a while and Serafall shivered a little. She could easily get lost in his eyes. It was one of the many reasons why she fell in love with him years ago. He didn't even glare at her, which gave her a spark of hope that maybe…just maybe…she could be forgiven.

Naruto smiled at Serafall, "Hello, Leviathan-sama."

' _Le-leviathan-sama!'_ thought a shocked Serafall, but she didn't show her true emotions on the outside. She just simply smiled and nodded at him, but she was mentally shocked at how he addressed her, ' _Why would he call me Leviathan-sama! What happened to just regular Serafall or Sera!?'_

Letting Falbium go, Naruto continued to talk to everyone in the room, including Azazel, Baraqiel, and even Odin, former leader of the Norse mythology. The two hit it off quickly as they introduced themselves to each other. They even started a small conversation about the Devil Exams and their predications on who would win.

"You're a very cocky person, Naruto." laughed Odin, "You're very confident in the fact that your [Rook] will, in fact, be a part of the Final Four and chosen to be one of the 'Rookie Four?'"

"But of course." said Naruto, "Lee is more than competent to fight among the high-class devil youth, seeing as he does have the first retirement in the game, which was a high-class devil. He won't have a problem." he said with a dismissing wave.

"I'll hold you to it then." said Odin as the continued on to a different topic.

 **A few minutes later…**

Naruto entered his suite while whistling a tune. He had met up with everyone before leaving to meet up with peerage back at his suite. Gabriel had gave him a long hug before he left and said that she would be back to watch the rest of the tournament with him tomorrow, something he was looking forward to.

Kisame was the first to notice that Naruto had arrived, "So how was it officially meeting the leader of the Angels. I'm sure he was trying to pray over you and shit like that."

"Naw, none of that. It was just casual talk…met some interesting people while I was there." he said with a closed-eye smile.

"Well then, we should be on our way back home." said Orochimaru, creating a magic circle for everyone.

"Actually, you all go ahead." he said, "I need to speak with Kuroka for a quick second."

"With me, nya?" asked Kuroka, who had woke up while Naruto was gone.

"Yeah, you guys go on ahead. We won't be long." said Naruto.

"Alright." said Yoh, although he was a little suspicious of what the two could be talking about. Nevertheless, everyone other than Naruto and Kuroka teleported back to their home in the Bael Territory.

"What's up, Naruto?" asked Kuroka with a cute head tilt as Naruto sat next to her. Her left eyebrow rose when she felt the tense atmosphere around her long time friend, which confused her. Did something bad happen while he was gone meeting with the others? "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

Naruto was glaring a little at the window facing the arena and was quiet for while-as if he were debating on what he was going to say. After a couple of tense seconds of silence, the blonde Bael finally spoke, "That boy….I remember him…"

"Who?" asked the cat girl.

"Ginta."

Kuroka's cat ears slowly slumped on her head as she felt a sharp pain in her heart, "Oh…Ginta…"

"That is him, isn't it?" he said, glancing at his [Queen] with a heated stare.

Kuroka internally flinched at the pressure exerted on her from his stare, "…yeah…" she muttered.

Naruto clicked his tongue and rolled his shoulders, "I thoughts so."

In an act of desperation, Kuroka scooted closer to her [King] and grabbed his arm, "You know I would never betray you again, Naruto. I realize my mistake from back then I will never even think about doing that again. I was just young and stupid...and I thought I could make some decisions for myself. I should have accepted your proposition as your [Queen] long before I did. I'm sorry for any type of pain I put your through." she finished with tears gathering in her eyes.

Naruto didn't respond to her pleas of forgiveness, which increased the pain in her heart. He continued to look out the window, seemingly finding the empty seats of the coliseum more interesting than what Kuroka was saying. The Nekoshou placed her cheek against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist and waited. The silence in the room was killing her as her tears fell from her face and onto his shoulder. "I will never do anything like that again…"

"Let's go." he said abruptly, surprising his [Queen]. Naruto unwrapped Kuroka's arms from around him and stood up, creating a magic circle beneath him.

"Naruto…please…" she whispered, reaching out to him.

"If you don't come with me, I will leave you." he answered stoically, not even looking back at his [Queen].

Kuroka dropped her head in shame as she stood up from the couch. She stepped behind Naruto and disappeared with him, the pain in her heart only increasing.

 **Rating Game Dimension: Rainforest Environment – Night Time**

Rias shuffled through some bushes until she found a spot where she could see everything from. After going to her cabin located in the Mountain Environment, she quickly made her way over to the Rainforest Environment to retrieve her own Phenex Tear. While on her way to the Rainforest Environment, she saw that there were more names up in the sky, meaning that her chances of fighting her way out of the environment increased. So far there were four names in the sky other than herself: Dosu Kinuta, Sona Sitri, Seekvaira Agares…and Issei Hyoudou.

Rias was hiding in the bushes with a clear view of the Phenex Tears. In the middle of a large, circular clearing in the forest, were five pedestals with different colored barriers protecting the Phenex Tears from anyone other than who they were meant for. Everyone's names were plastered on the front of each pedestal as well, notifying which Phenex Tear belonged to each participant.

' _I don't see anyone else around…'_ thought Rias, scanning the area from her hiding spot, _"And all the Phenex Tears are still there, meaning no one has come to take them yet. They're probably waiting for the right moment to nab their own.'_ she concluded.

She did notice that there were a few small breaks in the ground and marks on trees, meaning that there had to be fight, _'Judging that there hasn't been any Phenex Tears taken yet, those marks are probably from a fight earlier on today…meaning it should be safe to just test the waters a little…'_

She took in a deep breath as she stared at the pedestal with her name on it. It was the pedestal to the far right, standing next to Seekvaira's. _'Alright, Rias. You can do this,'_ she said as she summoned her wings, _'All you have to do is-_

"Dead."

Rias felt like her heart burst from shock as she felt a hand on her back. Her eyes went wide as she felt a palm against her back. Her body quivered in fear, but she was too scared to turn and look to see who was behind her.

"You know, you made this really easy, Gremory." said Dosu. He was crouching behind Rias with his right hand placed on the middle of her back. "Who would have thought that you would leave yourself wide open for someone like me to force your retirement." he said with a dark chuckle.

"…..please…don't…" Rias managed to get out. She slowly turned her head around to see that it was, in fact, Dosu who had her cornered. His lone eye gave her the chills and she couldn't even think of a way to escape from his grasp.

Dosu chuckled, "Scary little Gremory. Who would have thought that you could be the answer to my problems." he said, surprising the girl.

"Your…problems?" she asked.

"You see those small craters and dents on the ground?" he said, mentioning the same marks she saw a few seconds prior, "I've tried to get my Phenex Tear a few times, but apparently there's somebody out there who's stopping me every time I go to retrieve it. I've tried to come up with some other way to get around them, but that opportunity hasn't presented itself yet."

"So…you're asking for my help?" Rias asked.

"Just this once." he said with a small glare, "Even though it's killing me on the inside asking help from a Gremory, I'm going to need a distraction so that I can get my Phenex Tear. So either you help me and you may live, or I just kill you now and send you home. You're choice." he said with a shrug.

She growled at the one-eyed mummy, but she knew had to get her Phenex Tear. "Sure…since you put it that way."

"Good girl." he said with an eye-smile, which didn't fit with the tension between them, "Now let me inform you of what's going on. Every time I would run out there to get my Phenex Tear, something from above would fall on top or around me. You can't see him from here because of the angle we're at and with the trees blocking our vision, but it's Deidara who's dropping these 'bombs' on me."

"If he's out here, why isn't his name projected in the sky?" she asked.

"There's a loop-hole around the rules." stated Dosu, "You're name won't be projected in the sky if you don't leave your cabin. Notice that he doesn't have a pedestal with a Phenex Tear on it. It's because he never went to his cabin. He came here to ambush those that wanted their own Phenex Tear." he explained.

"And what do you want me to do?" she said with a harsh whisper.

"Simple: go out there first, distract him, and then I run out and get my Phenex Tear. Then I'll watch your back and let you get yours." he said simply like they were talking about the weather.

"Oh, like I can trust you to have my back!" she said.

"You can't trust me…but what choice do you have?" he said, tilting his head sideways, "Again, it's either you die here, die out there, or listen to my instructions and you maybe get away with a Phenex Tear in your hands. Your. Choice."

The Gremory heiress contemplated on his words while staring out at the clearing. She couldn't see anybody…and she couldn't sense anyone either…maybe Deidara left after a while of waiting? She sighed, "Fine…but once I have my Phenex Tear, this small 'alliance' we have is over. Got it?"

"I am a man of my word." nodded Dosu, agreeing with her, "Just make sure you do as instructed and we get out of here with Phenex Tears in hand…you do have survive out here for three hours, but that's your problem and not mine. You ready?"

"Yeah." she said, calling upon her magic and stretching out her wings, "Let's do this."

In burst of speed, Rias flew from her hiding spot and towards the pedestals. Her senses quickly alerted her of something coming down on her from above and created a multi-barrier to stop the blow. Her eyes widened when a huge explosion destroyed many of her barriers. "Shit…" she grunted as she restored her barriers by flooding them with more magic.

Dosu, taking action, quickly ran through the clearing with impressive speeds. Rias flew next to him and protected him from another bomb that exploded on contact with her barriers.

"Almost there!" shouted Dosu as he stretched his hand out to his Phenex Tear, which was sitting on the middle pedestal. His hand past through the barrier and was about was about to grab hold of his Phenex Tear, but suddenly the area around them was surrounded by a green barrier. Both Rias and Dosu's were moving in slow motion as the magic from the barrier took its effect. _'What's going on?'_ thought Dosu as he was inches away from his prize.

Seekvaira stepped out of the forestry with a green hue surrounding her body, "I've been waiting for a while for someone to distract that man up there so I could activate my barrier. It took a while to set up, but now I can retrieve of my Phenex Tear safely."

"Hey, what the fuck!" shouted a voice from above. It was Deidara, who flying atop of a grey bird. He was flying over the barrier, so he wasn't affect by Seekvaira's time magic, but his bombs were moving slower as they entered the barrier. "Why is everything moving so slowly, hmmm?"

"Because of my time magic, which is my clan's specialty, I can do things like this." she said casually as she walked over to her pedestal and grabbed her Phenex Tear. She then glanced over to Dosu, who's hand was already through his barrier, which had now dissipated, and was about to grab his Phenex Tear.

"Well then…since the opportunity has presented itself, I'll be taking that with me." she said, snatching his Phenex Tear for herself, "Thank you very much. I'm sure my partner will appreciate this once I find them." she said as she summoned her wings and took off into the forest.

"Well ain't that some shit…" said Deidara, watching Seekvaira take off in the forest, "That's some boss like shit, hmmm? But for these guys…" he smirked when he saw Seekvaira's barrier flicker a little before disappearing all together. Dosu grunted when he hit the ground with no Phenex Tear in hand.

"THAT BITCH!" he shouted in anger, a veil of white magic surrounding him in response of his frustration.

"Hahaha! Don't get angry now!" shouted Deidara, dropping multiple bombs that were heading straight for the duo.

Dosu jumped in front of Rias and summoned a large, white magic circle. A piercing screeching sound filled the area, causing Rias to cover her ears in pain. All the bombs Deidara dropped exploded from the sound waves colliding into them. The sky was filled with fire, but Dosu kept the safe by amping up his sound waves.

"GET THE FUCKING TEAR!" he shouted at Rias. Acting quickly, Rias ran over to her pedestal and pocketed her Phenex Tear. The moment she did so, Dosu recalled his magic circle and darted into the forest, chasing after Seekvaira.

"That shit hurt!" said Deidara, rubbing his ears and hoping the ringing sound in his head would leave. He noticed that Dosu was gone and Rias was running out the clearing and after Dosu. "So they forgot about me, hmm?" said Deidara with a dark chuckle as he sunk his hands into both of his pouches.

Seekvaira was flying past all of the trees and vines in here path when she heard something coming from behind her. It was Dosu, burst through anything in his path, heading straight for the Agares heiress. "Seems like he's mad." said Seekvaira.

"Get back here you thieving bitch!" shouted Dosu, blowing through another tree with a sonic blast.

' _That's a weird ability to have…able to control sound waves.'_ Seekvaira thought while pushing her glasses up on her nose, _'However, if I keep my distance, I should be able to avoid him.'_

Meanwhile, Rias was following Dosu's path of destruction. She could see him in the distance but he was still a far was away from the mummy man. _'While I am taking a risk following him, Dosu is strong. If I can wait until both Seekvaira and Dosu tire themselves out, I'll take Seekvaira's Phenex Tear and retire them both!'_

Seekvaira continued her flight but was cut off by an explosion ripping through the trees in front of her. She had to create a circular barrier around her to avoid being hurt from the blast.

Dosu clicked his tongue in annoyance when he noticed that Deidara had followed them, "Annoyances everywhere." he mumbled to himself. He stopped running and waited for Seekvaira to reveal herself from the explosion.

"Did you all really think you could get away, hmm?!" shouted Deidara from above, "Leaving your cabins was probably the worst thing that could have happened for you! Now you have to deal with me all night!" he laughed.

"How disgraceful." said Seekvaira, recalling her barrier once all the smoke disappeared, "I would have thought that you were going to try to attack those other devils hiding in the forest, but you had to come and follow me-spoiling all of my plans."

"Please…" said Deidara from high up, "You think I would give up the chance to retire two heiress from prominent devil clans, hmmm?" asked Deidara with a smirk, "While I don't know where the other one went, retiring you two is something I can't pass up on. So do me a favor and bathe in the wonders of my art! Die!"

 **Deidara, Full Blooded Middle-Class Devil**

 **vs.**

 **Seekvaira Agares, Full Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Dosu Kinuta, Full Blooded Low-Class Devil**

Both Dosu and Seekvaira created barriers around them when flying clay-birds shot towards them at impressive speeds and exploded on contact. Deidara smirked from his position in the air as he threw more of his creations down onto the rainforest floor.

"This is going to be a challenge…" muttered Seekvaira, deciding on going on the offensive. Before she could rush at Deidara, she had to dodge a blast of visible sound waves made by the approaching Dosu.

"You're not going anywhere until I get my Phenex Tear back." he said with a growl.

"Sorry, but I can put this Phenex Tear to better use than you." she stated, creating a blue magic circle and shooting a pressurized beam of water at Dosu.

"Bullshit." he said, dodging the blast and heading straight for Seekvaira.

She rolled her eyes and summoned another magic circle. "Time curse…" she whispered, activating her spell once the mummy-like teen was close.

A green hue surrounded Dosu's body and he was moving in slow motion. Using this to her advantage, she attacked the mummy boy with another shot of pressurized water, hitting him in his chest.

"GAh!" he shouted as the force of the water shot him into one of the trees. Seekvaira didn't have any time to lack as she flew away from another one of Deidara's bombs, which destroyed any tree within its blast range.

"If I'm going to fight properly, I need to take him out first…" she said to herself. She changed her trajectory and shot through the leaves from the trees and flew towards Deidara.

"You think you can hurt me, hmm?" he said, throwing what seemed like clay birds at the Agares Clan heiress. Using the same spell she used on Dosu, Seekvaira shot a pressurized beam of water at the incoming missiles, but they acted as if they had a mind of their own, dodging the water and closing-in on Seekvaira.

"Katsu!" he shouted while holding up a hand seal. The bombs exploded, but Seekvaira activated her time magic in time, which slowed down the explosions' release and allowed her to escape.

"This is getting annoying!" she shouted, flying away from the deadly explosion. Knowing that he couldn't see her through the smoke, Seekvaira shot out a few blast of magic where Deidara was at.

Commanding his creation with his magic, Deidara's bird flew under Seekvaira's magic and blew the smoke from the explosions with a powerful gust of wind from its wings. "I've got more where that came from!" he shouted with a crazed grin as more bombs flew at Seekvaira.

Below them, Dosu stretched out his arm and created another magic circle, "Boom." he whispered. A loud screeching noise rang throughout the area, with visible sound waves moving through the air at fast pace and towards Deidara, Seekvaira, and the bombs.

Deidara grunted in annoyance and directed his bombs towards the sound waves for protection, "Katsu!" he shouted. Another massive explosion occurred, saving him from the white rings of sound. Seekvaira had to create a barrier in front of her to avoid being hurt from Dosu's attack.

"I've got more where that came from…." the mummy man muttered, creating three magic circles. Three dragons made out of fire and rocketed towards Deidara.

"Tch…like these flimsy things could do something to me." said Deidara as he dug into his pouch. He threw what looked like a small worm that expanded once it he activated his spell. "Katsu!"

The nearby Seekvaira was blown away by the force of the massive explosion caused by Deidara's clay figure. The explosions size made the previous ones look childish as she uncontrollably flew through the air. Once she finally had control, she couldn't see either Deidara or Dosu because of the massive smoke cloud in the air.

Deidara smirked from his new position from the ground. He left his clay minion flying in the air and was now hiding among the trees of the rainforest. He could see both Deidara and Seekvaira from the ground with his scope-enhanced left eye. "Now the games have really begun now that I have premium positioning." he said with a laugh as he began to plan his assault.

Dosu coughed from all of the smoke before noticing that Seekvaira wasn't far off from him. With anger fueling his movements, Dosu shot towards Seekvaira with a vengeance. "You have something of mines, Agares!"

"Stay away from me." she said creating a large green bubble around her, a few green magic circles dancing along the exterior of the bubble. Dosu stopped his streak towards the Agares heiress to keep away from whatever trick she was pulling. "Once you enter my time bubble, time will slow down around you, giving me more than enough time to finish you off."

Dosu growled as he back away from the bubble. "Where is that blonde-haired fool? He's not on his bird thing anymore."

"Probably escaped into the forest." the moment she said that, three clay birds flew from out of the trees and headed straight for Dosu.

"Hmph." Dosu grunted as he destroyed the clay figures easily with a blast of his sound waves. However, he was caught by surprise when another bomb flew through the explosion and closed in on Dosu before exploding once more.

The only form of defense Dosu could manage to make was a cross guard over his face as he took the brute of the explosion. The force blew him straight into Seekvaira's time bubble, causing her to smirk. "Well isn't that convenient." she said while shooting a blast of water magic at the helpless Dosu.

However, a bolt of Power of Destruction collided into her water magic, saving Dosu and giving him enough time to free himself from Seekvaira's time bubble. "Damn it…I forgot that 'she' was near." mumbled Seekviara, referring to Rias.

Said Gremory was hiding behind her own tree, a safe distance away from Seekvaira, Dosu, and even further away from Deidara. _'Since he helped me, I'll see what I can do to help him. However, once they're weakened, I'll come in and take them all out.'_

"Seems like I have an ally." chuckled Dosu, a little grateful that Rias helped him out, "So, I've got somebody on my side, you have three people going against you, and we have a wild terrorist bomber amongst the trees. You can leave now; all you have to do is give me my Phenex Tear."

"Like hell." said Seekvaira, "I'm going to need these tears for later, so the only way you'll get them…is if you take them from me."

"Alright…you asked for it." said Dosu, pulling his sleeve up and revealing the metal object on his arm, "While I really don't need my Resonating Echo Speaker for my attacks, it really does increase the damage dealt to my opponent."

Seekvaira crossed her arms under her breast, "Really now?" she said sarcastically.

Dosu chuckled, "You and that bomb dickhead aren't really the best opponents for me. I like close range fighting, but I guess I'll have to adapt to the situation at hand." he said as he floated towards the outside of Seekvaira's time bubble.

"No matter what you do, I will be able to counter it." she said with a glare.

Her confusion was shone through a raised eyebrow as Dosu continued to chuckle, "I disagree, because no matter how slow you try to make it…" Dosu punched the time bubble, his arm sinking into it, "…you can't escape sound!"

He created a barrier underneath him and protected himself from the secret bomb Deidara had sneak up on them. Manipulating the sound waves from the explosion with his magic, Dosu amped the sound with his speaker and sent them to Seekvaira.

The Agares Clan heiress' eyes widened when a horrendous ringing sound filled her head. She clamped her hands over her ears and tried to block whatever was screeching into her ears, but to no avail as the ringing continued to mess with her concentration.

"Wha..what is this…" she muttered as she tried to focus, but she was losing her balance and felt ill. Her magic time bubble started to flicker as her concentration was swayed.

Dosu chuckled, "You're lucky that there is some distance between us. My abilities are more potent the closer I am to my prey, seeing my control over the direction of sound ends in a couple of feet. But that won't matter for long. Soon enough, that idiot will try to blow us up again, giving me more sound to work with. You won't be able to keep this barrier up for long."

' _He's right…'_ thought Seekvaira with a grunt, _'I need to do something drastic if I want to escape.'_

Seekvaira grit her teeth as she came up with a risky plan. Summoning multiple magic circles and recalling her time bubble, Seekvaira shot out multiple elemental attacks in all directions. Dosu had fly away to avoid being shot with lightning, followed by dangerously hot shower of flames. Seekvaira took advantage of this and flew down into the rainforest, using the massive trees as cover.

Recovering from her attack, Dosu quickly chased after her, but once he landed back on the rainforest floor, Seekvaira was nowhere in sight, "So this is the game we're playing. Everyone wants to be the cat…when everyone is actually the mouse…" he said with a laugh, "If that's how we want to play…okay then..."

Rias could see Dosu from her position, which was in some bushes a few meters meters away. She saw Seekvaira ran east of where Dosu was, but Rias decided not to follow Seekvaira in order to keep her own location a secret. "Gremory!" shouted Dosu, surprising the red head, "If you want to continue with this little alliance of ours, then we can probably get out of this forest alive! For now, keep your location a secret, even from me! As of now, Deidara and the Agares are our opponents!"

' _He's smart.'_ thought Rias, _'In order for us to get out of here, our main target should be Deidara. Those explosives of his are controlled by his magic, so he can guild them to us. The best way to win is to wait for Deidara to slip up and reveal his location so that we can knock him out! I've gotta stay aware for any sneak attacks that Seekvaira may try to pull. This may work…'_

Dosu sighed and knelt down; placing his right palm on the ground, "Now…let's see where you are…" he muttered as he closed his lone eye and concentrated.

A ways away was Deidara. He snickered in delight at the situation he believed to be in his favor. _'These little children can't stop me, hmmm? I don't have to be near them in order to attack, and I can see them thanks to my scope! I've already set some of my explosive creatures around on the ground, but I can always create more to keep them on their toes, hmmm?"_ he thought as he unzipped his pouch and placed in palms inside. The mouths on Deidara's palms opened and started to eat some of the clay with hunger, _'This is really an interesting battle, hmmm?'_

Deidara raised an eyebrow when he saw Dosu's head snap in his direction and rushed towards him. _'How did he know that I was over here!?'_ he thought with a panic as he threw more explosives at Dosu.

Dosu quickly trigged the explosives to set off by bursting them with a powerful sound wave. He didn't even stop as he jumped through the fire and continued to run towards Deidara. "You thought you could hide from me?" shouted Dosu as he dragged his hand on the ground. His Resonating Echo Speaker rang to life as a large sonic boom ripped through the ground like it was wet paper.

Deidara had to quickly move out of the way to avoid being blown into smithereens from Dosu's attack. The poor tree that he was hiding behind was blown to bits by Dosu. The hunch back didn't stop there as he continued his path towards Deidara while creating three similar looking magic circles. Fire dragons erupted from the seals and rocketed after Deidara.

"This same trick?" shouted Deidara as he shot his explosive bird clay figures out to counter Dosu's fire dragons. When the explosion occurred, Dosu quickly dispelled it with a sonic blast of sound. The blast continued to destroy everything in its path until if finally hit Deidara. The bomber hunched over from the force of the sonic blast and blood leaked from the sides of his mouth. "Gah!" he shouted in pain as roughly landed on the ground.

During the commotion, Rias had moved from her previous hiding spot, close enough to land a hit on the fallen explosion specialist. "Take this…" she whispered, sending a bolt of her Power of Destruction at Deidara.

Hearing something approaching, Deidara managed to avoid a fatal blow which would have surely forced his retirement, but his shoulder was nipped by the ancient power, annihilating his flesh. Deidara hissed at the pain and held up a hand sign, "You disgusting maggots need to die! Katsu!"

Suddenly, spider-clay figures that burrowed into the ground dug themselves out and erupted in a flash of light. Dosu only had a few seconds to create a barrier around him to survive the multiple explosions around him. Rias flew away from the explosions since she was a safe distance from them, but had to quickly change her trajectory to dodge a magical blast from the recovered Seekvaira.

"Seekvaira!" angrily shouted Rias, summoning her PoD and blasting a massive amount of it at Seekvaira. Seekvaira's red eyes glowed green once Rias' Power of Destruction was close enough and slowed the time down around it. She easily moved out of the destructive magic's path and countered by creating a red magic circle. Red beams of light shoot out of the circle. Rias saw that one of the beams hit the bark of one of the nearby trees and burnt a hole right through it. _'Lasers?'_ she thought as she flew away, weaving through all of the lasers and going deeper into the forest to find a new hiding spot.

"Damn it, she got away." said Seekvaira, recalling her magic and flying up to one of the higher branches.

She peeked down at Dosu, who had a few burn marks on him but generally looked unharmed. _'He's going to be troublesome to get rid of. I don't know how, but he figured out Deidara's hiding spot with pin-point accuracy and actually landed the first blow on that loud idiot. Maybe getting rid of his support should be my goal for now.'_

"He had fucking bombs in the ground…" muttered Dosu as he shook his head, recovering from Deidara's surprise attack, "This guy is pretty good. I lost him again, but he'll slip up again and reveal himself." He glanced up at Seekvaira, who was glaring down at him in annoyance, her red eyes glowing from the light the nearby fires produced. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, sweetness. I'll be getting what's mine soon."

Deidara, who was hiding not far from Dosu, growled in anger. _'This guy is something else! The only way he could have found me is by the sound of my zipper to my pouch and my mouths chomping on my explosive clay!'_ Deidara smirked as he instantly thought of a plan to counter Dosu, _'He's good at hearing things, hmmm? Then I'll just disguise myself with more noise!'_ he thought as he looked up at the air. His clay bird that he used to fly on was still circling in the air. _'Time to show them art!'_

The massive bird suddenly shrunk somewhat as its mouth expanded. Flying over the trees of the rain forest, the bird threw up small orbs onto the ground. It continued to spread these little orbs all around the terrain until it ran out.

"What in the hell?" said Dosu, noticing all of the little orbs raining down from the sky. His danger senses quickly went off in his head as he summoned his wings and flew off. All of the bombs erupted once they made contact with the ground. Dosu had to use his sonic blast to save himself from some of the other orbs that landed in front of him as he continued to fly away. Seekvaira flew off in a different direction where there weren't as many explosions, but she had to protect herself with a barrier a few times.

Deidara chuckled as he heard his explosions go off in the distance, "And now that the sound of my explosions is covering any noise I make, I can do whatever I want." In front of him was a small army of spider and snake clay figures, all created by him while the explosions went off. "Let's see how this changes things, hmmm?" he said as some of his creations crawled and slithered off on the land while the others burrowed into the ground.

Rias was looking around after a few minutes of silence. So far, she couldn't see anyone, even Dosu, from where she currently was. _'All of this waiting is killing me!'_ she thought as she took a peek on her surroundings. She then noticed a small, light gray snake slithering on a branch near her. She tried to put up a barrier, knowing what it was, but failed to do so as it exploded, sending her hurdling down to the ground.

After harshly landing on the rough earth, Rias groaned as she slowly stood back up on shaky legs. "This guy is too good…he has control over everything and is using the environment to his advantage."

Her danger senses rang off in her head again when she saw the ground around her crack open, revealing a spider clay-figure that was set to explode. This time, she had enough time to create a barrier underneath her as another explosion went off, sending dirt flying everywhere.

"So now he has land mines everywhere!" she shouted in annoyance.

"Stay calm, Gremory!" she heard Dosu's voice off in the distance, "He has his explosive critters underground as well. To keep safe, fly above the ground so you don't step on them!"

Listening to her 'partner', Rias summoned her wings and floated above the ground, keeping her safe from the land mines. She sensed a collection of magic in the air above them, "Okay, now what's happening?"

She heard a loud shriek as the bird that was floating above the forest fell to the ground with blue needles sticking out of its body. Rias looked up at the sky to see Sona, to her surprise, glaring down at the rainforest below her. "So this is where they're all at." she said, creating three massive, blue magic circles. Massive amounts of water poured from the magic circles and fell to the rainforest floor. "Seems like this could be chance to make up from before..."

"What is she doing?" muttered Rias as the ground was submerged under a small layer of water, "Does she plan on flooding the rainforest?"

After a while, most of the rainforest floor was covered in water. Sona pushed her glasses up on her nose as multiple water serpents came from the same magic circles, "Go." was all she muttered as the serpents shot down towards the ground.

Once their bodies made contact with the water on the ground, their forms melted into the water with their red eyes still visible. The serpents swam through the rainforest easily now that they had a base to travel in.

Seekvaira's eyes widened when a water serpent grew from out of the water below her and opened its maw to consume her. Creating a magic circle, she dismantled the serpent's structure by burning through it with her powerful lasers, but she didn't notice the approaching serpent coming from behind her and crashing into her back. She cried out from the pain and fell from the branch she was on and plummeted to the ground.

"Gah!" she cried out when her back hit the ground. Her clothes were soaked now that she was in the water made by Sona, but that was the least of worries as multiple serpents of water erupted from the water and all closed in on the struggling Agares heiress.

Suddenly, Dosu appeared over her with two magic circles floating both of his outstretched hands. "Be gone!" he shouted as he created a sonic boom destroying the water serpents with ease.

Before Seekvaira could get away, Dosu quickly turned around and grabbed Seekvaira by her throat, "You thought you could get away?" he said darkly and forced her back down into the water. She coughed as the pressure he exerted on her throat was too much for her. She couldn't breathe because of his forceful grip. "You have something of mines." he said as he activated his spell.

Suddenly, the world around Seekvaira was fuzzy as a terrible ringing sound filled her head. She instantly felt nauseous as she felt her stomach cramping up. Dosu's face split into three as her vision was blurry. She couldn't even call upon her magic to defend herself because of the insane effects of Dosu's technique.

He chuckled and released Seekvaira, "Finally, you fucking annoying girl." he said, rummaging through her pockets until he found what he was looking for. He pulled both of Seekvaira and his own Phenex Tears from her pocket. Although it was hidden behind his bandages, he smirked as he inspected the magical tears. "Well then, it's only fair that your repay me for all the trouble you've put me through with both Phenex Tears, right?" he said while pocketing both tears.

"Be...behind you…" gasped Seekvaira.

Dosu turned around to see multiple water serpents and Deidara's bombs, which fell down from the trees above them, closing in on both devils. His eyes widened as he called upon his magic….

Rias was doing her best to dodge all of the water serpents out to eat her and Deidara's bombs. The two had both collided into each other while running way from Sona's aqua army and fought each other while avoiding the deadly beast behind them. "Just go somewhere else!"

"Why would I do that, hmm?" said Deidara's as he flew past a few trees and swerving around one of the serpents that grew from out of the water in front of them, "I need to retire all of you all here! That will give me enough points to become a part of the 'Rookie Four' and that prize money!" he shouted as he continued to summon flying explosions and shot them at both Rias and the water serpents.

' _This isn't good!'_ panicked Rias as she dodged another serpent while countering Deidara's clay figures with her PoD. She had to stay alert because Deidara had adapted to her strategy of floating over the ground to avoid stepping on the land mines. Now, whenever Rias would fly over a spot where there was a land mine, the creature would jump out of the ground and explode in her face. _'I literally have to watch everything around me just so I won't be blown into bits! Sona isn't helping either with her serpents that are using the water on the ground to travel through all of this mess!'_ she thought as she had to break through a vine that wrapped around her foot.

"Katsu!" shouted Deidara. He saw that Rias lost focus when she got caught by the vines and commanded his minions that were in the trees to fall directly on top of her.

In an act of desperation, Rias shot bolts of lightning at the clay creatures to hopefully weaken the blast; however her eyebrow rose in curiosity when she saw that the bombs didn't go off, even when Deidara activated his magic within them to blow up. "What's this?" she whispered to herself.

' _Shit!'_ thought Deidara. Rias had found out about his only weakness: his clay figures would deactivate once any type of electricity ran through them, ' _This changes a lot. I'm basically useless against her now that she knows this, hmm? I've gotta do something new...maybe go after the others now.'_

Rias kept dodging Sona's serpents and continued deactivating Deidara's bombs with lightning, _'This works!'_ she thought in happiness, _'Finally! Now all I have to worry about…'_

A risky plan popped up in Rias' mind. She looked down at the ground to see the water sinking into the cracks in the ground, thanks to the mini-bombs Deidara's bird dropped earlier. ' _If I run lightning through there…then maybe…'_

Mentally nodding to her plan, the Gremory heiress called upon a large portion of her remaining magic, "Sorry if you get caught in this, Dosu…" she whispered as she stopped mid-flight and created a large, yellow magic circle, "I just keep stealing from you, Akeno! Lightning!" she shouted and shot a barrage of lightning bolts at the water serpents and at the water below.

Lightning danced through the surface of the water and into the ground thanks to the ground water. All of Deidara's bombs were disabled once they were shocked by the powerful jolts of lightning.

Deidara growled at Rias. While she did get rid of the water serpents with her lightning, she also destroyed all of his bombs! "You disgusting…" rage was overtaking the blonde's mind as his precious creations were destroyed without showing their true capabilities.

Rias huffed as the after effects of losing so much of her magic was starting to take its toll, _'That…took more than I thought it would…'_ she thought as she took in a few breaths.

"I can't have you around destroying my art before they live out their purpose!" he shouted, throwing multiple exploding birds at the defenseless Rias, "Katsu!"

"Dragon Shot!" shouted a familiar voice from behind Rias. A large red beam of pure magic ripped through the area and blasted through Deidara's creatures like they were nothing. Deidara's eyes widened in fear as the massive beam of magic consumed him, his body evaporating from the extreme power of the blast.

" _Deidara has retired from the Devil Exams.'_ said the voice of the announcer as Deidara's body disappeared in a flash of blue light.

The shocked Rias Gremory looked behind her to see Issei's retreating form. He looked back at his [King] and waved before flying off in the distance.

A small smile slowly grew on Rias' face, "Ise…..thank you…" she whispered in happiness. For the first time since the start of the Devil Exams, Rias felt at peace. Somehow, she had survived. Even though she did have some help, she survived-which was the only thing that she wanted.

She sighed as she took a seat on one a nearby branch. She looked off in the distance but couldn't see Dosu, Seekvaira, or Sona anywhere. "Well…I'm safe for now…I don't think I should go looking for trouble anymore…" she muttered to herself, "He'd probably leave me the moment he got his Phenex Tears, so I don't feel guilty leaving him. I guess I should head back to the mountains and wait until I can re-enter my cabin…plus…" she smiled when she pulled out her Phenex Tear, "I have what I came here for…"

Meanwhile, Dosu grunted as he fell back into the small crater beneath him. He had saved himself, and Seekvaira in the process, from Sona's water serpents and Deidara's bombs by destroying them all with a mega-sonic boom. It took a lot out of him, but he saved the both of them from retirement. However neither Dosu nor Seekvaira were expecting to be shocked with lightning that was conducted through the water.

He sighed as his body landed next to Seekvaira, who was withering in pain from both his spell and the electric shock they both endured. He chuckled as he looked up at the trees, "Damn it…this couldn't be any worse…"

Suddenly, Seekvaira threw up all on Dosu's face, the combined effects of Dosu's sound waves ringing in her head and the shock of lightning being too much for the Agares heiress to handle. The mummy-man sweat dropped, "Fuck…I had to say something…" he said with a grunt as he tried to scoot away from Seekvaira's bile. Once he was a safe distance away from the Agares heiress and her bile, he closed his lone and concentrated. _'She's coming…and I don't have enough energy to fight her off…'_ He opened his eyes and took a look at his surroundings. There was still water everywhere-some of it was pouring into his crater. The bandages on his face covered his smirk as he grabbed one of his Phenex Tears. "Time to use my street smarts…"

Sona descended down into the forest area to see both Seekvaira and Dosu lying next to each other, "Almost as if they're gifted wrapped for me…" she said as she landed not too far from the duo.

Dosu coughed out a laugh at Sona's joke, "Gift w-wrapped, huh…" he said, "Well aren't you..l-lucky…"

Sona looked over to Seekvaira and noticed the small puddle of bile beside her, "Disgusting…" she said with a disturbed look on her face.

"Try lying next to it…" Dosu said with a chuckle.

"No thanks." said Sona, kneeling over the disoriented Seekvaira and checking her pockets. She scowled when she didn't find any Phenex Tears on her person. She glanced over to the chuckling Dosu, "You took them already, didn't you?"

"Su-sure did…"

Sona stood up and walked over to Dosu, "Glad that you're so honest." she said.

"Yo-you like honestly?" he said, confusing the Sitri heiress, "Then you're going to hate me."

Sona felt a vibration coming from under her feet before a ringing sound entered her head. She clamped over her ears to block some of the sound, but to no success as the ringing noise only got louder and louder.

Dosu laughed as he stood up like he wasn't hurt in the first place, "Lying is one of my specialties. I needed it to survive, something you've never had to do." he said as he threw an empty Phenex Tear cartridge at Sona.

Sona fell to her knees as she lost her balance and was experiencing an episode of vertigo. She looked up to the hunched back boy with a weak glare. "H-h-h-how…" she managed to get out before falling to her side.

Dosu chuckled and pointed to the water below him, "This is all thanks to you, of course. You may not know this, but water is an excellent conductor of sound and as you can see-we're surrounded by the shit. I used one of my Phenex Tears but feigned like I was still hurt and immobile. You lowered your guard when you saw us hurt, which was all I needed to create a magic circle beneath me and use the water around as conductor, leading my sound waves through the water and to your feet. The blood inside of you picked up on the sound waves and traveled up your body, giving us what we have here." he said with a laugh.

"And unlike you," he continued while holding out an outstretched arm, "I don't give my opponents long speeches before I take them out, giving them time to come up with a plan of escape. Good bye." he said an unleashed a powerful sonic boom, crushing Sona and the ground her with its pressure.

" _Sona Sitri has retired from the Devil Exams."_ said the announcer, his voice projecting throughout the dimension.

Dosu sighed as he took some time to collect his thoughts, "I guess that's one high-class devil down…" he muttered as he looked down at his reflection in the water. He noticed that still had some of Seekvaira's bile on his face "First things first…get rid of this shit on me…" he said as he took a moment to wash off his head from Seekvaira's disgusting throw up.

After he was done cleaning himself, he looked over to Seekvaira, who seemed to be recovering from her nausea. "Down goes the other high-class devil." said Dosu, stretching out his arm and summoning a white magic circle, "Bego-

"Dynamic Entry!" shouted a familiar voice. Dosu blocked the incoming with his Resonating Echo Speaker on his right arm. Spider web cracks danced along the surface of Dosu's tool, but didn't break from the newcomer's kick.

"You…" growled Dosu, pushing Lee away from him. Lee landed on the ground before disappearing in a burst of speed, planning on taking Dosu out his with martial arts.

However, his eyes widened when Dosu predicted Lee's movements and blocked Lee's punch with a punch of his own. Taking charge, Dosu responded with two quick jabs, which Lee easily dodged and punished Dosu with an upper-cut to the chin.

' _Shit!'_ Dosu thought in pain as a little blood leaked from his mouth. He quickly recovered and outstretched his arm at Lee, "Die!" he shouted and blasted Lee with a sonic boom.

However, Lee's agility saved him from being crushed by Dosu's sonic boom and continued to dodge all of his attempts. _'I've got to get to Seekvaira!'_

And the best opportunity presented itself to Lee as a green magic circle appeared below Dosu. A green barrier of magic surrounded the unsuspected Dosu and his movement's slowed down, giving Lee more than enough time to kick the mummy man away from them.

"Lee…" wheezed out Seekvaira. Lee quickly scooped Seekvaira in his arms and disappeared in a burst of speed.

"Damn it…" said Dosu, digging himself out of the tree trunk Lee kicked him into. He sighed when he noticed that the duo had disappeared. "Guess they're gone…good…I didn't want to fight him anyway…" he said with a sigh, "I guess that means it's time to leave this god-forsaken forest."

Summoning his wings, the hunchback flew out of the forest. He was floating over the trees and could see all of the nearby by environments. A green blur entering the massive Forest Environment caught his eye, but he didn't follow them. He was much more interested in the retreating Rias Gremory, flying south of him to the Marshland Environment.

Dosu chuckled as he slowly followed after the Gremory, "I did say that I would be watching you…and then I would end you….seems like that time is now approaching us…."

 **Timeskip – Morning**

 **Lilith Coliseum – Naruto's Suite**

" _Hello devils of the Underworld!"_ said the female moderator, _"I'm Jenny Taft and this is Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless. Going straight into the headlining event, the Devil Exams has entered its second day and there has been three forced retirement so far: Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas, Deidara, and Sona Sitri. What's shocking everyone within the Underworld is that there haven't been any retirements of low-class devils. Both Sona Sitri and Zephyrdor are high-class devils from prominent families and are [King]s to their own peerages, but were retired before anyone else. Deidara, the only middle-class devil in the tournament, was retired by a sneak attack by Issei Hyoudou, low-class [Pawn] of Rias Gremory. Zephrydor Glasya-Labolas was defeated in an impressive effort by Rock Lee, low-class [Rook] of Naruto Bael, and Sona Sitri was defeated and outplayed by Dosu Kinuta, a low-class devil youth from the capital city of Lilith- who was also handpicked by Lucifer-sama himself to participate in this tournament. Shannon, I'll start with you: How do you feel about the Devil Exams so far?"_

" _WWWWWOOOOOOO WWWEEEEEEEEE, SKIP!"_ shouted Shannon in happiness, _"We are here to celebrate!"_

" _Oh, we're here to celebrate? s_ aid Skip, rolling his eyes at his co-host.

" _Ya god-damn right!"_ shouted Shannon. Reaching from under his chair, Shannon pulled out a bag and a bottle of Hennesy, _"I got my hen-dawg with me right here! MHH Hm! Got me some black and mild's! And I got me some CUBAN CIGARS! Oh, baby! Them Cubans up there in the human realm knew what they was doing when they made THIS-RIGHT-HERE!"_

" _You are just sooooooo happy, aren't you?"_ said Skip, _"Even tho-_

" _AAACCHHH! It ain't your turn, Skip! It ain't you-Jenny, is it Skip Bayless' turn, or is it my turn?"_

" _It is your turn, Shannon."_ confirmed Jenny.

" _That's what I thought!"_ shouted Shannon with a laugh, _"And Skip, I brought you some apple juice because you a HAY-TOOR and you'd be the person to sneak some apple juice in my Hen-DAWG PARTY!"_ he said while scooting a small box juice of apple juice to Skip.

" _Thank you for this, I'll save it for later though."_ said Skip, taking the juice box and throwing it over his shoulder.

Shannon laughed as he placed all of his 'celebratory items' back under his chair, _"Now to talk about what we came here to talk about! Hehehe! Oh boy, Skip, I told you-I told you-I told you! These low-class devils didn't come here to PLLAAYYYYY! Oh weeeeeeeeee, did you see what I just saw! Look at this, Skip!"_ Shannon motioned to the TV display showing highlights of Lee and Dosu fighting and retiring their opponents, along with Issei retiring Deidara, _"Just beautiful. BE-YOU-TI-FULL! I knew it was going to be good, but I didn't think this tournament would be this good! In under twenty-four hours, two high-class devils and one middle-classed devil are gone! And you know what? All of the low-class devils are STILL THERE! They're still alive and well this morning! Still have a fighting chance! This is why Lucifer-sama allowed them into this tournament. And even though that bomb kid was retired early, I can assure you, his performance was much better than that Sitri's or the Glasya-Labolas!"_ Shannon finished with a huff.

" _Are you fin-_

" _I'M FINISHED, SKKIEEEUUUUPPP!"_

Skip sighed at his co-host antics _, "Thank you, Shannon, for that beautiful, emotional speech you just gave us…"_ Skip filled through some papers on the tables before giving his own thoughts, _"So! I'm not going to lie- I'm not going to front….this was a_ _highly_ _impressive debut for the low-class devils…more specifically Rock Lee and Dosu Kinuta. Now we've already seen what Rock Lee can do, so I'm going to focus my attention on Dosu Kinuta….this boy has GOT IT!"_ shouted Skip, _"He's got it and his is now one of my favorite devils in this tournament!"_

" _Oh so now you like him…."_ Shannon said with a cocky smirk.

" _I will admit!"_ said Skip, raising his hands up in defeat, _"I will admit that I…you know…I didn't have faith in the other low-class devils, but now I do! I can assure you that I will no longer be counting these kids out because the low-class devils are putting on a show! And the best part is that we haven't seen most of them yet! They're still hidden in some random parts of the dimension!"_

" _How far do you think Dosu will make it?"_ asked Shannon.

" _Ermmm…I'd say….I'd say Top Seven….Top Seven is a safe bet for me."_ said Skip, _"There are ten devils remaining, but Dosu Kinuta has proven that he is worthy for a position in the 'Rookie Four' and it wouldn't surprise me if he gets to be a part of such a historical group."_

" _I agree, Skip, with everything you said,"_ started Shannon, _"But I still got my money on Lee! Oh he's gonna do something! And we've got to throw in the fact that he has an alliance with Seekvaira Agares, who handled business in that big scuffle last night that we're just now seeing for ourselves."_

" _She did look like she was in some trouble…."_ said Skip, _"Dosu was very close to finishing her off as well."_

" _True but she's still alive and that's all we gonna talk about."_ said Shannon with his nose in the air.

" _Any honorable mentions, you two?"_ said Jenny, _"Did any other participant catch your eye?"_

" _Uhhmmm….I'm going to have to go with Deidara. Even though he's gone, this middle-class devil was basically by himself against three high-class devils and one low-class devil that fights like a high-classed devil. He took care of business, outsmarting them many times, adapting to any threatening predicament, and was just overall impressive during that battle."_ finished Shannon.

" _I'd have to agree with Shannon on that point."_ said Skip, _"Even though he's no longer apart of the tournament, he did show that he was one of the smartest devils on the battlefield and had control of everything for the majority of the fight. If the Devil Exams ended right now and I had to pick out the 'Rookie Four', Rock Lee, Dosu Kinuta, and Deidara are in. I wouldn't even fill the fourth spot because we haven't seen any impressive feats from the other participants."_

" _Not even Suigetsu Hozuki, who almost defeated Rias Gremory during the first hour of the Devil Exams, or Ginta Toramizu, the mysterious devil with a Sacred Gear who helped Rock Lee defeat Zeyphrdor Glasya-Labolas?"_

" _Naw, he didn't do too much in that fight."_ said Shannon, _"For Ginta he looked impressive during his short battle against Sona Sitri, but he would have lost if Rock Lee had not saved him…hasn't impressed me so far into this tournament."_

" _Agreed."_ stated Skip, _"He hasn't done anything major during the tournament and Suigetsu, while he did have the upper-hand on Rias Gremory for a while, couldn't finish the job. So far, there are only three people who deserve to be a part of the Rookie Four- Rock Lee, Dosu Kinuta, and Deidara."_

"Fufufu…" chuckled Orochimaru, "Seems like our Lee is a favorite to win it all."

They were all back in the suite watching the highlights of what happened while everyone was gone for the night. Naruto and his peerage all shared a breath of relief when they saw that Lee was still in the tournament and were all impressed by Dosu's performance as well. "And that Dosu child….he's promising."

"He is…" said Hao, watching the screen that was displaying his highlights, "He's a fighter and is very smart. He could be a threat for Lee later on in the game."

"I'm sure the rookie will be fine!" said Kisame, who was back to sitting in his recliner with Samehada in his lap. He was flipping through the menu again to see what he would order today. "Hmmm…what are your specials for the day again?" Kisame asked the servant that was awaiting Kisame's order.

"He retreated back into the Forest Environment, so it could be possible that's where Seekvaira's cabin is. He's probably somewhere near her cabin, keeping watch until the barrier expels." said Yoh. He was eating breakfast with his fiancée on their own couch, sharing a plate of waffles with a foldable TV dinner table in front of them.

"He's so nice saving that girl." said Gabriel, who had rejoined them once the coliseum opened for the second day. She and Naruto were seated in the same couch they sat at yesterday, "Even though he does have an alliance with her, it was pretty risky chasing after her in that battlefield."

"I'm glad that he took that opportunity to find Seekvaira." said Naruto, "Once he noticed Seekvaira's name was plastered in the sky, he knew he could find her somewhere near the Phenex Tear's location. He's doing good…"

Kuroka wasn't sitting with Naruto and Gabriel. She was laying in one of the couches that sat against the wall on Naruto's right. She told everyone that she was tired and had her back to the group, but she was awake just like everyone else. She didn't want everyone to see the rage she had when she saw Gabriel waiting for them outside of the suite, nor did she want to see the sight of Naruto and Gabriel acting like a couple any longer. She felt horrible because of the conversation she had with Naruto last night, but she couldn't do anything but accept it. She decided to leave Naruto and she was suffering the consequences for it.

" _None of this would be happening if you didn't leave Papa for Ginta. You didn't put us first. You deserve this."_

Kuroka flinched and she closed her eyes as the memory of her nightmare so long ago continued to haunt her. An image of a smiling Gabriel appeared in her mind and the cat girl had to suppress releasing any **KI** in the atmosphere…

' _I hate you…'_ thought Kuroka in anger, _'I hate you so much…..I'll never forgive you…even though I maybe the cause of everything….'_

"Oooh! The barriers are disappearing!" said Yoh with interest as multiple images of all of the participant's cabin barrier fazing away, "Seems like it's time for more action! I'll stay awake for everything this time!"

"Sure you will." said Anna stoically as she took a small bite of her waffles.

 **Rating Game Dimension – Forest Environment**

Seekvaira, before opening her eyes, sensed around her for any enemies. She sighed when she felt Lee's magical energy not too far from her and opened her eyes, revealing her red orbs to the world. She was lying in a comfortable bed inside her cabin. After the events in the Rainforest Environment last night, Lee brought her to her cabin once she told him where it was located. Since the barrier around it wouldn't permit him to pass through and enter her cabin, Lee said that he would stay nearby, standing guard in case anybody passed by.

The memories of last night flashed through the Agares heiress' mind and in a fit of anger, she slammed her hand into the soft mattress beneath her, "I lost both Phenex Tears…" she said with a rare display of emotion. Seekvaira wasn't one to have her emotions hanging from her sleeves- she liked to keep to herself. However she couldn't help but be upset at herself because of her terrible performance last night. If Lee hadn't saved her last night, she would be waking up in the medical room in Lilith Coliseum rather than here in her cabin. "Next time….next time, I'll be better…" she said as she rolled out of bed.

She noticed that there was an exact copy of her clothes sitting on the dresser. Assuming that the extra clothes were a gift to her from those operating the Devil Exams, she quickly changed into the new, fresh clothes. Making sure that she was alright, she made her way out of the cabin. Once she was out, the cabin disappeared by magic circle.

"Lee, you can come out now!" she said.

"Good morning, Seekvaira!" said Lee, dropping down in front of Seekvaira. He was resting/keeping watch from the trees and was glad that nobody had passed by them. Now that Seekvaira had full night's rest, their chances of making it to the Final Four increased. "You look well after that massive fight last night."

She sighed, "I am…I wasn't prepared for that fight at all…I didn't know it would blow to such proportions. If you hadn't saved me, Dosu would have finished me."

"It's alright! Remember, I'm here to protect you!" said Lee, "I won't fail my master!"

"And I'll make sure not to put all of the work on you. I still want to be a member of the 'Rookie Four', so I will also put in my best effort so that we both make it to the end." said Seekvaira.

"YOSH! I'm enjoying this partnership already!" shouted the excited Lee, "So what should we do now, partner?"

"For now, I suggest we take things slow. We're not in a rush, so we should move on our feet and see who we run into. If we don't find anybody, we'll speed up our search by flight." said Seekviara, pushing her glass up on her nose.

"That sounds excellent! Is there any place you'd want to go specifically, partner?"

"For now….I suggest we head towards the mountains." said Seekvaira, "While passing through there on my way to retrieve of my Phenex Tears, I glimpsed at a cabin nearby. We may be able to catch them if we head there now."

"YOSH!-Mountain Environment we go!" said a happy Lee, "Wait…Partner, so you still have your Phenex Tear?"

Disappointment was evident in Seekvaira's eyes as she looked down at the ground in anger, "No…Dosu took them from me…I was arrogant with my abilities and took his Phenex Tear and my own. He chased after me and took them back."

"Oh…well, that means we'll just have to have each other's backs even more so that we don't get hurt!" said Lee, trying to improve Seekvaira's mood, "Again, I'm here to protect you and I'll make sure that we make it to the Final Four!"

Seekvaira couldn't hold back the smile that grew on her face. Lee's hyper-ness and excitement for everything was really contagious and she couldn't stay depressed around him. "Thank you, Lee."

 **A few hours later…**

 **Rating Game Dimension: Forest Environment (Near the Desert Environment)**

Ginta sighed as he continued his walk with his Sacred Gear partner, Babbo. Ginta had his hands behind his head as he walked in boredom while Babbo's iron ball hopped next to him, dragging his hammer and chain with him. "This is boring…" said the mysterious Sacred Gear, "We haven't encountered anybody since the fiasco with Lee and that green-haired guy that had anger issues."

"I know, Babbo, but I promise you that we'll run into somebody soon." said Ginta, "Yeah, it is taking some time, but I know I felt some type of magical energy over here in this direction."

"WELL HURRY UP AND FIND IT, DAMN IT!" shouted the Sacred Gear, "We didn't get to do anything against wind boy yesterday so we probably look bad to the public! We need to force some retirements today! Not tomorrow!"

"Damn man, I hear you." said Ginta, covering his ears with his hands, "Just be a little patient. I'm bored like you are, but I'm not hollering in the middle of the forest were they can be potential enemies!"

"Oh, really! WHAT ENEMIES!" Babbo shouted even louder, "What-does that squirrel over there look dangerous to you? Wow, didn't know you had a fear of rodents, Ginta…"

"I'm not scared of squirrels, idiot!" Ginta shouted back, "All I told you to do was to shut up! Maybe you're scared of fighting somebody else! I bet you'll run off with your chain between your legs when we find somebody strong!"

"News flash idiot: I DON'T HAVE FUCKING LEGS! We've been walking for hours with no progress! I knew we should have left the cabin to get our own Phenex Tear! That way, we would have been in a highly populated area and could have forced some retirements!"

"BLA BLA BLA BLA! If you wanted to go to the rainforest, then too bad! But if you want to go now, we can just go there!" Ginta countered.

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

Both devil and Sacred Gear 'huffed' childishly and turned away from each other. There argument scared off any nearby forest life so it was currently silent in the surrounding area. Babbo had his eyes closed as he tried to calm himself down while Ginta crossed his arms over his chest and waited for an apology from his partner.

The two didn't budge for a few minutes, still waiting for the other to say that they were wrong. It was Babbo, after a long silence, who spoke. "…Hey…Ginta…"

Ginta, thinking that Babbo was finally going to apologize to him, spoke, "Huh?"

"….have you noticed all of the apples that are on the ground?"

Ginta's focused down to the forest floor to, in fact, see a plethora of apples that were seemingly eaten laying on the ground. The devil picked on of them up to inspect it further. "Yeah…..these….these have been eaten recently."

Babbo eyes narrowed as an ominous feeling spread throughout his steel body, "Something isn't right…."

"You two are really entertaining!" shouted a voice from above the duo. Ginta and Babbo quickly teamed up again with Ginta grabbing Babbo's hammer and Babbo searching the area around them, "To think you haven't even noticed me yet is really something."

"Where are you!" shouted Ginta with a growl, expecting a fight to happen at any moment.

Moving some of the leaves out of his way, Sairaorg revealed himself to the duo, sitting on a branch high up in the trees while eating an apple, "The first devils I've seen since the tournament started. I guess this is the sign that I needed to make my move."

"Sairaorg Bael…." said Babbo, "Seems like this we're the first ones to find you."

"Yes you are, talking iron ball." said Sairaorg, jumping off of his branches and landing perfectly on the ground below, leaving a decent sized dent in the ground from the pressure exerted upon it, "Time for me to enter this tournament for real."

"I guess we'll have the honor of forcing the retirement of one of the strongest young devils of this generation." said Ginta with a smirk, gripping Babbo's hammer with excitement, "I've always wanted to fight you…"

"While the first time I've ever saw you was at the Young Devils Gathering meeting a few weeks ago, you do interest me, Ginta Toramizu. I want to see why one of the four Satans recommended you to be in this tournament." said Sairoarg, his deep voice reverberating throughout the area.

"Then we'll give you a front row seat to see how strong we are. Right, Babbo?!"

"Right, Ginta. Let's knock this steroid-enhanced jock down a peg or two!" shouted Babbo with a confident grin that matched Ginta's.

 **Sairaorg Bael, Full Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Ginta Toramizu, Full Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

"You can have the first move." said Sairaorg, slowly putting both of his hands up in a fighting position.

"Don't mind if I do!" shouted Ginta, starting the battle of by launching Babbo's iron ball at Sairaorg. Babbo's chain magically grew extra chain links so that Babbo could close in on the Bael heir.

Sairaorg, wanting to test the waters, blocked Babbo's iron ball by punching it head on. He was surprised when he realized that Babbo was really sturdy, able to take a direct punch from him with no harm. He kicked the ball away and got ready to fight the approaching Ginta, who was running up to Sairaorg like a mad man.

"Version 1 A!" shouted Ginta, Babbo's body transforming into a gauntlet with a metal ball at the end. Ginta punched at Sairaorg, only to be met with a punch of Sairaorg himself. A shockwave caused by the force of the two devils shot throughout the area while the two entered a power struggle.

"This is interesting! You can match my base strength with this gauntlet of yours." said Sairaorg with a smirk, his battle maniac side showing somewhat, "This is going to be a great battle!"

"Then have more!" shouted Ginta, pulling back from Sairaorg and going for a low-kick: aimed for the Bael's feet. Anticipating the move from prior experience, Sairaorg planted his right foot into the ground, blocking Ginta's kick, and used his left foot to kick the smaller devil away from his with an impressive amount of strength.

"Shit!" said Ginta, landing on the ground with a grunt as he held his shoulder, "That stung…."

Sairaorg didn't give Ginta a break, chasing after him and closing in with another powerful punch. Ginta used his gauntlet-enhanced fist to punch under Sairaorg's arm, causing Sairaorg's punch to shot upwards in the air rather than at Ginta's face. Using the opening to his advantage, Ginta elbowed Sairaorg in the ribs and ran around him before Sairaorg could catch him.

"Babbo! Version 2: Bubble Launcher!" commanded Ginta. Ginta's gauntlet instantly transformed into a bubble blower that shot out purple bubbles shaped like Babbo's iron ball. Activating his magic, Ginta mentally commanded all of the bubbles to explode with Sairaorg in their blast zone.

Even though he was in the middle of the explosions, Sairaorg paid them no mind as he jumped out of the explosions and smashed down where Ginta was. He would have turned the blond into a pancake had he not jumped out of the way in time. Sairaorg followed after Ginta with a kick that was blocked by Ginta's arm, but followed up with another punch in his stomach.

Ignoring the immense pain from his stomach, Ginta gritted his teeth and mentally commanded Babbo to transform back into his base form. Dodging a few follow up punches from the Bael, Ginta gripped Babbo's hammer and smashed it on top of Sairaorg's head once he saw an opening. "Gotcha!" shouted the boy happily.

He didn't let his small victory get to his head as he jumped over Sairaorg, who was slightly stunned from Ginta's previous blow, while circling Babbo's chain around his neck. Landing on the ground, Ginta heaved with all his strength, pulling Sairaorg over him and throwing him into the ground.

Sairaorg gritted his teeth as his back stung somewhat, but it was nothing compared to all of the training he went through. Unraveling Babbo's chain from his neck, he pulled at the chain, which brought Ginta closer to him. Jumping up from the ground, Sairaorg planned on knocking Ginta's lights out with a punch to his cheek. However, Ginta dropped Babbo to the ground and moved his body, dodging Sairaorg's arm by a few inches before landing an uppercut to the Bael's chin.

' _While his punches are strong with that gauntlet, his regular punches aren't strong enough to cause any serious damage.'_ thought Sairaorg, taking the punch head on and countering with a left knee into Ginta's stomach.

Ginta coughed up blood as the consequence of taking powerful blows to his chest started to take effect. He was given an opportunity to make a move when Babbo skillfully wrapped his chain around Sairaorg's feet, tripping him in the process. Grabbing Babbo's hammer, he slammed it into Sairaorg's body, sending him crashing into the ground.

He continued his assault by jumping over the fallen Bael and slamming Babbo's hammer into Sairoarg repeatedly, "Stop. Fucking. ! Yo-"

Sairaorg caught the descending hammer with a growl. Ginta didn't have enough time to dodge Sairorg's low-kick, knocking him off of his feet. Sairaorg stood up and kicked the blonde away with a huff, "That hurt…" he said with a growl.

Ginta's back harshly impacted one of the various trees surrounding them. He shouted out in pain as his body fell down to the forest floor. "god damn it…this guy just won't fall."

"I've worked on my durability for years so that I can get back up from any physical attack." stated Sairaorg while rolling his shoulders, "However, I must commend you on your own durability. Any other devil would have been through with just one of my punches."

"Yea…we'll I'm not just some regular devil." Ginta grunted as he stood up.

Babbo returned to Ginta's side and allowed the boy to grab his hammer, _'We need to go about this differently. So far, the only injury we've caused is with my hammer. While you matched him in strength with my gauntlet, that was only his base strength and you can only protect one of your hands with my gauntlet.'_ said the Sacred Gear with the mental connection the duo shared, _'What's our next approach?'_

' _I'm faster than him, I know for sure,' s_ tarted Ginta, _'but he is noticeably stronger than me. I saw we keep you in this form for now since it's what worked the best for us.'_

Babbo did a mental nod _'Agreed. Also, we should try out Version 1 B as well in the midst of combat, if the opportunity presents itself, just to see how that works against him. If things get tricky, we'll revert to Version 3…'_

' _Right!'_ finished Ginta as he shot towards Sairaorg with Babbo's hammer pulled back. Sairaorg smirked as he anticipated the attack, blocking the large hammer with his hand and hitting Ginta with an open palm strike with his other hand. He would have made contact if it wasn't for Babbo jumping in front of the palm strike, taking the brute of the force. Ginta circled around Sairaorg, wrapping Babbo's chain around Sairaorg chest, and kicked the Bael in his back.

Not even fazed from the blow, Sairaorg quickly turned around and sent a round house kick at Ginta. Ginta dodged by ducking under it, but also made sure that Sairaorg's outstretched leg caught some of Babbo's chain. Using his right hand to pull and tightened the slack in the chain, Ginta summoned all the strength he had in his left hand to slam Babbo's iron ball on top of the Bael's head.

"Shit…" muttered Sairaorg. He didn't allow the pain to decrease his focus though. He quickly countered with an elbow jab at Ginta, in which he blocked with both of his and wrapping Sairaorg more with Babbo's chain.

"Go! Babbo!" shouted Ginta. Nodding to his partner, both parts of Babbo (the iron ball and hammer) levitated out to different trees and wrapping themselves around their thick bark.

Sairaorg growled once he released that he was immobile as the chains around his arms tightened, holding him hostage. He smirked when he saw Ginta summon a magic circle and aimed it at the defenseless Bael. "You're smart."

"Thanks." muttered Ginta as he created a white magical blast at Bael, who couldn't do anything but take the attack head on. His body faded within the light of the blast as a large exploded, creating a cloud of dust.

The bark of the trees that Babbo tied himself around cracked at all of the force exerted upon it. However, it remained strong and allowed Babbo to keep Sairaorg entangled into his chain as Ginta finished off his magical blast.

' _Did that do it?'_ thought Ginta as the smoke caused by Ginta's magical attack started to fade away. From the dying smoke revealed a smoking Sairaorg. His shirt was torn a in a few places, but other than that the Bael heir looked fine. _'This guy took that to the face and he's hardly damaged?!'_

"You really are good…trapping me like this to attack me head on…very resourceful." said Sairaorg, still trapped in Babbo's chain, "I see why you were invited to the Devil Exams."

"Tch…" Ginta clicked his tongue on the top of his mouth as he summoned two magic circles. He blasted Sairaorg with two magic blasts, hoping to cause significant damage to the Bael heir. However, once the smoke caused by the explosion cleared, Sairaorg was still standing, only slightly injured from Ginta's attack. "Okay…I need to do something else to take you out."

"That you do…" muttered Sairaorg as he started to call upon his strength. He muscles grew larger as they tried to break Babbo's chain.

"Ow…OWW!" shouted Babbo. Sairaorg was forcefully stretching out Babbo's chains with his muscles in order to free himself, "Damn it, Ginta! This hurts!"

"Let go for now, Babbo." said Ginta calmly. His partner nodded and loosened his chains around the Bael and returned to his partner's side. "We may have to resort to Version 3…"

"Hoh ho! You have another ability you haven't shown me yet?" said Sairaorg with curiosity and excitement, "Then reveal this new version of yours! I'd like to see it for myself and defeat it to prove my newfound strength!"

"Are you sure? We were doing fine while in base form…" muttered Babbo.

"We were, but if we can't hit him with anything that'll leave significant damage, then we need to amp things up a bit." stated Ginta. Let's do this! Babbo! Version 3: Gargoyle!

"If you say so partner!" shouted Babbo. A large, white magical circle appeared below Babbo as a white light flashed throughout the area, blinding Sairaorg during Babbo's transformation. However, he did feel a massive amount of power coming from the duo, causing Sairaorg's excitement to shoot through the roof in anticipation.

"Yes! Reveal your strength to me!" he shouted with a wide smile as his body was enveloped in the white light.

After sometime, the light died down, allowing Sairaorg to remove his arms from over his eyes. He looked up at the behemoth floating before him with wide eyes as he tried to process what it was. What he was facing was a massive gargoyle that was at least 6 meters in length (20 feet). The huge gargoyle was golden in color, with massive grey fist that were large enough to crush multiple trees within its grasp. It was levitating in mid-air with a large blue gem acting as its lower body. Its face looked like a demonic with its red eyes gleaming down at Sairaorg as if the boy was insignificant to him. Large wings that looked similar to a dragon's wings stretched out from the gargoyle's back, only adding to its intimidating physic. The last thing that stood out to Sairaorg was the large, golden ring that the monster was holding within its mouth.

Sairaorg looked up at the monstrosity in awe before smirking, his blood boiling at the chance to fight Ginta's creation, "Well now! I was expecting something different but this! This is something never seen before! You, Ginta Toramizu! You are something very special!"

"Thanks…Now get him, Gargoyle!" shouted Ginta. The behemoth roared out a deafening screech before charging towards Sairaorg with a speed that was impressive for its large size.

Sairaorg called upon his strength and held out his hands to catch the demon's punch. His eyes widened when the force of the punch made his knees buckle as he held off the massive fist that was double his size. Sairaorg gritted his teeth as he called upon more of his physical strength, slowly pushing against the gargoyle's fist.

However, he wasn't prepared for the gargoyle to pull his arm back, which made Sairaorg lose his balance, and shot out a massive purple beam from its ring in its mouth. _'His large fist was nothing but a distraction…'_ thought the Bael as the magical blast made direct contact, consuming Sairaorg and wrecking through the forest with no mercy. The massive beam etched itself into the ground as it tore through everything it its way, with a powerful shockwave following it and knocking down trees around the surrounding area.

"Alright! Good job, Gargoyle!" shouted Ginta in happiness as he watched his partner rearrange the environment around them. The forest in front of his was more like a wasteland now. He was sure that not even a person like Sairaorg could survive something like that.

However, after a few seconds of silence, the sound of Sairaorg coughing caught Ginta's ear. Gargoyle growled in anger as Sairaorg burst through the ground and pulled himself up. He was quite the distance away from Ginta and the blast had buried him underground. He groaned as he slowly stood on both of his feet, abet weakly. He was bleeding from multiple parts of his body and his shirt was totally destroyed while his pants were tattered.

The Bael clan heir gasped for breath. Pain was rolling through his body as he tried to collect himself. _'That was new…'_ thought Sairaorg, falling to one knee, _'For that thing to do all of this…'_ he thought, looking at the destroyed environment, ' _It's sure to attract some type of attention…I need to end this now.'_

Slowly, the taller teenager stood back up on both feet after having some time to recover. He perked up when he heard Ginta's voice from afar, "Still got some energy to fight, huh!?"

"Always…" mumbled Sairaorg as he concentrated, "You've shown me what you can do…I'll admit that I underestimated you, but I will still defeat you here and now!"

A white hue of magic erupted around Sairaorg before he rocketed towards Ginta and Gargoyle with a newfound speed.

"Knock him out, Gargoyle!" commanded Ginta. The monster roared out as he gripped both of its hands together and prepared to slam them both down on the approaching Bael. However, when it did, Sairaorg held out of his hands and stopped what seemed like his impending demise.

"I'm strong than ever before! Simple things like this won't stop me anymore!" shouted Sairaorg, pushing up and throwing Gargoyle's arms away from him and jumped towards the monster's center. Cocking his hand back, Sairaorg landed a devastating punch into Gargoyle's stomach, cracking his hard body and pushing it back.

The monster cried out in pain before shooting out multiple fire balls at Sairaorg, all that he blocked with a swipe of his hands. Gargoyle rushed forward, dropping one of its arms down on top of Sairaorg before swiping underneath it, hitting Sairaorg into his side and sending him flying into the part of the forest that wasn't destroyed.

After breaking through trees and bouncing off of the ground repeatedly, Sairaorg summoned his wings and flew back at the beast, intending on using the force of his flight to add on to his next attack. Flying at Gargoyle with a vengeance, Sairaorg slammed his knee into the monster's face, causing it to cry out.

However, the demon quickly recovered and head butted the boy down into the ground before him and charged up another magic blast-the same one that he used to destroy a large portion of the forest- and shot the beam at close range.

Managing to get back on his feet, Sairaorg stretched out his hands and stopped the beam. The muscular teen gritted his teeth in concentration as he continued to hold back the magical blast could possible evaporate him if it hit again. "I am Sairaorg Bael! This won't stop me! I've trained so much just to be recognized! THIS MEASLY BEAST WON'T DEFEAT ME!" he shouted with a war cry as he pushed forward, stomping one foot into the ground and then the other.

Ginta watched on in amazement as Sairaorg pushed though his partner's attack. The Bael forced slowly cocked back his right arm, clenching his fist closed, before knocking it right into the magical blast, redirecting it to Gargoyle.

The blast exploded on contact and encased Gargoyle in a flash of white and purple light. Its cries were overshadowed by the explosion setting off destroying the area around them with a massive eruption of energy. The ground peeled away from all of the energy as the shockwaves following the massive explosion ripped through everything.

"GAAHHH!" shouted Ginta as the shockwaves hit him like dynamite, blowing him away from his partner. He landed roughly into a tree root that was protruding from the ground but couldn't move away as the powerful shockwaves from the explosion trapped him against the ground.

After a full minute of massive explosion, everything finally calmed down. Ginta slowly stood up with a cough as he tried to find his partner through the smoke, "Ba-cough cough-Babbo! Babbo! Where are you?!" shouted the boy as he trudged through all of the wreckage that was once a forest.

He continued to his search for his best friend, but to no success. By now, some of the smoke had faded away, so he could see where he was going, but still couldn't find his friend. "Damn it, Babbo! Where are you?!"

Suddenly, the sound of a chain rattling entered Ginta's ears. He narrowed his eyes when he heard it again. The sound was coming from in front of him. "Babbo?" he said out loud.

His eyes widened when he saw Babbo, back in his base form, flying right to him. It a desperate attempt to save his best friend from further harm, Ginta jumped up to caught Babbo, landing harshly on the ground while doing so. "Babbo! Babbo! Can you hear me! Are you okay!?" cried out the boy, but Babbo couldn't hear a thing. He was knocked out cold with swirls replacing his eyes.

"Shit…" mumbled Ginta as he stood up and looked around, "Where is that bastard?"

"Right here…"

In a burst of speed, Sairaorg fazed in front of Ginta, surprising Ginta with his sudden appearance. He didn't have time to act as the Bael's fist impacted against Ginta's stomach. The sound of every bone in Ginta's midsection breaking was overshadowed by the impact of Sairoarg's punch, which sounded like a thunderclap in the midst of a terrible storm. Ginta hunched over Sairaorg's fist as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. A river of blood erupted from his mouth as he body twitched somewhat before his body hung loosely while being held up by Sairaorg's fist.

"Time for you to go…" whispered Sairaorg. Sure enough, both Ginta and Babbo were encased in a blue light before vanishing.

" _Ginta Toramizu has retired."_ said the voice of the announcer.

Sairaorg sighed as he recalled Touki, "Whelp! That was fun!" he said with a grin, as if the battle he won wasn't anything serious, "Seems like my skills have really went up a notch!"

 **Lilith Coliseum – Naruto's Suite**

Everyone within the suite jaws dropped to floor as they watched Sairoarg walk out of the massive crater he was in like it was nothing. The fight between Sairaorg and Ginta was very entertaining and shocking as no one, even Naruto, knew who would come out on top.

"Well damn!" said Kisame, generally shocked at Sairaorg's strength. The camera focused in on Sairaorg's back as he casually walked away from the battlefield, "Since when could he do all of that shit?!"

"This…this isn't good…" muttered Orochimaru as he watched Sairaorg on the screen, "I don't know if Lee could survive a battle against Sairaorg now. He's leveled a lot since our last fight…"

Naruto gripped his pants as he looked at the screen that showed Lee and Seekvaira walking through what seemed like to be the Flatlands Environment, "Keep safe, Lee. Things just got tricky."

 **Rating Game Dimension: Swamp Environment**

Rias was back to the same spot she was spawned at the beginning of the Devil Exam. The area itself hadn't changed, so that probably meant that there hasn't been a fight within the Swamp Environment, something that she was happy about. She didn't want a lot of traffic in the place she considered to be a safe haven from the chaos going on in the other environments. While the animals in the swamp were loud, she'd rather deal with them than fighting for her life in an all-out brawl with three other people.

She was sitting on her small island that was surrounded by the murky water that filled swamp floor. She didn't have a plan on what to do next. While sitting in one spot for hours wasn't going to do here any good, it was the only place that she felt comfortable at and she was hesitant to leave again.

"Uggghhh…why does this has to be so complicated…." she groaned, sprawl out on her small island, "I need to go out there and do something….anything that could remotely put me in the decision making of those running for the 'Rookie Four', but every time I leave this damn swamp, trouble always finds me…"

She rolled over to her side as she thought back to the fight with Deidara, "If it wasn't for Issei saving me, I'd be long gone…" she muttered, "I don't know why those over the tournament didn't pull me and Issei out. If you'd ask me, what Issei did was help me-and we're prohibited to helping each other-and should be punished for that. But since I'm still here, I should be thankful and not talking to myself out loud…."

Rias sweat dropped, realizing what she was saying, "This swamp is driving me crazy…I can't go to sleep because of all of the loud noises. They haven't made any type of announcements for another cabin, so I guess that was a one-time thing."

She sighed as she looked up at the gap in the trees, a clear view of the moon and dark red sky. Since she was always scared or fighting for her life for the past 36 hours, she never paid any attention to the beauty of the two. Even the swamp, while it was disgusting to the high-class devil, looked beautiful in its own unique way. The glow of the moon put Rias in a small trance as she focused on the bright orb in the sky.

However, the noise of water moving nearby pulled her out of her inner mulling. She sat up and looked around her. To her left were ripples within the water, confusing her, "That's a first…" she whispered, "While there may be fish or some other animal living in the water, that's the first time there's ever been a disturbance on the surface."

"You really are clueless, Gremory…" said a voice coming from the trees, putting the Gremory heiress on edge. Jumping on her feet and scanning the tree line, her eyes widened when she saw Dosu sitting on a branch high above her. He was juggling a small rock in his right hand, throwing in the air while catching it repeatedly. He tilted his head sideways as he continued speaking, "You were so lost in your own world that you didn't even notice me get this close to you."

"Dosu…" she said with a growl, instinctively calling upon her magic, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" he asked, suddenly throwing his pebble into the water below, "I did say that I would be one to finish you, right? I'm here to keep my promise."

"Even after teaming up?" she said, gripping her fist in anger.

Dosu waved off the girl's anger, "I told you…that was only a temporary alliance. Plus, you were probably trying to keep yourself hidden during our last battle just to take us out when we were tired. A solid plan, but I guess that good heart of yours didn't want to lose me just yet…" he said with a dark chuckle.

"I'll be sure not to make that mistake again…" she said.

"You should have known it was going to be like this." said Dosu, "Again, what we had was a small alliance. I saved you-you saved me. After that, it was over. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have a Phenex Tear with you, now would you?" he asked.

Her only reply was a heated glare centered at the mummy-boy. Dosu closed his eye and chuckled, "So damn troublesome…you should just quit now. I'm stronger and smarter than you. This environment is perfect for me to destroy you and you won't have any help this time." His lone eye opened and instantly, a wave of fear washed over Rias as Dosu's **KI** started to fill the area, "Do you really think you have what it takes….to survive?"

"We'll find out now, won't we?" she answered back, hiding the fear that plagued her heart, "So why don't you come down there and try to retire me now?"

"Because….you're funny…" he said, confusing Rias. Dosu rolled is shoulders as he continued, "You are blessed to be born in a high-class family…you will be an Ultimate-class devil in the future just by pure talent and genetics…you were meant to be perfect…however, I can sense the fear within you. You want to prove yourself, but you're too scared to do so. That insecurity of yours…it's so ironic to me."

"Is that all that you have against me? You just sound jealous because you weren't born on the same level of prestige as I did!" she countered back.

"Oh, believe me, I'm glad I wasn't born as a high-class devil." he replied, "With high-class blood comes blindness and laziness. I wouldn't want that swimming in my system."

Rias narrowed her eyes at Dosu, "Then why do you hate me? I've done nothing to you."

Dosu closed his eye, seemingly contemplating on his next words. The two shared a moment of silence between each before Dosu spoke, "Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed? Betrayed by someone you always believed to have your back?"

Rias' stance slackened as an image of her mother and father flashed within her mind, "I…I do understand that feeling…"

"Then maybe you could relate to me on an emotional level…even though the betrayal you went through probably wasn't as great as mine." he said with a chuckle as he pulled off his scarf, "I was once friends with a boy…a Gremory boy. He was a high-class devil and my late mother worked for his parents as a servant. As kids, we would play all of the time…like there wasn't that much of a difference between us."

Dosu gripped the bandages surrounded his face and started to unwind them, "One day, a mysterious fire occurred at their mansion while his parents were gone. We weren't proficient in our magic yet, so we were trapped in a burning room. The ceiling was falling on top of us and we were going to die…but one of the other servants arrived. I was so filled with hope….believing that I would be saved….but do you want to know what happened?"

Rias' eyes widened as she slowly covered her hand over her mouth in shock. Dosu had unwrapped all of the bandages around his head, revealing his horrendous disfigured face. Molten flesh covered his head, with not a single spot burnt except for the area around Dosu's left eye. Instead of a right eye, Dosu had a giant hole that was completely discolored from the hot flames that tortured him years back. His right cheek was sewed together with many black stitches, giving Dosu the look of a monster from a horror movie.

"Instead of saving me, the servant saved my friend instead, leaving me to die inside of the falling house." he said. Dosu licked his dry and crusty lips, which were tattered and didn't have any flesh on certain parts, "I used my left arm to cover the left side of my face, leaving it uninjured to the most part. My arm looks like shit though." he said with a shrug.

"Dosu….I…I didn't even know…" Rias muttered, generally horrified at his face but felt extremely sorrowful for him.

"Heh…if this makes you uncomfortable, then you'd love the part when that Gremory family blamed most of the servants for the fire…so they killed them….my mother being a part of that group."

Tears started to conjure themselves around the edges of Rias' eyes, but she couldn't say anything as Dosu stood up with a start, "From that moment, I realized just how the system worked…judged just because of the blood coursing through my veins…being seen as 'less than' to another group of devils…it aggravated me to no end! The hatred in my heart continued to grow as I decided that day that I would never be weak again in my life!"

He growled as his lone eye starred into Rias' eyes. The Gremory heiress felt like he was looking past her, glaring at her soul with overwhelming hatred. The same feeling of fear she had at the beginning of the exams found its way back into her heart, but only increased as Dosu's **KI** skyrocketed, paralyzing her with its presence. "Your skin….I'm mad that it isn't unblemished….you always had someone serve you…all of you high-class devils know nothing of what the real world is, but continue to live as if you're better than the rest! You've never had to struggle…you've never had to sleep in allies…never had to fight your way out of a life-or-death situation…but you're somehow better than me…more powerful than me…"

A veil of purple encased Dosu as multiple magic circles appeared behind him, causing Rias to step back a little in fear, "I told you that I would destroy you, and I will. Everyone will see their favorite little Gremory outclassed in every way-then people will realize who the fuck I am! They will see DOSU KINUTA!" he shouted as multiple beams of magic rained down at Rias, signaling the start of a long awaited battle.

… **..**

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… **..**

 **Shit, hi guys and gals!**

 **You know….I made the first author note about a month ago, talking about how I hoped I would make my deadline….**

 **Well, I clearly didn't…**

 **Lol, I came back to college and then 'poof!', I started having fun and classes again. My time was kinda stolen from me….I have been lazy with this update because…well….i just didn't feel like typing it-BUT I'M HERE NOW AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the long awaited chapter! When will the next chapter drop, you ask?**

 **Shit, I don't even know myself! But just know that it will come out someday…..someday…maybe a month or two from now….Lol.**

 **But yea, I really hope you all liked this chapter. Tried to insert as much action as possible while throwing in some comedy in there as well. New character alert in Zekrom Beal making his appearance. What do I have in store with him? Hmmmm…People who understand his character knows what's gonna happen…**

 **Tell me how you all feel about the retirements so far in the Devil Exams. I plan on ending it in the next chapter, so tell me how I should go about retiring the other competitors.**

 **Any thoughts or ideas you want me to read up on? REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I already know that my review count is gonna drop significantly again because it took me so long to update this chapter, but I don't really care about review numbers anymore. If just twenty of you were to express your true feelings for the chapter, then that's all I need.**

 **Thanks for all the support and love, you all. It really means a lot and it's what's keeping me going.**

 **Also, BreakThrough is about to hit 3,000 favorites (we're at 2,997 right now), but I know it'll be a while before I update to talk about it and I know it'll happen soon, so we should celebrate now…**

 **SPRAY THE FUCKING CHAMPANGE! 3 THOUSAND FAVORITES!? THAT'S AMAZING! I LOVE ALL OF YOU! I HAVE THE BEST FAN BASE IN FANFICTION-THAT'S FACTS!**

 **I probably won't update for a while, so happy Black History Month and soon to be Valentine's Day! Want to know how you can enjoy Black History Month? Watch the Boondocks-all three seasons (fuck the fourth season). The main character of the show, Huey Freeman, is my profile pick for those that have been wondering….**

 **Happy Valentine's Day for all the single females out there! Ya boy NarutoPlug is thinking about you. I'll send you some chocolate and kisses through the mail if ya want me to, ya diggggg?**

 **Again, shout out to JungJaco, author of 'Tournament of Kings'. I was influenced by his story to do this tournament-style event in BreakThrough, so you all should check his story out to see where I got my ideas from. (Well, I already knew I was gonna do the Devil Exams a long time ago, but it's still good to study up on other authors and see what they did to make their stories special, ya dig?)**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

 **Free 21 Savage**


	22. TheDevilExamsFinals

**[Heeyyyyyyy guys and gals…I'm back…..uh..heheheh! Been a while huh?**

 **Sorry for the long wait yall, but it will be worth it. This a mega chapter (over 25k words) and its jam packed with action. I'm not even going to delete my first Author Note that I made because I know a lot of yall like reading what I have to say, lol.**

 **But I won't keep you any further. Thanks for all the support.]**

 **Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, living it up today as it is Single Man Awareness Day (and not Valentine's Day. I've never even heard of Valentine's Day before).**

 **Happy about the response that I got from the last chapter, but I am a little confused about something that you all were mentioning in your reviews. A lot of you were confused as to why Sairoarg seems so strong 'all of a sudden', but believe that I nerfed him during his fight against Lee so long back in chapter six (which seems like such a long time ago. Damn, I'm old.)**

 **Of course Sairaorg was going to become stronger over the time span of then and now, but I thought that it would be more accepted and understood than confusing. And I'm not bashing you all, I'm just generally confused myself. Sairaorg, even though all he does is punch things, is the heir to the Bael Clan and is one of the strongest young devils of his generation. He's supposed to be strong. I amped up his Touki ability because it's been a while since we've seen him fight, so of course he's going to become stronger as time passes.**

 **I just wanted to throw that out there. Again, I'm not mad and yelling at y'all because it was something that y'all wanted to know. I was just confused on the matter. That's it.**

 **But on to better news – MY BOY 21 SAVAGE IS FREE! SPRAY THE CHAMPAGNE!**

 **I knew they wasn't gonna be able to be hold my boy in the cage! And let this be a lesson, everyone, that if you have money and fame, you can get out of any jam! That's why ya boy, NarutoPlug, gotta run up the cash myself so I can be up there, ya diggggg?!**

 **Just wanna say thanks everyone for all of the support and love. I really mean it. I do this for y'all.**

 **But enough of the mushy-mushy shit. Let's get into the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **TheDevilExams:Finals**

 **Rating Game Dimension: Swamp Environment**

A veil of purple encased Dosu as multiple magic circles appeared behind him, causing Rias to step back a little in fear, "I told you that I would destroy you, and I will. Everyone will see their favorite little Gremory outclassed in every way-then people will realize who the fuck I am! They will see DOSU KINUTA!" he shouted as multiple beams of magic rained down at Rias, signaling the start of a long awaited battle.

Rias summoned her wings and quickly flew off of her small island, which was destroyed by the barrage of magical blast by Dosu created. Some of the beams of magic followed after the Gremory heiress, causing her to create multi-layer defensive barriers to hold back the threatening beams.

The red head heiress gritted her teeth as Dosu's magical beams connected with her barrier. While they did hold strong, blocking any attempt of harm, Rias noticed the amount of power that Dosu put into his spell. ' _He's not playing any games…'_ she thought, sweat conjuring together on her forehead as she continued to hold back the beams, _'If I slip up even once, he'll destroy me.'_

Dosu summoned his own wings and jumped off his perch from the trees, dropping down onto Rias and intending on landing a menacing punch to her side. She anticipated his move however and dodged by using her legs to push off of her barrier while flapping her wings to generate more speed. While flying away, she summoned magic and shot multiple bullets of Power of Destruction at the hunchback.

"Not enough to stop me." he said, stretching out his arm. A loud screeching sound filled the area as Dosu created a sonic boom, which canceled out Rias attempt at harming him, "I know all of your little tricks, Gremory. You won't be able to catch me off guard."

' _While that may be true, that doesn't mean that he has the advantage.'_ thought Rias as she continued to shot bolts of her Power of Destruction at Dosu, who was swerving through the assault to avoid being disintegrated into nothingness, _'He knows all of my strengths, but I also know how he fights now. If I can just keep my distance, I'll always be out of range of his sonic attacks.'_

Dosu grunted as one of Rias' bolts of destruction grazed his arm, burning through his sleeve and a small bit of flesh with ease, "She supposed to be a long-range fighter, so I guess I have the disadvantage right now." he muttered, blocking the approaching bolts of destruction with a screeching sonic blast of sound, "Time to use something she hasn't seen before…"

Rias ceased her bolts of destruction and looked at Dosu in confusion as he created a white magic circle that hovered over his outstretched arm. She cocked an eyebrow in even more confusion when Dosu threw it magic circle in her direction. Not want to take any chances, Rias shot a blast of Power of Destruction at the circle to destroy, however she was surprised when Dosu pointed his fingers down, the circle following his actions and ducked underneath the PoD bolt. It stopped once it was right underneath Rias once a loud screeching sound erupted from it.

"AAHHH!" Rias screamed in pain as sonic boom hit her. Instead of being blown away though, she took the brute of the attack in the same spot until the attack ended, the magic circle disappearing.

Rias slumped over and started to fall from the sky. Her skin was smoking and burn marks danced all over her skin. She felt weak and her head was ringing from the explosion of sound that forced its way into her ears. She was losing consciousness as she landed into the murky waters of the swamp, not caring that she was drench herself in the disgusting water.

She slowly pushed herself up, holding her head against her palm before her danger senses alarmed her to move. Looking behind her, she saw three massive fire dragons quickly approaching her, ready to burn her into a crisp. Ignoring her agonizing headache, Rias summoned a green barrier around her body, which blocked the explosion of fire from hitting her once the dragons made contact with it.

Dosu watched from the skies as smoke enveloped the area below him. He watched with a keen eye for any signs of the red-headed Gremory. _'She better not be finished. This would be too easy and not as enjoyable if she doesn't put up a fight,'_ thought the hunch back as he continued his inspection of the ground below him.

He internally smirked when he saw blue tendrils of water shoot out of the smokescreen and was rocketing towards him with impressive speeds. He quickly summoned a white magic circle and destroyed the tendrils with a blast of sound, dismantling their structure. He then created three more fire dragons and ordered them to fly into the smokescreen. "I'm sick of waiting for you Gremroy! Come out and fight me! Stop running away like a coward!"

Dosu perked up when he saw a flash of red within the smokescreen, "Probably destroying my dragons with her Power of Destruction…tch…that ability is like a cheat code." he mumbled as he watched the display of red orange flashes happening within the smoke cloud.

Suddenly, Rias shot out of the smokescreen with a smirk on her face as she flew towards Dosu, red energy gathering together around her palms. Dosu raised a non-existent eyebrow at this. Rias wasn't one for charging at her enemy because she is a long-range specialist. "You must be desperate." he summed up as he created another magic circle and sent a massive sonic blast down upon the girl, "This should end you."

Shocked filled Dosu's body however, when he saw Rias was unaffected by his sonic boom and continued to close in on him. "What!" he shouted as he summoned a barrier to protect himself from Rias.

Again, shock and confusion was evident in his lone eye as Rias' body didn't connect with his barrier, but it fazed through it and himself like it was nothing. "An afterimage?" he questioned before it hit him like a ton of bricks, "An illusion!"

Suddenly, red beams of destruction shot out from all over, coming out from different areas of the swamp and heading right for Dosu. He was surrounded at all angles as the beams of destruction closed in on him, causing him to create a multi-layered defensive bubble around him in order to block all of the beams.

The real Rias was gathering her breath as she slowly hovered out of the fading smoke cloud. She watched in happiness that her plan had succeeded, "That's one thing that I did learn from Naruto-sama. Glad that it came in handy." she said with a relieved sigh. While she was fighting off Dosu's fire dragons, she created guided missiles of Power of Destruction within the forest to use as a full-scale attack once he was distracted. The distraction was her body double illusion that drew Dosu's attention while she created all of her guided missiles. While it took a lot of concentration to pull everything off in a matter of seconds, she was pleased to see that she had back Dosu in a corner.

Her moment of victory didn't last long as a loud screeching noise filled the area, causing the Gremory heiress to cover her ears to block some of the sound. Dosu, using his sonic abilities, blew all of the smoke and lingering PoD away, revealing his angry face, "You almost got me with that one. You are very resourceful in using an illusion to draw my attention elsewhere."

"Just because you had a hard life doesn't mean that I can't keep up with you." she said, her body glowing as her Power of Destruction was surrounding her in a magnificent display of light, "We've all had our struggles, Dosu, and prevailing through them made me who I am today."

Dosu laughed, mocking the Gremory, "Ho? So you're going to preach to me now about becoming strong? Stop acting like you've had to work for anything to live! You have the genes of Gremory and Bael flowing through your veins. You're promised to be an Ultimate-Class devil just by blood alone! Don't talk to me like you know anything about prevailing from your struggles! You couldn't even safe yourself from being married off to the Phenex prick, needing someone else to do the heavy lifting for you!"

While his words were true, it caused Rias' anger to spike, the magic erupting from her mirroring her anger. With a loud, rage-filled roar, Rias conjured up a massive amount of her magic and shot a huge ball of Power of Destruction at Dosu. His eye widened at the power behind the attack, and quickly decided that blocking that wouldn't be his best idea. With a flap of his wings, Dosu shifted his body to his right to dodge the incoming death ball, but Rias anticipated his movements.

Stretching her upwards while creating a large red magic circle, a flood of red beams of Power of Destruction shot upwards into the sky, destroying through the branches that stood in their way like they were nothing. "Let me shown you've what I can do since I need someone else to save me!" she shouted with anger.

Dosu's lone eye widened when all of the beams showered back down to the ground, but they were all heading right for him. "Shit." he muttered before taking off in a burst of speed, wanting to avoid Rias' guided missiles.

"It's no use…" she muttered, concentrating on keeping her fireworks locked onto Dosu's retreating form. Controlling the direction of her PoD was one of the techniques Naruto had taught her months ago, and she worked on it tirelessly during the break. While she wasn't a master at using guided missiles, especially those that packed some much power into them, she knew she couldn't slack off if she even wanted the small chance of beating Dosu. She knew that he was stronger than her-probably had more experience than her as well-but Rias was smart. She was an expert tactician. If there was a way to beating the teenage-mummy, she would find it.

An annoyed Dosu growled as he continued to dodge and block Rias' fireworks that were following him around the swamp. No matter where he went, they would break through any obstacle and continue to follow him. "This little witch is going all out…" he muttered, "Running this damn swamp isn't doing me any good. Offense is my best defense here." he stated, summoning white magic circles that hovered over his fist.

Halting mid-air while cocking his right arm back, Dosu turned around as one of the many rockets of destruction was about to hit him. Moving inward, he grunted as his fist impacted the tip of the red rocket. From the magic circle erupted a large screeching noise as a powerful sound wave collided against and broke through the red energy stream in an explosion of red light.

He didn't stopped there as he shifted to his right dodge another rocket before sending a sonic boom at a trio of rockets raining down from above him with his left hand. Once they were gone, four more beams danced around each other before splitting apart; serving as a diversion for the one they were hiding. He quickly hovered over to his left while upper cutting the rocket, destroying it with an explosion of red light and visible white rings of sound. The other four and one rocket that he dodge not too long ago circled around aimed for his chest and exposed back. Stretching out both arms, he released a brutal sonic boom that caused them to explode in a magnificent display of light.

Flying out of the massive explosion, Dosu charged into the hellfire of destruction bolts that was meters away with not fear. Pulling up his right sleeve, revealing his Resonating Echo Speaker, he filled it with magic to continue his counter attack. White tendrils of sound blasted out of his speaker and countered all of Rias' beams, matching them in power and speed.

Dosu flew through the chaos surrounding him like it was nothing, dodging the occasional beam of destruction and blasting it away with a sonic boom while speeding towards Rias. The young Gremory saw his approaching and didn't let up on her assault. "You're not getting near me!" she shouted, creating extra guided missiles and adding her own softball sized orbs of destruction at the mummy.

The area was filled with flashes of red and white as Dosu and Rias battled out mid-air, countering one's attack with another, and then attacking with a new spell only to be blocked again. It was an endless war as sound and destruction clashed against each other.

Dosu smirked as he continued to pour out tendrils of white sound from his speaker to counter Rias' missiles, "This is pretty interesting, Gremory!" he shouted over the loud explosions, "You've really impressed me with this new determination of yours!"

Rias gritted her teeth as she continued her barrage of mixed destructive attacks. Keeping up with Dosu was slowly tiring her out. While she felt like she had a large pool of magic to call upon, she was feeling the effects of drowsiness affect her aim and control over her magic. _'I need to end this now!'_ she thought, however she couldn't find an opening to capitalize on.

"Alas," said Dosu, catching Rias' attention, "all good things must come to an end. This was fun." Dosu stretched out his arms sideways, opening his palms while gathering his magic together, "Thanks for producing all of this sound for me. It makes controlling it easier for me, even when I'm so far away from you." he finished as he clapped his hands together.

A _'whirrrr'_ sound stretched across the swamp battlefield, its piercing high-frequencies noticeable even through the explosions. Rias' vision suddenly blurred and she lost control of her magic. She instantly moved her hands to her ears to try and block the sound somewhat, but the damage was already done. She felt something wet on her palms and she saw that it was blood leaking from out of her ears. Her whole world went blurry as she as her stance slackened.

Dosu recalled his magic and floated over to Rias, who was struggling to stay in the air, "My specialty is sound, Gremory. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get close to your because of your specialty in spells, so I decided to let my sound reach you instead. I just needed a large source to manipulate and send to your ears. The noise from the explosions was the perfect medium to use to take you down. You can't defeat sound." he said with a chuckle.

In a desperation attempt to create some distance, Rias tried to conjure up another bolt of destruction, but her spitting headache only worsened when she called upon her magic. She could hardly even move because of her headache and lack of balance. She was about to plummet to the ground, but Dosu's hand wrapped around her throat, catching her mid-air. "Ah, ah, ah, little girl…You've got something that interest me." Dosu's left hand reached into Rias' pocket, searching for her Phenex Tear that he helped her get almost 24 hours ago.

Dosu's hand was inside of her left pocket, but her Phenex Tear was safely protected in her right. She knew that if Dosu were to get her Phenex Tear, his chances of winning would increase drastically. Issei's smiling face flashed in her mind and she knew that she had to destroy the tear. _'i…I..ne..ne-need…..to do something…'_ she thought as she forced herself to produce a small amount of Power of Destruction around her right hand. Before Dosu could do anything to stop her, she set her open palm against her skirt, which her PoD destroyed instantly and the Phenex Tear that was inside it.

Dosu's eyes widened when he saw her destroy the Phenex Tear, but he didn't response the way that Rias thought he would. Dosu sighed in disappointment and said, "Well then…there goes that."

Seeing no other reason to keep her up, Dosu dropped Rias, letting her body fall down until she hit the surface of the swampy waters beneath them. While the water wasn't deep at all, it was enough to swallow her body whole, covering her like she was never there in the first place.

"She just had to be difficult…stupid Gremory." said Dosu, crossing his arms while flying down to where Rias was. His feet sunk into the water and mud of the swamp, but he didn't mind. He reached into the water until he had a grip on her hair. He pulled on it until Rias' head was out of the water. She was gasping for breath, a bit weakly because she was still disoriented. "Hello there," he joked.

Rias coughed out water as she gasped out for air. She didn't' even bother trying to attack him because she was disoriented and couldn't move properly. Her vision somewhat recovered, but her world was still a little fuzzy.

"Hmmm…" said Dosu, "You really did surprise me a little with you putting up a fight-I'll give you that- but in the end, my determination was stronger than yours." he set his free hand's palm on her forehead and prepared to finish her off, "While I don't usually do this, I will give you the opportunity to get something off your chest before I retire you. Anything you want to say?" he asked her.

Rias coughed again, still gathering air in her lungs. She blinked a few times as her vision started to clear and Dosu's image was clearer now. She held her tongue for a while, but to Dosu's surprise, she actually smiled at him, even though was a weak smile. She smiled at him and said, "I ha..had fun….thanks…Dosu…Kinuta.."

"You had fun?" he said, highly confused, "What the hell does that mean!?" he said with a small amount of anger leaking out.

She weakly laughed, pissing him off even further, "I was…I wasn't sure about mys-self at the beg-g-ginning of this tournament…but now…I'm…comfortable….I can leave with pride in myself that I made it this far…" she closed her eyes with let out a content sigh, as if a weight was lifted off of her shoulders, "I give up…I surrender…."

Rias' body was enveloped in a flash of blue light for a few seconds before fading away, teleporting out of the Rating Game Dimension, leaving Dosu by himself in the murky waters of the swamp.

" _Rias Gremory has retired."_ said the announcer, his voice stretching throughout the Rating Game Dimension.

Dosu growled, not at all satisfied by Rias' surrender. He sat in silence for a while, collecting his thoughts, before sighing. "Whatever…what's done is done." he said with disappointment. He shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the sky, which was now visible since Dosu and Rias' battle destroyed a lot of the surrounding area. "Guess I've gotta find something new to do…"

Dosu's lone eye narrowed when he felt a wave of energy surge through the swamp. It wasn't a strong energy wave, but it was noticeable. Summoning his wings, Dosu flew above the tree line to find out what was going on. After searching the skies for a few seconds, he lifted a non-existent eyebrow once he saw what seemed like a large, white, glowing moon flying over the City Environment, which was north of Dosu's current location.

"What in the hell is going on over there?" he said to himself in wonder.

 **Rating Game Dimension: City Environment**

Standing on top of the tallest skyscraper in the City Environment was one Diodora Astaroth, heir of the Astaroth Clan, with his ever-present, creepy closed-eye smile. His long cloak was weakly fluttering behind him because of the power oozing from out of his artificial moon, which was hovering a few meters over the blue haired boy.

"With Rias gone, that leaves eight competitors in the Devil Exam. I've been out of the spot light for some time now, but I guess now is the time for me to make my first appearance and show these little children just what I can do.." he said with a small giggle.

' _My with artificial moon, it will call out to everyone in this dimension to come here…I'll be awaiting them and destroy them all with my new powers thanks to a certain little girl…'_ he thought darkly as he crossed his arms over his chest and started to wait for his prey.

 **Rating Game Dimension: Swamp Environment**

Another pulse of energy flared throughout the swamp, originating from the moon-like object flying over the City Environment. Dosu clenched his fist together while thinking, _'Whoever made that spell must have a lump sum of magic, probably even more than most of the high-classed youth here…and that thing is calling to me to go near it….probably some overconfident dumbass trying to lure everyone into one spot. It'll take me a few hours to get over there by foot, time I'll use to recover my magic.'_

Coming to a final decision, Dosu flew out of the Swamp Environment and landed on the muddy ground of the Marshland Environment, "Alright, whoever you are…you have my attention. I'll be sure to make your wait worthwhile." he said as he started his long stretch to the City Environment.

After Dosu was a long distance away, Suigetsu grew out of a small puddle, sipping on one of his water bottles, "That guy is pretty good. If I try to fight against him, I know I'll lose with all that sound he throws around. I almost hurled while watching his battle against that redhead with the boobs." he said with a chuckle, "But I should stay away from him for now. His magic specialty is almost built to handle someone like me….ughhhh, why did this have to be so hard…" he complained.

He stared at the artificial moon, which was quite a distance away, "I'll stay out of sight for now," said the fish-boy, "but when I see the opportunity, I'll take it for sure…." he finished, sinking back into his mud puddle.

 **Rating Game Dimension: Mountain Environment**

"Partner, what is that thing?"

"It's our signal…seems like our search won't be for grant after all…"

Seekvaira's eyes narrowed at the white ball of magic floating in the sky. It was in the City Environment, with the Desert Environment being the only thing separating them from reaching it. They had been searching for hours for an enemy to retire together, but didn't have any luck in finding anyone. Seekvaira, however, knew what this meant for them both.

"Why do I feel like it's calling out to me?" asked Lee, feeling a wave of foreign energy flow throughout his body, "That thing is weird."

"It's a very advance spell, that's for sure." said Seekvaira, thinking of a game plan, "It's supposed to make you feel like that, Lee. It's almost like a flare signal. Whoever is doing this wants everyone to go to their direction. That is where the final battle will be held."

"So everybody will be going over there, huh?" asked the green beast, realizing what this turn of events meant for them.

"Possibly." started Seekvaira, "After Rias' retirement, which wasn't long ago, there are only eight participants left in the tournament. The Devil Exam will end when there are only four people left, meaning that we only have four more chances to force retirements and show our skill. Anybody who's smart will there at the City Environment, so you can almost certify that there will be a large scale battle in the near future. Over the past day, we've talked about all of our skills, so I believe our teamwork will help us out tremendously. We just need to stay focused."

"YOSH! Focus is my middle name! Let's do this partner!" shouted Lee with enthusiasm.

Seekvaira rolled her eyes at Lee's childish ways as she continued, "Judging by the distance, we'll be there in around twenty minutes by flight, but I think we should wait for more competitors to arrive before making out move. This is our chance, Lee!" she said, summoning her wings and flying off towards the Desert Environment, her partner right behind her.

 **Rating Game Dimension: Grassland Environment**

Sairaorg crossed his arms as he stared at the new moon in the sky. He snickered as he shook his head, "Diodora, while I knew you were skilled, I didn't think that you were so confident in yourself to reveal your location and draw everyone in the Devil Exams to you." he said with a hearty laugh.

"Alrighty then, old friend! If you want to fight, then I'll be sure to give you a show!" shouted Sairaorg with a hunger for battle as he flew off towards the City Environment.

 **Two hours later…**

 **Rating Game Dimension: Desert Environment**

"Why…the…fuck…is...it…taking…so…..long!" shouted Issei as he stomped his way through the deserted desert.

" **Maybe because you're walking through a giant sandbox called the desert, you idiot."** said Ddraig, the gem glowing on Issei's Sacred Gear as the ancient dragon spoke.

When the new moon was created, Issei wasn't that far off from the City Environment. He was where the Desert Environment met the Tundra Environment, which made no sense to Issei. Why was a cold environment right next to one a hot environment? After seeing the moon, he decided to remain discrete and travel through the desert. Because it was night time in the Rating Game dimension, the desert was cooler instead of being unbearably hot, which made it easier for Issei to travel through the sandy ocean.

"Why can't I just fly over this bullshit? I'll be tired before I even get to the City Environment!" he shouted at his partner.

" **We were trying to stay discrete, but you can throw that out of the window because of your loud yelling!"** Ddraig countered.

"Well excuse me." said Issei with a huff. He understood is partner, but felt like the extra traveling was unnecessary. He was still a good forty minutes away from the City Environment if he continued walking at his current speed.

" **Fine! Summon your wings and get out of here! Just make sure you stay aware of your surroundings…"** Ddraig caved, allowing his partner to take to the air to get out of the desert.

"Alright!" Issei said happily as he summoned his wings and flew into the air, "Ahh! Now I can get to the city in a couple of minutes!"

" **Yea, yea, yea…Glad your happy now, you lazy perv."** said Ddraig, mentally rolling his eyes as his partner. **"I swear it's like you forgot all about your stamina training with Tannin for three weeks."**

"There's nothing wrong with saving up on energy, Ddraig." said Issei. Ddraig huffed again but didn't respond to his partner with words. Taking his silence as the end of the conversation, Issei continued his flight over the massive sand box, inching closer and closer to the City Environment and the moon floating above the landscape.

He continued his flight, but his senses picked up on something below him. "Huh?" he said, stopping midflight and looking down at the ground below. He lifted an eyebrow when he saw a glob of sand flying up towards. He inched to his left, letting the sand pass by him harmlessly. "What was that?" he asked himself, checking the sands to see if he saw anybody below him.

After not seeing anything suspicious, he decided to ignore the sand, "I guess I'll just go then…." but stopped again when he another small glob of sand fly up at him, "Okay, what is going on here?!" he shouted annoyance.

" **Someone is down there."** Ddraig said through his mental connection with Issei, **"I can sense magic below us. Whoever it is, they're probably using the sands to hide himself."**

' _So what do I do?'_ asked Issei.

" **Ignore them. You need to get out of this desert and to the city. Let them follow you if they want to fight."** ordered the dragon.

"If you say so…" said Issei, listening to his partner's orders and continued flying, "I guess that makes sense because of that moon thingy call everyboddddddd—woah, woah, WOAH! What the hell is that!?"

In front of Issei was a massive column of sand in the shape of a hand. Catching the Red Dragon Emperor off guard, the massive sand hand slammed its palm into Issei, knocking him out of the air smashing him into the desert below.

"Oww! That hurt!" shouted an aggravated Issei as jumped out of his sandy grave in comedic fashion, smoke shooting out of his ears. He instantly summoned his **Boosted Gear** and checked the area around him. "Okay bastard! You have my fucking attention now! Where are you?!"

After a few seconds of silence, a small column started to grow from the ground. The sand started to shape into a person, surprising Issei. His eyes widened when the sand shaped together into Gaia, one of the participants of the Devil Exams. "You're….you're Gaia, right?"

"….correct…" she muttered, opening her pale green eyes to the world while crossing her arms over her chest, "and you…you are the Red Dragon Emperor, right?" she said, her deep but melodic voice filling the air.

"Yea…" he said with a small glare, "And I guess you were the one that made that sand hand too, huh?"

"Correct again…" she mumbled, "You wish to go to the City Environment where Diodora made his fake moon, no?"

' _So that's who made it…'_ thought Issei, "Yeah, but if you plan on stopping me, you'll have to fight me to do so." he said, flashing his Sacred Gear at the girl.

Gaia blankly started Issei, unbothered by Issei's display, "Before we begin, we'll be having company soon…."

Issei raised an eyebrow at Gaia, not understanding what she was saying before hear the sounds of explosion in the distance. "Wha…" he said to himself while looking behind, the same direction the sounds of explosions were coming from.

Issei covered his ears as the explosions grew louder and louder the closer they got. "What the hell is this!?" he shouted as the horrible ringing sound was starting to affect him mentally.

" **Partner! Protect yourself with your Balance Breaker! It'll protect you from the sound!"** commanded Ddraig. Listening to his partner, Issei summoned his Balance Breaker, Scale Mail. The harmful sound waves were considerably less painful as he awaited the incoming devil.

Suddenly, a flying figure landed next to Issei, "These fucking sand arms are getting on my nerves…" said the newly arrived Dosu as he dusted himself off.

"Dosu?" said Issei within his Balance Breaker.

Dosu glanced over to Issei with a small glare, "Oh great, you're here." he said with disdain. He perked up when he saw Gaia standing not too far from them. "I guess she's the one controlling the sand."

"….correct…" muttered Gaia, not having much to say about his arrival.

"What happened to you?" said Issei, taking notice to Dosu's tattered clothing.

"Well, after forcing your [King]'s retirement," Dosu smirked at the spike in Issei's **KI** , "I came over here to see what that moon thing is. The moment my foot touched sand, I'm attacked by massive columns of sand. Took a few hits while making my way over here…"

"You move like a bug….that annoys me." said Gaia to Dosu.

"Yeah, well being chased around by sand for half an hour is worse if you ask me." said Dosu, gripping his hands together, "…..I can't even believe I'm about to say this….Hey…red dude…"

"What?!" snapped Issei. He didn't like Dosu at all since he was the one that forced Rias' retirement, and there was the time that he threatened them both after the Young Devil Gathering meeting.

"…..we should team up…"

"And why in the hell would I do that?!" shouted Issei.

Ignoring Issei's anger, Dosu continued, "We are obliviously at a disadvantage because of the environment we're in. She can control all of this sand around us by will. I say we team up to take her out and get to the city."

" **He's right."** Ddraig said to his partner, **"It's best you team up with the boy. We don't know how skilled this girl is, especially while she's in her natural habitat. Hold back your hatred for the boy for now to take her down."**

Issei grunted, "Fine, but this alliance is over when she's done for. Remember that." he threatened.

Dosu chuckled as he entered his battle stance, "That's funny…you're master said something similar when we teamed up yesterday…"

"Are you two done?" Gaia asked abruptly, "You're taking up too much time for my liking."

"Then we'll make sure to finish you off quickly then." said Dosu, preparing to take down the sand user.

 **Issei Hyoudou, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Pawn], and Dosu Kinuta, Full-Blooded Low-Class Devil**

 **vs.**

 **Gaia, Full-Blooded Low-Class Devil**

Starting off the fight, Gaia used the sand behind her to create a massive wave of sand. The wave continued to be filled with sand as it grew as blocked the sky above them. Both Issei and Dosu's eyes widened as they watched the towering figure grow in size in a matter of seconds.

"What in the hell…" muttered Issei as the two as the shadow of the now tsunami-sized wave that blocked the dark sky.

"I will not go easy on you two…" Gaia muttered darkly, "This tournament…is an opportunity…"

Dosu, not wanting to get crushed by the massive wave, tried to fly away from the sand wave that would crush him. His lone eye widened when he noticed sand wrapped around his ankles, holding him in place. "This isn't good." he muttered to himself.

"Hey! What the fuck!" shouted Issei as he tried to pull himself free. His ankles were trapped into the sand, holding them in a strong vice grip. "I can't move!"

"Great observation, genius." Dosu said with the role of his lone eye. Issei shouted at him, but he ignored him once again, "We're going to have to defend ourselves then!" said Dosu, creating a sonic boom to blast a hole into the crashing sand wave. Issei copied Dosu's idea by shooting the tsunami with a Dragon Shot that broke through the crashing wave, his body safe from all of the dense sand as it landed around him.

Not stopping there, Dosu quickly shot a weak sonic boom to his feet, freeing himself from his bondage. Summoning his wings and flying away from the approaching sand arms that Gaia made, the hunch back flew over to Issei and did the same, freeing him from his trap. "Now go attack her head on. I've got the arms."

"No problem!" shouted Issei, taking off like a rocket while leaving a dust cloud behind him.

Gaia continued to look unbothered as the speeding Red Dragon Emperor continued his way towards her. "Take this!" he shouted as he cocked his arm back in preparation for a devastating haymaker.

Before he could even reach her though, a thick wall of sand blocked Issei's path. "You think that can stop me!?" he yelled while releasing his strength in one strong punch. His fist broke through the wall, but took the brute of Issei's force, his fist only inches away from Gaia's face.

"Idiot…" muttered Gaia. Manipulating the sand she used as a barrier, the wall transformed into a sand cocoon, encasing the surprised Issei inside.

Before she could make the crushing blow, Dosu appeared after dealing with the stray sand arms, punching the cocoon with a sonic boom. His eyes widened, however, when not even a dent was made in the cocoon. _'What!?'_ he mentally shouted while jumping away from the trap.

"You are weak…" muttered Gaia to Dosu, "Your little sound waves don't affect me."

"Penetrate!" Issei's voice shouted from inside his personal sand cocoon. Suddenly, Gaia's cocoon burst open and Issei erupted out of it, surprising Gaia. Taking advantage of her being off guard, Issei kicked Gaia with his right foot, blasting her away into a sand heap. "Hell yea! Take that, you sand witch!"

Dosu sweat dropped at Issei's word play, "I'd rather pair up with the Gremory now…" he muttered under his breath. He perked up when he saw that Gaia's face was cracked as if it was glass. "So she did take some damage from that kick…"

"Of course she would! Nobody can take a kick from me without feeling a little sting." said Issei with confidence as he regrouped with the hunchback, "But her sand is really heavy. I could barely punch through it. I had to use my Penetrate in order to bust through her sand trap."

Dosu's eyes narrowed as he took a closer look at the recovering Gaia. "You see her face? It's cracked like glass…she must have some type of armor covering her real body."

"Whoa, that's tuff." muttered Issei, "But I can keep hit her, I'll break through that shield so we can finish her off!"

"Won't happen…" Gaia said, interrupting the two boy's conversation. After pushing herself from the ground, Gaia covered her hand in sand and placed it over her face. After a few seconds, she pulled her hand back to reveal her face wasn't cracked anymore.

"Seems like we've gotta start all over again…" said Dosu, creating three fire dragons and sending them towards Gaia.

Gaia countered by covering her entire body in a cocoon of sand, similar to the one she trapped Issei in. The cocoon withstood Dosu's triple fire dragon attack like it was nothing. "Well that worked…" groaned the boy.

"Nothing I can't handle!" shouted Issei, flying towards Gaia's cocoon. "Penetrate!" he shouted as he prepared to punch through the cocoon like before. However, before he could reach the cocoon, large spikes grew of from the side of the cocoon pierced Issei's Scale Mail in multiple places, drawing blood while doing so. "GAHH!" he shouted.

"Damn it!" said Dosu, flying over to free his 'comrade.' He pulled Issei out of the needle trap and quickly flew away from the large arms that grew from the sand below. They didn't stop as they followed the duo into the air.

Releasing the slowly recovering Issei, Dosu summoned two white magic circles over his fist and blasted a barrage of sonic booms to the approaching sand arms, destroying them in an instant. "Are you alright?" he asked Issei as he finished off the rest.

"Yea…I think I am at least." sighed Issei as he repaired his Balance Breaker, "She really caught me off guard with that last stunt."

"I'm not going to lie, I don't know how we can defeat her with all this sand at her disposal." said Dosu, "She can literally attack us from any direction if we fight on the ground…"

"And she can surround us in the air with her massive sand arms…" finished Issei, "So what can we do?"

' _That's why I'm trying to come up with a plan…'_ thought Dosu with a hum, _'While physical attacks do work, mine won't be strong enough to deal any major damage. This idiot's punches are strong, but he's not fast enough to deliver enough of them to break through her sand shield before being skewered alive by her needles….the only other option I can see working finding some way to break through her defense and disabling her with my sound attacks…'_

"Hey," said Dosu, catching Issei's attention, "Is it true that your Boosted Gear allows the user to transfer energy?"

"Yeah, you need some?" asked Issei.

"Yeah…a lot of it…" said Dosu.

"What do you plan on doing?" asked Issei, placing his hand on Dosu's shoulder. Ddraig's voice shouted out **'Transfer!'** as some of Issei's energy was transferred to Dosu.

Dosu's lone eye widened as he felt power overflowing his body. His smirk was hidden underneath his bandages as he replied, "I'm about to blow her out of her element. Get your strongest attack ready."

"No problem!" shouted Issei as he watched Dosu float back down to the sandy grounds of the desert.

"I know you're watching me through that little thing." said Dosu, looking at small, floating circle of sand that resembled an eye, "Your sand really does counter my abilities well, but everything has a weakness…" he muttered as he placed both of his fist into the soft ground under him. His Echo Speaker started to _'whirrr'_ with energy as he called upon the magic given to him by Issei. "Get ready, Red Dragon!"

Gaia watched from within her cocoon as Dosu filled the sand beneath him with his magic. _'…what are you up to….'_ she thought as she continued to watch through her Third Eye.

Dosu smirked behind his bandages as he finished his preparations, "BEGONE!" he shouted as he created a sonic boom from underneath the sand.

From inside her cocoon, Gaia's lone open eye widened in shock as Dosu aimed his sonic boom at the sand around her, blasting it all away from her. In an impressive display of skill and power, Dosu's sonic boom created a massive cavern of nothingness underneath Gaia, leaving her defenseless as all the sand around her was too far from her to instantly call upon.

"Holy shit!" shouted Issei, not believing what he was seeing. Dosu literally created a hole in the desert! "This guy is insane!"

"Now, Red Dragon!" shouted Dosu, giving him the signal.

"You got it! Dragon Shot!" shouted Issei, conjuring up massive amount of energy before releasing it in one shot. The sight was like a red meteor as it descended down upon Gaia and her awaiting cocoon.

Inside of her cocoon, Gaia gritted her teeth as she realized she wouldn't have enough time to call upon the desert sand to use as a shield thanks to Dosu's last attack. Thinking quickly of a plan, Gaia used all of the sand she had from her gourd on her back along with her armor that covered her body to use as a shield. Breaking out of her cocoon, she used all of her available sand to form a weird shield in the form of a demon. "Demon Tunaki Shield…" she muttered as the massive red beam made contact with her shield. Issei's Dragon Shot pushed down into her shield, forcing it and Gaia deeper and deeper into the cavern until it exploded, illuminating the dark whole with red light for a few seconds.

"Good job, Red Dragon Emperor." said Dosu, floating next to Issei as they watched the explosion die down, "Seems like that made direct contact."

"Yeah, but I'm not hearing her retirement announcement." said Issei, "I guess her shield did more than I thought. Those things are really sturdy….how did you blow up a part of the desert though? That was wicked."

"Sand particles are very light, but compacted with a lot and it because extremely heavy. All I had to do was break up the sand bonds by sending vibrations through the ground, loosening it. Then, I blew it up with my sonic boom." explained the one-eyed hunch back, "It's science."

By now, the explosions had ceased. The sand in the surrounding area started to fill up the massive cavern, falling into the basin and filling it like water to a cup. The duo continued to wait as the cavern was halfway full, but still no retirement announcement was made.

"She really must have survived then." said Dosu, "But she had to take some type of damage. I'm not going to dig her out, so I'm heading to the City Environment. This desert is depressing to look at anyway."

"I might as well follow…" said Issei, recalling his Balance Breaker armor while scratching his head, "That is…if we can keep this alliance going for a while."

Dosu smirked underneath his bandages, "Even though I retired your precious [King]?" Dosu mocked.

Issei growled under his breath, "Even though you did that, Rias understood that this was a tournament. She would understand that I'm teaming up with you just to further myself."

Dosu laughed, "Alright, Hyoudou. That makes sense. Can't say that I wouldn't have done the same…." sensing a disturbance beneath them, Dosu looked down to the sand cavern, which was still filling with sand. A hand breached the surface, surprising both Dosu and Issei. "Seems like she's made it back to the living world."

Gaia pulled herself from the sand with a huff. Her face was cut up, along with the rest of her body. Blood was dripping down her face and arms, the only exposed parts of her body. Her clothes were tattered in various places and her gourd was nowhere to be seen. She growled when she looked up to Issei and Dosu in the sky, her **KI** filling the area like a flood. "You won't make it out of this desert alive…." she muttered.

"I'll finish this off. I need to have another retirement under my belt. "said Issei, calling forth Ascalon from his Boosted Gear. Dosu only nodded and watched as Issei descended down to the ground to finish Gaia off.

Issei landed softly in front of the struggling Gaia, "I won't make this painful. I just want to advance in this tournament." he said as he pulled his arm back.

Gaia stared death in the eyes with a growing ferocity. A wave of uncertainty filled Issei's heart as her blank eyes bore into his mind. His body started to tremble and his world started to fade until everything was dark, the only thing visible was Gaia's pale green eyes peering into his soul.

' _I…..I can't move…..'_ Issei thought as his arm trembled, not responding to his commands.

" **Do it now!"** Ddraig shouted within Issei's mind, snapping him out of his fear-induced trance. The dark world he was in shattered like glass. He blinked once before his focus was back on Gaia, whose hand was inching closer to his throat. He reared his arm forward to stop her, but was too late as she wrapped her hand around his throat.

The sand he was standing on moved quickly like it was alive, entrapping Issei's entire body in an instant with his face the only body part visible. "Ach!" he coughed as she applied pressure to his throat.

"The Red Dragon Emperor," started Gaia, ignoring Issei's coughing fit, "is weak to even a simple paralysis spell."

"D..do…do it…" he gasped out with a glare, knowing that this was possible his end.

"Not yet." she said, confusing him, "You're the bait."

Suddenly, Dosu landed next to Gaia with the intention of delivering a sonic-enhanced punch to the sand user's face. The sand beneath them moved like it had a mind of its own, creating a shield in front of Gaia and blocking Dosu's fist.

"Boom." muttered Dosu as he activated his close-range sonic boom. Issei closed his eyes as the sonic boom exploded, creating a sandstorm from the force of the explosion.

Issei coughed as the sand cloud subsided after a few seconds. His eyes widened when he saw that Gaia was unharmed; another shield of sand was in-between Dosu's fist and Gaia's face. The sand behind Gaia was blown away, the sonic boom paving a curved ditch that stretched for meters.

Dosu's lone eye widened as he tried to attack Gaia's inner ear with his sound manipulation, but she didn't seem affected by it at all. "Wha-what?" the hunch back said in shock.

"My ears are filled with sand." responded Gaia, "I can't even hear what's going on right now…your sound-based abilities are useless."

"B-bu-"

"I can read lips." she interrupted, "Now die. Sand Coffin."

A cocoon of sand wrapped itself around Dosu quicker than he can jump away. His entire body was covered in sand, unlike Issei's, whose face was still visible.

"Hey! Let him go!" shouted Issei as he struggled to free himself.

Gaia ignored Issei's yells as she clenched her hand, forming a fist, "Sand Funeral!"

The sand around Dosu's hidden body pressed against him with formidable force, something his body couldn't handle. Issei's eyes widened in fear as blood exploded from inside the coffin, landing on his face as Dosu's body was crushed with no sympathy. A blue light flashed from within the coffin, signaling Dosu's retirement.

" _Dosu Kinuta has retired."_ the announcer voice rang throughout the dimension.

Issei couldn't even shake in fear because of the sand wrapped around his body, holding him still. Gaia's pale green eyes turned to him, causing his heart to leap in fear as she held out her hand again, similar to how she did with Dosu.

"I didn't kill him…" said Gaia, surprising Issei, "My moves are to slow to kill somebody within this dimension. They would have recalled his body before I could do any permanent damage to him."

Issei couldn't respond as he continued to watch Gaia's hand slowly close. He tried to break free from his captivity, but couldn't because of the strong force the sand was exerting on his body.

" **Calm down, partner."** said Ddraig, **"She's not going to kill you."**

' _Wha? How can you tell?'_ he asked his dragon partner.

" **I don't sense any KI coming from her at all. All of her anger was centered towards your former ally."**

"I would finish you now, but I need you later to combat against the Bael and Astaroth." stated Gaia, surprising Issei with her confession, "But for now…underground you go."

Issei's body, along with the sand trapping him, suddenly sunk deep into the sand beneath him, swallowing him fully. The sand slithered back to its original position, as if nothing had happen.

Gaia sighed as she lowered her arm. She closed her eyes and concentrated, mediating for a while. Manipulating the sand behind her, a large clump of it grew from the group and twisted together until it formed the shape of her gourd.

Latching the gourd to the strap on her back, Gaia opened her eyes, looking up at the dark night sky of the desert. The large red moon that shown in the sky was lighting the dark desert somewhat, but extra light was coming from the fake moon floating atop the City Environment. She stared at the fake moon for a while, having a moment for herself, but was interrupted when a splash of water fell on top her head.

"Seems like you handled things here, ehh?" said a voice from behind her. Gaia sighed as she turned around, seeing the smirking face of one Suigetsu. He had poured out one of his water bottles on top of her just to annoy her.

"Why did you do that, you imbecile?" Gaia asked, holding back her murderous intent.

"Too cool you off. You've been in this desert for a while…" he said with the same smirk.

"Whatever…" said Gaia, crossing her arms over her chest, "Do you know where the others are?"

"Yup. I saw the green guy and Agares heiress flying over the desert to the City Environment not too long ago. Not too sure about Sairaorg though." said Suigetsu while scratching his head in thought.

Gaia glanced up to the moon floating above a skyscraper in the City Environment, "Sairaorg isn't known for his magic abilities, I have the Red Dragon Emperor trapped under us, and those other two are flying through the desert….that must be Diodora's work then…" she summed up.

"Yup. I guess we should make our way over there then." said Suigetsu, his wings appearing from his back, "Remember the deal: two kills for you, two kills for me."

The only responds he got was Gaia's body sinking into the sand beneath her, disappearing from sight. Suigetsu rolled his eyes as he took off towards the City Environment, "Always trying to be the cool guy…..I mean girl…" he muttered as he continued his flight.

After a while, with Suigetsu and Gaia far gone, Issei erupted out of the desert sand, armored in his Balance Breaker. He recalled his Scale Mail and dropped to the ground, taking deep breaths of air. "Finally!" he shouted as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, "Finally….air…"

" **That sand girl knew what she was doing. She outplayed the both of you easily. She's a dangerous opponent."** said Ddraig from Issei's gauntlet.

"Y..yea…show's how much…work I need to do…" said Issei in-between gasp.

" **I don't find that to be true. That girl had a major advantage by having an endless amount of sand to call upon. If you would have fought her or an even playing field, you could have dealt more damage to her.** " said Ddraig, **"She probably went to the City Environment to go see who made that weird moon spell. You're lucky that you're still in this tournament but when you see her again, you'll be ready."**

"Yea…did you hear how she wanted me to fight against Sairaorg and the Astaroth? I think his name was Dora or something…I wonder why?" Issei asked as he rolled on his back.

" **Because you are strong."** said the ancient Dragon, **"You have the ability to double your strength every ten seconds, something that will come in handy when facing an opponent like Sairaorg Bael: a stamina freak that can take a lot of punishment. She probably believes that she can't beat him, so she wants you to do so."** explained the dragon.

"I guess, but I thought that he and Lee would've fought again…" said Issei. He sighed before pushing himself up, "Okay, break's over. I've gotta get back in this thing."

" **Be careful!"** warned Ddraig, **"Only the strongest people remain in this tournament and their all headed to the city. You'll have to watch your own back for every second if you want to want even a chance at winning this thing!"**

"Got it!" shouted Issei, summoning his wings and headed towards the City Environment.

 **A few minutes later…**

 **Rating Game Dimension: City Environment**

"So this is the place that you were spawned at, Lee? This really does look like an actual city…"

"YOSH! That is correct, partner!"

Lee and Seekvaira were both walking on a sidewalk as they continued their journey to the highest skyscraper in the city. They had already arrived at the City Environment and decided on taking their time to the skyscraper where the fake moon was at. They sensed the moment that they arrived in the unique environment that they were the only one's there, so they took the opportunity to take a break from all the travel it took to get where they currently were.

Seekvaira pushed up her glasses on her nose as she looked up at the dark sky. The skyscraper with the fake moon was only a small distance away from the duo. "It's only a matter of time now…" muttered Seekvaira, "I believe that this will be the where the last battle of the tournament will be held."

"And now that there are only seven devils left in the exams, we only have the opportunity of forcing the retirement of three other devils." stated Lee.

"Hopefully we can share those three retirements between the both of us, but the others are probably having similar thoughts. This last battle will be the most difficult because everyone will be desperate to prove themselves." said Seekvaira.

"Don't worry, partner!" said Lee, giving Seekvaira a thumbs up with a gleaming smile, "We'll prevail against the rest! You have my word!"

A small, light-hearted smile grew on the Agares heiress' face, "Thanks, Lee. I'm sure we'll both do good."

The two continue their walk in a comfortable silence until they finally made it to the tallest skyscraper of the city. From the ground, they couldn't even see the top because the huge building pasted through the clouds but they could see the shining moon radiating light in the dark city.

"So how do you want to go about this, partner?" Lee asked.

"Whoever that is up there probably knows that we're already here….meaning trying to sneak up on this unknown person isn't a good plan. I say we meet this person face-to-face and take them out together." she deduced, calling forth her devil wings, "Are you ready?"

"Yes ma'am!" said Lee, summoning his wings. Seekvaira nodded and took off in the sky, her martial artist partner following her closely. Passing through the clouds, the two continued their flight until they were over the skyscraper, staring down at the fake moon and its owner.

Seekvaira glared as she recognized the smiling face of Diodora Astaroth, "Diodora…." she grumbled, "I've should have known you were the cause behind all of this."

"Well hello there, you two." said the smiling Astaroth with a wave, "Seems like you two are the first to make it to the final showdown. I'm glad you could make."

"You've got a lot of nerve revealing your location for everybody to come here. You must have a lot of confidence in yourself…" she looked over to the shining moon that Diodora created, "And this spell must have burnt through a lot of your magic reserves to create and withhold for so long."

"Oh no! I'm fine! Honestly!" said Diodora with a chuckle, "While this is a very high-class spell, it's nothing I can't handle….unlike your partner…"his voice changed into a darker tone as he glanced over to Lee.

Lee growled, "Just because I'm not the best at using spells doesn't mean that I'm not strong."

"Even though you can't properly use your magic effectively, that's not the only reason why you're a disgrace." said Diodora, "You're just a low-class devil trying to play with your betters. I really do have a problem with all these low-class devils invading a tournament not meant for them. You're presence here is disrespectful to not only those who deserve to be here, but to the Rookie Four members of the past. They wouldn't want you here…and I don't want you here…"

A slow veil of green magic glowed around Diodora's body as his anger started to spike, "The only reason why you're here is because of the Satan's trying to spread 'equality'! Ha! What a joke! If you want something than earn it!" shouted the boy.

Lee gritted his teeth at the Astaroth, "I deserve to be here…"

"Then prove it, scum." said Diodora with a creepy smile, "Prove to me that your low-class blood can prevail against my high-class blood! Earn your worth!"

Lee was about to charge at the laughing Astaroth, but Seekvaira held him back, "Wait, Lee. He's trying to rile you up to get in your head. Calm down and think. I'm here with you on this."

Lee took a few deep breaths, calming his nerves. "Thanks…thanks, partner. His words are very disrespectful and I don't like that."

"I know, and we'll take him down. Together."

"I'm not too sure about that, little girl," said Diodora with another laugh, "but if you feel confident in yourself, then by all means, prove me wrong and defeat me."

 **Rock Lee, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Rook] and Seekvaira Agares, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Diodora Astaroth, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

Lee landed on the rooftop with Diodora and disappeared in a burst of speed, planning on blitzing Diodora with his speed to attack. Appearing behind the Astaroth with his right fist aimed at his back, Lee attempted to deliver a strong punch but was surprise when a light blue barrier blocked Lee's fist.

Diodora laughed and created a green magic circle, shooting a green bolt of magic at Lee in which he dodged, "Your little punches won't reach me."

Seekvaira created a field of magic circles, all of them releasing beams of energy aimed at Diodora. However, his blue shield held strong, blocking the barrage of magical blast like they were nothing. "Hahaha! Weaklings! The both of you! Let me show you real power!" Diodora yelled, creating two red balls of energy with red lightning dancing around the surface. Both death balls flew at Lee and Seekvaira at surprisingly high speeds.

' _That's a lot of energy!'_ Seekvaria thought as she instantly countered by conjuring up a multi-layer barrier to block the death ball along with its following explosion that broke through many of her shields. She grunted as she was pushed back in the air from the force of the blow, "When did Diodora get this strong?" she muttered under her breath.

Lee dodged the death ball aimed for him with his speed, but was surprised when Diodora followed his attack with five streams of magical beams of energy. Dodging past all of them with his unnatural agility, Lee tried to attack Diodora again, this time with a kick, but the same light blue shield appeared around him, protecting him any attack.

"What is this?" Lee said, trying to break through Diodora's shield with a few punches.

"Your little silly punches and kicks aren't going to break through my indestructible barrier." said Diodoar with a snap of his fingers. Suddenly, Diodoara's blue barrier was coated in lighting, filling Lee's body with blue electricity.

"Lee!" Seekvaira shouted, fearful of the damage Lee was receiving from. Thinking on her toes, Seekvaira flew over to Lee while sending a small beam of magic at him. It didn't have any real power backed behind it, but it was enough to push Lee out of the electric field he was previously trapped in.

The green beast gritted his teeth as he landed on his back with a grunt, "That hurt…" he gasped out.

"Are you alright, Lee?" Seekvaira asked as she landed next to him.

"Hahahaha! Pathetic!" laughed out Diodora, "How do you plan on defeating me when you can't even break through my shield!?"

"Damn it…he's right..." said Seekvaira, pushing her glasses up on her noise, "That barrier is a very high-class spell. It's a temporary shield that only appears when something gets too close to the caster. It allows him to focus at one place instead of spreading your magic equally with a circular or magic circle barrier."

"So the only way to get around him is to attack him at two different directions?" asked Lee as he stood up.

"Possibly, but I bet you he could just block that as well. However, I do have a plan…" muttered Seekvaira.

"Awwww, look at the little kids coming up with a plan~!" mocked Diodora, "Give up! You won't win against someone of my stature!" he shouted while shooting multiple magical beams at the duo.

"Just wait for my signal, Lee! Stay close!" shouted Seekvaira, flying to her right. Lee disappeared, dodging the magic beams and waited Seekvaira to start her plan.

' _Alright, just got to get close enough to his barrier to see if this will work.'_ she thought while dodging Diodora's magic bolts and countering with her laser strikes.

"Not gonna happen, Agares!" Diodora yelled, creating more magic circles to shoot more blast at her. The speed and power of the blast drastically increased, something Seekvaira took notice to as she conjured up a strong barrier in front of her.

' _Damn it! I can't get close to him like this! He's overpowering me with his magic.'_ she thought while gritting her teeth, adding extra magic to her shield so it can withstand Diodora's powerful attacks. Her senses kicked in, screaming at her that something was coming from above. Sure enough, another death ball of Diodora's was only seconds away from colliding into her. _'I can't dodge in time!'_

"Leaf Hurricane!" shouted Lee with a spin kick, knocking the death ball away from Seekvaira and into a nearby skyscraper. It exploded on contact, completely obliterating the top of the large structure. "You okay, partner?" Lee asked Seekvaira.

"Yeah…" she said, taking notice of the destruction Diodora's attack caused, "How can he throw out all of these large-scale attacks, have a continuous barrier himself, and keep feeding magic into his artificial moon spell and not be tired at all?" asked Seekvaira, generally shocked by the amount of magic Diodora had.

"I don't know, but we'll have to find a way around it." said Lee, dodging more magical blast.

"Help me get in close!" shouted Seekvaira over the various explosions happening around them.

Lee flew in front of his partner to block another death ball and Seekvaira covered Lee's back, matching all of the other streams of magic with her own while conjuring a barrier around the duo. Lee pulled Seekvaira out of the way when Diodora aimed three lightning dragons in their direction and blitzed pasted them with his superior speed. While not used to moving at such high speeds, Seekvaira gained her bearings and used her time magic to slow down any incoming attacks.

"Wow. You two are really working together…how cute." Diodora said with a yawn. With a snap of his fingers, he created ten more blue lightning dragons. Their eyes gleamed a dangerous yellow as they locked onto the two devils. With a vicious roar, they all charged forward, flying at the duo with evil intentions.

Seekvaira's eyes gained a green veil of magic as she activated her time magic, "Slow…" she muttered once the dragons were close enough. Suddenly, the dragon's started to move in slow motion, affected by Seekvaira's clan magic.

"Leaf Rock-Destroying Rise!" moving at insane speeds, Lee destroyed all of the lightning dragons by flying through them with his elbow, piercing through the lightning beast like they were nothing. The moment he reappeared next to Seekvaira, all of the dragons exploded at the same time, dazzling the skies in an electric shower.

Using the explosion as cover, Seekvaira flew back down to the skyscraper where Diodora was standing. Stretching out her hands, Seekvaira's magic covered her entire magic as she started to chant a spell.

"Hmm?" Diodora hummed, sensing Seekvaira behind him, "And what do you plan on doing, little Agares?" he asked with a smirk.

"Now, Lee!" shouted Seekvaira, ignoring Diodora's taunt. Taking heed to his partner's signal, Lee flew down to Diodora, right arm cocked back.

"This again? Didn't you learn last time what happens to bugs like you that get to close!?" shouted Diodora, activating his barrier. However, the Astaroth heir eyes narrowed when his spell wasn't activating like usual. "What's this?" he said in confusion.

With his insane speed, Lee was able to bypass Diodora's barrier before it could block him, allowing the green beast to deliver a devastating right hook to Diodora's face. "YYOOOOUUUUTHHHH!" Lee screeched as he made contact.

The force of the blow knocked Diodora off the top of the skyscraper, zooming through the dark skies and slamming into the glass of a nearby skyscraper. Breaking through a few floors, Diodora was finally able to stop his descent by flexing his wings out, using them as an air-break.

Diodora slowly reached up to his right cheek with his hand, feeling the blood leek down from his nose. "My face! My beautiful face!" Rage filled the Astaroth's body as he clenched his hands together, "How dare you….HOW DARE Y-"before he could continue his pitiful screaming, a barrage of magic bolts impacted into his stomach, forcing him through the wall and back outside.

"About time we hit him." said Seekvaira, her outstretched hand smoking from all of the magic she released, "He is very annoying."

"YOSH! That was an amazing combination, Seekvaira!" shouted Lee in excitement, "We should do that again!"

Seekvaira smiled as she pushed her glasses up on her nose, "Thank you, Lee, but don't drop your guard. He'll be back for more."

"Yes ma'am!" he said, doing a few warm up jumping jacks.

While she wanted to celebrate with her partner, Seekvaira's eyes narrowed when she felt like something off. "Lee…do you-"suddenly, the ground beneath Lee cracked open and Sairaorg burst through, grabbing Lee by his throat and pulling him in the air, "L-le-LEE!" she cried out.

"Seems like it's our time to shine again, Green Beast!" the newly arrived Sairaorg said with a wide smile, glad he could battle Lee again. Lee tried to break free from Sairaorg's grip, but the Bael heir's was stronger than expected. "Come with me!" said Sairaorg as he changed direction, headed back down to the top of skyscraper.

Seekvaira had to fly away in order to dodge Sairaorg crashing back down into the top of skyscraper, using Lee as a shield as he broke through every floor and anything in their way.

 **With Diodora**

"Those peasants dare damage me?!" shouted the privileged Astaroth. After digging his way out of the rubble of another skyscraper he crashed into because of Seekvaira's surprise attack, the young devil was flying back where he was having his fight with said girl and Lee.

Making his way back over to the warzone, he raised an eyebrow when he took noticed that the fighting had moved from the top of the skyscraper to inside of it. Sairaorg had joined the battle and was sparring against Lee in an epic clash of fist. Diodora watched as the two broke through floor after floor, not caring that their battle was literally tearing the tower apart.

A devious idea sparked within the Astaroth's mind as he flew back down to the base of the tower, "Seems like those fools forgot about me. Let's fix that!" he shouted, shooting magical blast after blast at the base of skyscraper. After completely destroying the foundation, Diodora smirked as he heard the large structure groaned as it started its descent down to the ground. "And now I wait…." he said, his evil smirk growing in size.

Inside of the tower, Lee was knocked back by a powerful punch from the Bael heir. After finally prying Sairaorg off of him earlier, the two went at each other in frenzy of punches and kicks. The fight was so great that Lee had to shout to Seekvaira to retreat just so that she wouldn't get caught in the midst of their epic fight.

Recovering from Sairaorg's jab, Lee threw a nearby office chair at Sairaorg to serve as a distraction. Sairaorg huffed as he dismantled the chair with a kick, but that was all Lee needed as he appeared below the Bael and delivered a devastating uppercut to his chin.

Grunting, Sairaorg regained his stance and blocked Lee's follow-up punch along with a kick. Swerving to his left, Sairaorg kicked at Lee's ribs, intending on knocking him out of the building. Lee blocked the attempt of the destruction of his rib cage with his right arm and jabbed with his left-only to be met with Sairaorg's own jab.

The two eyes met in an intense stare off. Both were smirking at each other as they exerted one's force upon the other. They were at a stalemate for a while, but Sairaorg decided enough was enough as he suddenly head butted Lee, surprising the Green Beast with the unexpected blow.

Taking advantage of his small window opportunity, Sairaorg grabbed Lee's arm and slammed him into the ground behind him before jumping on top of him, breaking through another floor and slamming into the next one underneath. Lee has crossed his arms over his chest to guard, but his back ached with pain from the impact of breaking through the floor.

Not liking the position he was in, Lee shouted, "Leaf Whirlwind!" Twisting his body in a way that forced Sairaorg off of him and creating some space, Lee appeared in front of Sairaorg in a burst of speed and elbowed him in his jaw, pushing him back somewhat.

After regaining his balance, Sairaorg smirked at Lee before spitting out a small amount of blood, "Seems like you haven't slacked in your training, Lee!" shouted Sairaorg, pleased with his fight against his rival so far, "This is really enjoyable!"

"YOSH! Sairaorg, you never disappoint me with your attacks! They're packed with YOUTH!" Lee yelled with excitement, jumping from one foot to the other. The Green Beast was thoroughly enjoying his battle against Sairaorg; so much so that he almost forgot that he was in a tournament.

The two were about to charge at one another again, but were interrupted when they suddenly lost balance. The room they were in started to turn at a slat as the building started to fall down. "What's going on!?" shouted Lee.

' _That damn Diodora probably…'_ Sairaorg thought. Without consulting with Lee, the Bael summoned his wings and burst through a nearby window, leaving Lee by himself.

"Hey!" shouted Lee, following after the muscular teen. Making his way outside of the building, Lee's eyes widened as he watched the building he was just in descend into the ground below, creating a massive dust cloud to fill the air around him.

Covering his mouth with his hand as he entered the dust cloud, Lee searched for his battle partner but couldn't find him anywhere. His ears perked up when he heard the sounds of explosions going off in the distance. _'What's going on over there?'_ he thought as he flew over to the small sparks of light within the dust cloud.

Landing on what was a concrete road; Lee ran over to where he saw the flashes of light but didn't encounter anyone. "YOSH! IS ANYONE THERE!?" Lee shouted. He didn't receive an answer, causing the martial artist to deject in sadness. "Awww…I thought I could keep on fighting….now that I'm thinking about it…where is my partner?" he said with a scratch of his head.

"GOTCHA!" shouted a voice behind him. Using his insane flexibility, Lee leaned back, avoiding a sword strike from behind that would have decapitated him. He saw that it was Suigetsu behind him with a devious grin, flashing his sharp teeth at the battle junky. "You're pretty good."

Lee flipped over Suigetsu and landed behind the shark-boy. Using his insane speed, Lee charge at Suigetsu with his elbow aimed at his back. However, Lee was shocked when his entire body went through Suigetsu body with ease.

"Hehe. Fool." said Suigetsu, slashing at Lee's exposed back, cutting deep into his flesh and drawing a lot of blood.

Lee hissed as a sharp burning sensation from his new gash spread throughout his back. Ignoring it for the task at hand, Lee sprung towards Suigetsu with the intent on delivering punishment, but again, his fist went through his stomach like nothing. "What is this?"

"You never learn do you?" Sugetsu said with the same grin as he grabbed Lee's head with his free hand. The muscle on his once small arm suddenly expanded to sizes comparable to Sairaorg, bulging with disgustingly defined veins dancing over his skin. Spinning his sword with his other hand until the point was centered at Lee's exposed neck, Suigetsu shouted, "Time ta' die!" he said as he closed in.

However, Lee shocked Suigetsu by grabbing the approaching sword with is bare hands. Suigetsu eyes slightly widened when he saw that Lee's hands weren't even bleeding from grabbing the shard edge of his sword. "What's this?" he said, generally interested in Lee's lack of injury.

"YOSH! My bandages are strengthen by seals provided by my master!" Lee said before continuing the battle.

Suigetsu was interrupted as Lee's left foot kicked through his private area and split the blue-haired teen in half. While it would have been a death blow to any other devil, because Suigetsu was made out of water, he survived but couldn't hold onto Lee any longer.

"What type of devil are you?" asked Lee, retreating from the recovering Suigetsu.

Once both halves formed back together, Suigetsu shot the Green Beast his same grin, "One in a trillion. Now, Gaia!"

Suddenly, the dust that surrounded them entrapped Lee in a cocoon of sand. It was a move that Lee couldn't avoid because the entire area was still submerged from the dust the destruction of the skyscraper caused earlier.

It was Gaia that walked over to Suigetsu from the dust cloud. Stopping next to her partner, she blankly stared at her cocoon of sand that trapped Lee, "That was easier than expected…" she muttered.

"It was." said Suigetsu with a shrug, "Just a small illusion spell, you mixing your sand into the dust in the air, and he's in our grasp. This will make two retirements for you. Now all you have to do is help me force two retirements and we'll be a part of the Rookie Four together. Doesn't that sound nice, eh?"

Gaia ignored Suigetsu's shark-like grin as she held out her hand, intent of finishing the job. However, before she could crush Lee to death, the sand entrapping him exploded, surprising the duo. "What the hell!?" shouted Suigetsu, using his arms as shields to block the sand from hitting his face.

Gaia glared as Lee landed on the ground, his skin dark red as if it was blood. She noticed that his eyes lacked pupils and a green hue of energy surrounded his body. _'What are you…'_ she thought as she prepared her sand for anything the beast in front of her was preparing to do.

Lee stood tall as he took a few deep breaths, calming his nerves. His red skin slowly reverted to his normal white skin and he lost the green veil of magic over his body. Opening his eyes, Lee's black pupils had returned, signifying that he had deactivated his Eight Gates technique. "Sneak attacks are not honorable." said Lee, shaking his finger at the two, "If you wanted to fight me, all you had to do was ask."

Suigetsu took a small step back from Lee as a small drop of sweat ran down his forehead, "This one…he broke through your coffin…nobody has ever done that before…."

"I know." said Gaia, "You go. I'll handle him."

 **With Seekvaira**

Seekvaira growled as she inspected the scene in front of her. Not only did Diodora find her again, but so did Sairaorg and the newly arrived Issei. She had escaped the dangers of the falling skyscraper only to be face-to-face with Sairaorg. The two started an intense fight that attracted both Diodora and then Issei into the fold, creating a warzone.

Seekvaira retreated for a small break to think of a plan in peace. _'Sairaorg and the Red Dragon Emperor are close-ranged fighters while Diodora and I are long-ranged. If I could get Diodora to focus on Sairaorg then that would give me the opportunity of handling Hyoudou first by myself…and if things get to risky, I'll escape using my time magic…I just hope Lee is doing alright. I haven't heard any announcement of his retirement, so he should be fine for now. I need to rendezvous with him as soon as possible once I get to the chance to do so.'_

Her time alone was interrupted when the ceiling in the other room was destroyed as Issei, covered in his Balance Breaker, smashed through it easily like it was nothing. Seekvaira was hiding in a closet with the door slightly ajar, giving her enough space to see Issei's back. _'So he's here…maybe Sairaorg and Diodora are already fighting one another and he decided to look for me.'_ she thought while hiding her presence.

"Where is she…" she heard Issei say, "I know I saw here fly in this direction..."

Glancing from his left to right, Issei tried to find a sign of the Agares heiress' whereabouts, but to no avail. He huffed as he walked out of the building, entering the darkened night of the City Environment. "Damn it. I'm gonna need another retirement if I want to be a part of the Rookie Four. Just one won't be enough for sure…"

Seekvaira skillfully got as close as possible to Issei while chanting a spell as quietly as possible. Issei's attention was drawn from the night sky to the glowing green seal beneath him, "Nani?"

Suddenly, his entire body was encased in green magic, freezing him in place. Seekvaira sighed as she created another magic seal, intending on hitting Issei with her most powerful attack to force his retirement, "Seems like that plan worked." she muttered as she gathered her energy together into one point.

However, her eyes widened in shock as Issei's body was cloaked in red energy before breaking free of her spell. "What!?" she shouted, in total shock.

"Nice try, blond. I'm not that easy to trick!" he shouted, charging towards Seekvaira. Seekvaira used the magic she conjured up to shot multiple magical beams at Issei, but Issei stopped them all by summoning Ascalon and slicing through them easily. Following through his movements, Issei sped towards Seekvaira to knock her out with one punch, but was blocked by a magic barrier she summoned at the last moment.

Seekvaira's eyes glowed a meanacing green, slowing down Issei's movements and giving her enough time to fly away from the Red Dragon Emperor while destroying the building she was in with a few shots of energy, burying Issei under the rubble.

However, that bought the Agares heiress only a few seconds as Issei burst through the rubble and flew at her at incredible speeds. Recalling Ascalon, Issei's fist collided into a new barrier Seekvaira created, destroying it and knocking Seekvaira out of the air. _'He became stronger and faster so quickly!' s_ he thought as a small stream of blood escaped from the side of her mouth.

Colliding on the rough concrete ground beneath her, she quickly crafted a new magic circle. This time, it was a large green circle that hovered over the ground. She glared up at the approaching Issei as she muttered, "Slow…"

Suddenly, Issei's body started moving in slow motion again. A green field of magic stretched out for meters with Seekvaira in the middle. It was the same time barrier she used to retrieve of her Phenex Tears a night before. Creating multiple seals behind her, Seekvaira blasted Issei out of her time field with multiple magic blasts, slamming him into a nearby building.

Seekvaira's attention was pulled away from Issei's recovering form as the building next to her was destroyed as Sairaorg's body burst through it and skidded into the ground. Stepping out of his personal crater with a huff; Sairaorg had just enough time to block multiple streams of magic with his bare hands. "This is interesting, Diodora. I didn't know you had so much magic to throw around like this. When did you acquire of such power?" Sairaorg asked Diodora, who was floating in the air above them.

The Astaroth heir laughed cockily, "Why, little Sairaorg, I've always had this power. I am Diodora Astaroth after all: heir of the legendary Astaroth Clan and soon to be winner of this tournament." he finished with a large grin.

Seekvaira rolled her eyes at his arrogance and shot a barrage of concentrated laser beams at the Astaroth. Diodora replied by conjuring the same barrier that protected him during his battle against Lee and Seekvaira. Seekvaira's laser did nothing to his powerful barrier, diminishing once they made contact with it. "Such a disgrace…Is that really all you have, Seekvaira? The Agares really don't have much to offer in terms of talent."

However,Seekvaira's attack didn't serve to hurt Diodora: it served as a distraction for Issei to fly behind him, "Penetrate!" he shouted, his fist connecting to Diodora's barrier. However, Diodora's barrier even withstood Issei's Penetrate ability. Diodora smirked as he watched Issei quiver in pain from the lightning Diodora manipulated through his barrier.

"How stupid! You, a reincarnated devil, actually believes he can harm me!?" shouted Diodora with a laugh.

"I can." said Sairaorg, appearing behind the laughing Astaroth. Rearing his arm back, Sairaorg's fist impacted against Diodoara's seemingly indestructible barrier. Spider web cracks dance along the surface of Diodora's barrier, but it didn't fully break. Diodora's evil grin only grew in size as he manipulated lightning into Sairaorg's body, just like Issei. Sairaorg's scream of pain filled the area, suffering the consequence of challenging Diodora's barrier.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Do you see now why I'm the BEST!?" he shouted with a mad grin. Creating a purple magic circle, three massive purple serpents of magic shot out and bit down on both Issei and Sairaorg. The serpents brought the two young devils back to the crowd, crashing into the hard concrete of the City Environment's roads. The third serpent chased after Seekvaira, intending on doing the same. She tried to slow the speeding serpent down with her time magic, but the persistent serpent was unaffected by her magic and bit down on her mid-section. Dragging and crashing her into the ground below.

Diodora's laughter increased tenfold as he watched Seekvaira's body impact into the ground, "You Weaklings! You DON'T UNDERSTAND REAL POWER!" he shouted as his body was surrounded a dark, purple aura. Black serpents of energy with red eyes danced around his body as he continued exerting energy, filling the area in a sense of dread and death.

Diodora was about to continue his banter about being great, but his senses warned him of something coming from behind. Using his wings to move to the right, he avoided an over head swipe of Suigetsu's sword. "AWWW, come on! Not again!" shouted Suigetsu as landed on the ground.

"How stupid of you to try to attack me with my back turned. Here's your punishment!" shouted Diodora, summoning three more purple serpents to take care of Suigetsu.

"Looks like I'll have to get serious with this guy…" Suigetsu muttered, summoning a magic circle to his right. Reaching inside of the circle, Suigetsu pulled out a massive butcher knife-like sword and sliced through all of the serpents in an impressive display of strength.

Seekvaira watched Suigetsu destroy Diodora's serpents from her personal crater. She groaned as she pushed debris off of her and shakily stood up. _'I can't just watch this…I need to find a way to fight back.'_

She glanced over to Sairaorg, who was already standing even though he was injured. The fangs of Diodora's serpent pierced through Sairaorg's rough skin, however, he was moving as if unaffected. _'He's trained for situations like this…but me…'_ she applied pressure to the puncture wound on her stomach with her hand, _'at this rate, we're going to lose. He has too much magic to counter everything we throw at him. The only small amount of success we had was me using my time magic to slow down the formation of his barrier, but nobody here is as fast as Lee…'_

Thinking of a small plan that could work, Seekvaira trudged over to Sairaorg. The Bael noticed her from the corner of his eye, but didn't try to attack her because he didn't sense any killing intent from the Agares. That and she looked heavily injured. "I assume you need help taking Diodora down?"

"Yes. Can you find a way to get him on the ground? I'm going set up various traps to drain some of his magic. Maybe that can slow him down." she asked.

Sairaorg nodded, "I'll see what I can do. I'll try to get those two in on the plan as well." said Sairaorg, mentioning Issei and Suigetsu who were currently battling against Diodora in the sky.

"Fuck you!" shouted Issei, blitzing past Diodora's serpent and punching through multiple magical attacks. Suigetsu backed up the armored half-devil by slicing through any remaining serpents with his broad sword.

"How does he have this much magic?" said Suigetsu, slowly being overwhelmed by the barrage of serpents trying to tear into his flesh, "With all of these big attacks he's throwing out, he should be tired by now."

"Because I'm better than you!" Diodora laughed, summoning a plethora of elemental dragons.

"Holy shit!" shouted Suigetsu. His eyes widened as all of the dragons shot towards the duo, intending on forcing their retirement. The shark-like boy couldn't find a way out of his current predicament of fighting off the persistent serpents from swallowing him whole.

Issei, creating a small orb of energy, shouted "DRAGON SHOT!" a massive beam of red energy tore through the air, disintegrating all of Diodora's dragons and serpents in one shot. Even Diodora himself was caught by the blast, but wasn't harmed at all as he manipulated the magic from his barrier in front of him.

"Try to knock him down to the ground!" said Sairaorg as he passed by Issei, heading straight for Diodora. Issei followed after Sairaorg, understanding that a small alliance was made between the two.

Once Issei's Dragon Shot had faded away, a perfectly unharmed Diodora was met with the sight of Issei and Sairaorg on his left and right side respectively. Thinking quickly, he focused his barrier's magic to his left and right sides to defend against the two. Issei's kick was blocked by Diodora's barrier, but Sairaorg surprisingly broke through the barrier. The serpents dancing along Diodora's body instantly jumped at Sairaorg, their dangerous fangs ready to pierce through flesh and bone.

"Not today!" shouted the incoming Suigetsu, slicing through all of the serpents from above with his Kubikiribocho.

Silently thanking Suigetsu for his help, Sairaorg's speed increased as he fly over the blue-haired powerhouse. Faster than Diodora could repair his barrier, Sairaorg dropped kick Diodora on his shoulder with a sick _'crunch'_ sound following afterwards.

"GAAHHAaAHHH!" the Astaroth screamed in pain as he was knocked out of the sky and down into the ground below. He stopped himself before crashing into the concrete road but noticed that he couldn't move his boy suddenly. "Wha…what is t-this…" he managed to get out.

"You're in my trap." said Seekvaira, activating her spell. A large purple magic circle appeared underneath Diodora, while five green magic seals circled around it, creating a time field. "If you survive this, then I don't know how else we can defeat you, so I it to where it is impossible to escape."The green time seals started to spin around the massive purple circle, creating a barrier. Purple streams of energy grew from out of the circle beneath Diodora and latched onto the Astaroth heir.

Sairaorg and Issei landed next to Seekvaira, peering inside of the green barrier, "What did you do in particular, Seekvaira?" asked Sairaorg.

"The purple seal is a magic draining spell that I casted. So long as he is over that magic circle, his energy will continually be drained. The five magic seals circling the original is a part of my time spell. Since I stacked them all together, every second outside of the barrier is about 7 seconds within it, allowing more time for my magic draining spell to do its job." explained the blonde.

"And his paralysis?" Sairaorg asked.

"A simple paralysis spell I incorporated into the magic draining circle. Nothing special." said Seekvaira with a shrug.

"That's awesome. Who knew you were such a badass, Seekvaira." said Issei in awe.

Seekvaira pushed her glasses up on her nose while hiding her confident smirk with her hand, "I am a battle technician after all…"

Issei nodded, making a mental note to never piss of the blonde Agares heiress in life. While Sairaorg and Seekvaira were distracted by the struggling Diodora, Issei took notice that Suigetsu wasn't with them. His danger senses alerted him of a nearby presence. Glancing behind him, Issei saw Suigetsu behind Sairaorg with an evil glint in his eyes. Suigetsu no longer had his Kubikiribocho but had his regular sword aimed at the Bael's back, ready to impale him. "Sairaorg! Behind you!"

Taking heed to Issei's words, Sairorg ducked, avoiding the potential death blow of Suigetsu sword. The strong Bael twisted his body around and chopped through Suigetsu's arm, however, Sairaorg's eyes widened when his hand went through Suigetsu's arm like it was nothing.

Crashing into Sairaorg's body, Suigetsu manipulated his body into water, circling around to Sairaorg's back. The shark boy's arms bent in unnatural ways, going underneath Sairaorg's arms and wrapping around his neck. His legs snaked around Sairaorg's thigh and legs, trapping the Bael in an impressive and disturbing display of magic. "Seems like I gotcha now!" said Suigetsu. His back was against Sairaorg's, but he had a clear sight of the astonished faces of Seekvaira and Issei. "Wasn't expecting that, were ya!?"

"What type of technique is this?" Sairaorg grunted as he tried to pry Suigetsu off of him, but he couldn't get a good grip because of Suigetsu slippery skin.

"Let him go! He's not the enemy!" shouted Issei in rage.

Suigetsu laughed at the half-devil, "Are you kidding me? I guess all these alliances have gotten to your head. This tournament is about surviving, not taking out the most dangerous threat. You all were so focused on taking out the Astaroth, you forgot that this is a every-man-for-themselves situation. The only way to finish this tournament is if only four remaining participants are still active. Fuck Diodora, I'm going for the weakened folks."

From Suigetsu shoulder grew a small water arm, surprising all of the onlookers. The arm stretched down to the ground to pick up Suigetsu sword that he dropped while trapping Sairaorg with his limbs and pointed the sharp tip at Sairaorg's heart. "I'm a master at killing. I thought I told you all this when we first met."

"If you do that, you'll retire yourself. That sword will pierce through Sairaorg's body and enter yours." said Seekvaira.

Suigetsu laughed as a devious gleam was present in his eye, "Do I care? Hehehe! Look at me! The low-class devil forces the retirement of Sairaorg Bael." Suigetsu menacing smile flashed all of his dangerously sharp teeth as he prepared to strike Sairaorg down, "Now that sounds like a front page headliner, hmm?!"

Seeing his approaching doom, Sairaorg only had one option if he wanted to survive. The Bael heir twisted his body, moving his shoulder in front of the approaching blade, saving his heart from being run through. "AAHHHH!" he shouted before gritting his teeth in pain. The sword went through his body easily. The sword also went through Suigetsu's body, but he wasn't affected by it because of his hydrification spell.

"Would you look at that…" said Suigetsu, surprised by Sairaorg's survival attempt, "You're a tough one."

"…a..and I can handle…erk…much more…" Sairaorg said with a pain-filled grin. Taking in a deep breath, Sairaorg jumped up and landed on his back, forcing the sword out of his shoulder while squishing Suigetsu in the process. He held back another pain-filled shout as the sword slipped out of his shoulder, but it didn't come out straight, cutting into the sides of his wound before escaping his shoulder.

Issei quickly ran over and collected Sairaorg, pulling him away from the murderous fish-boy, "You alright?" Issei asked him.

"I...I will be…heh…but my left arm isn't working anymore." he said, gripping his left shoulder.

Meanwhile, Suigetsu was reforming his body, slowly clumping it together. "Aw man…didn't expect that to happen….fucking big, muscular ass devils…"he muttered as his body fully reformed. Suigetsu popped his neck before turning around to face his enemies, only to be blasted into the time field by Seekvaira.

"Bastard." she whispered, watching as Suigetsu's magic was slowly drained from his body. She turned her attention to the recovering Sairaorg, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yea…I've still got both of my legs and my right hand anyway. I'll be good." he said with a thumbs up.

"Good." she said, crossing her arms over her chest and watching both Suigetsu and Diodora's energy drained from her spell, "It shouldn't be long now. I don't care how much magic Diodora has; he can't last in a trap like this. He should retire soon."

"So what now?" Issei asked.

"Well, I say that we should make an effort to make it to the Final Four." said Seekvaira, "Since you two helped me against Diodora, I shall repay you by helping us get to the top four. My partner, Lee, is somewhere in this environment…probably fighting that other girl that was here. Once we get rid of these two, let's go find them and force the other girl's retirement, making the Final Four competitors and we'll finally leave this annoying place."

"I don't see anything wrong with that." said Sairaorg.

"Yeah! I'm all in!" answered Issei.

"Good…nrrgg.." Seekvaira winced, grabbing her head in pain.

"What's wrong, Seekvaira?" asked Sairaorg, walking over to the blonde.

"No-nothing…it's just that my magic is almost depleted…trapping Diodora took a lot out of me." she answered truthfully, "I won't be able to keep the barrier up for long. In a few seconds, it will fade away, so be prepared."

Both boys nodded, taking heed to her warning. After a few seconds, Seekvaira's absorption/paralysis spell along with her time field vanished. Diodora dropped to the ground while Suigetsu groaned, already on the ground. "Ehh…what the fuck! What type of bullshit spell was that!?" he shouted at Seekvaira.

"You double crossed us. Time for you to go." threatened Seekvaira.

However, before Seekvaira could retire the weakened Suigetsu, Diodora interrupted her with a low chuckle. His cape covered his head, but his head was moving slightly underneath. His laughing increased in volume as purple magic danced around his body. "hehehe! You all….hehehe…You're so fucking hilarious…hehehehaaahahahhHAHAHAH!aaAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

An explosion of magic created a storm of powerful gust blowing through the streets. Seekvaira, Issei, and Sairaorg stood strong, glaring at the laughing Diodora as he slowly stood up. "You think….heehahaha! You honestly think you can defeat me with that mediocre spell!? How disgraceful!"

"It did enough to trap you for a while." said Seekvaira, not scared at the slightest of Diodora's power increase. _'It does bring up the question on why he still has so much energy left…'_ she thought.

"Trapped me, yes, but I still retained some of my energy because of my potent magic corrupting your spell." he said with a small grin, "I'm not going to lie…you did surprise me with the complexity of your spell, but alas, it was nothing compared to my greatness." Diodora finished.

"Seems like your still ready for a fight then, huh?" said Issei from his Scale Mail.

"Well, of course." said Diodora, stretching out his arms, "I am the one that will win and be a member of the Rookie Four. I don't care who joins me in the group, but I will prove that I will be the strongest of the group."

"Like we'll let you do that. You're going down, buddy." Issei growled out.

Diodora rolled his eyes at Issei, turning his attention to the slowly retreating Suigetsu. The boy thought that he could get away unnoticed, but Diodora caught onto him, "Since you were in that spell with me, your magic must be nearly depleted."

Suigetsu was sweating bullets at being caught, especially since what Diodora said was true. He slowly turned around to see Diodora's creepy closed-eye grin. "Uhhh..hahahahaha….what ya' say again?" he asked awkwardly.

Crafting a magic circle, a band of purple serpents jetted towards Suigetsu, who was too tired to even defend himself properly. Because he didn't have any magic, he couldn't fuel his hydrification body spell, so he fell prey to the menacing serpents' large fangs, piercing through his skin and drawing blood.

Suigetsu body glowed blue until it disappeared; _"Suigetsu Hozuki has retired."_ said the announcer's voice, signaling Suigetsu's retirement.

"Well then, there's goes another useless peasant." said Diodora with a yawn, "Two more retirements and this tournament is over."

"And you'll be one of those retirements! Caused by me, jackass!" shouted Issei, his anger increasing the longer Diodora hadn't been beaten into a pulp.

"Calm down, Issei. Getting mad will only weaken decision making." said Sairaorg gripping his left shoulder, "We'll need you the most since you're not as injured as me or out of magic like Seekvaira."

"Well…I could help with that…" before Issei could finish, an eruption of sand came from an alleyway behind the trio. Gaia jumped out of the alleyway and landed on her sand, using it as a cushion. She was seemingly having trouble breathing as she clutched her chest. Her face was cracked like glass in multiple places with blood leaking out of a few of her injuries.

Lee appeared, jumping over a building a looking down at his opponent. He was injured in a few places, but he seemed fine compared to Gaia's condition. He was about to engage the sand witch again before he noticed the crowd below him. "YOSH! Is that Seekvaira and Sairaorg and Issei I see?! Hello friends!" he said with a wave.

"Just in time, Lee!" Seekvaira yelled at her partner, "Come join us! We'll need your help to take down Diodora."

"Are you sure?" he asked, jumping off of the building and landing next to Seekvaira, "I'm already a little busy with a fight of my own."

"If you want to survive then you should join us." said Sairaorg to Gaia, "Its four devils in an alliance to take down Diodora. We'll need your help too."

Gaia was silent for a while, contemplating the Bael heir's words. "Who retired Suigetsu?" she asked after a few seconds.

"He did. Since you're asking about him, you must have had some type of connection with the boy." analyzed Seekvaira.

"They were partners that tried to kill me!" shouted Lee, "But I used my youth to live through their combined efforts of forcing my retirement."

"Seems like more of a reason to join us then." said Sairaorg, "Help us take down the person that retired your partner."

"…..fine…" she said, walking over to the group, "but I have a proposition."

"And that is?" asked Seekvaira.

"If we force his retirement, there will be five of us still here." started the mysterious girl, "You all may want my help, but how do I know that you four may just gang up on me when we finish off the Astaroth?"

"….she is kinda right…" said Issei with a shrug.

' _Damn it.'_ thought Seekvaira. She was mad because what Gaia said was exactly what she was planning to do, _'Now what? Because we'll need her help to take down Diodora! We don't have any more options!'_

"If it makes you comfortable, then I'll surrender the moment we finish off that guy! That way, it'll only be you, Seekvaira, Sairaorg, and Issei alive, meaning you all would be a part of the Final Four." said Lee.

"Lee…" said Seekvaira, a little shocked by his selflessness. _'No…he's doing this to make sure that he keeps his promise of getting me to the Final Four…he'd do all of this just for me?'_

"Deal." muttered Gaia, "Let's finish this."

"Fiinnaalllyyyy…." said Diodora, obviously bored of their conversation, "I was wondering when you all would shut the hell up and fight me….it's like you all are nicely gifted wrapped in front of me. This is why I called you all here…to show everyone that I'm the strongest!"

"I don't care how strong you may be, Diodora," said Sairaorg, stepping forward while gripping his left shoulder, "but we will defeat you."

"I beg to differ, Sairaorg. I will be the one to come out on top. Most of you are already injured while only my arm hurts somewhat from your kick earlier. You can try to fight…" Diodora opened his eyes as a wide, wicked grin grew on his face. His purple aura danced around his body as he called upon his untapped magic, "BUT I WILL WIN IN THE END!"

 **Issei Hyoudou, Seekvaira Agares, Gaia, Rock Lee, and Sairaorg Bael**

 **vs.**

 **Diodora Astaroth**

Instantly, Diodora's purple serpents rocketed towards the group with open mouths, flashing their dangerously-sharp fangs. Before they could deal any damage, Gaia created a sand wall, which blocked the serpent's path and pierced them as needles of sand protruded from the sand shield.

"I've tried facing against Diodora before…" said Gaia, whose arms were stretched upwards, manipulating her sand to protect the ground, "That barrier that's protecting him is strong and punishes with electrocution from direct contact with it."

"And I don't have any more magic for my time spells to bypass his barrier." Seekvaira said with a growl.

"About that, I have a Phenex Tear still…" Issei reached out towards Seekvaira opened his palm, revealing a Phenex Tear that materialized in his hand, "If you want it, you can have it. We'll need you in order to beat that dickhead."

"YOSH! We've gotta move!" shouted Lee, seeing more serpents slither around Gaia's sand shield and dash towards them.

Everyone summoned their wings to fly away, except for Gaia who used her sand as a floating platform to escape. Seeing them run, Diodora launched massive amount of magical projectiles at the group, "You can't run away!" he shouted with an insane smile as he continued his assault.

"Here!" shouted Issei, throwing Seekvaira his Phenex Tear before countering Diodora's barrage of magic with his Dragon Shot.

"Thanks." Seekvaira muttered as she used the Phenex Tear. Once it made contact with her body, she instantly felt one hundred percent better and all of her noticeable injuries healed in seconds. "Alright, I'm ready!" she shouted to her allies.

"So what's the plan!?" shouted Sairaorg, kicking away another serpent that tried to devour him in one gulp.

"We need to tire him out." said Gaia, deflecting a beam of magic while dodging a serpent on her sand, "I don't care what he says, he has to be running low on magic…apply pressure on him."

"But every time we try to hit him, that barrier of his blocks and electrocutes the youth out of us!" shouted Lee, hugging two serpents in a death grip, causing them to burst in a small explosion of purple and black magic.

"And it seems like he's taken counter measures to the last time Lee and I faced him," said Seekvaira, taking notice to the purple aura that danced around Diodora, "It seems like this aura is also acting like shield…stacking that on top of his other glass-like shield that he has protecting him at all times."

"Again, just wear him out." muttered Gaia, manipulating her sand to go towards Issei, Sairaorg, and Lee. The sand wrapped itself around their fist and feet, acting as gauntlets and protective boots, "While it may slow you down….my sand can protect against the electrocution of his barrier."

"YOSH! Then I must get serious then to deal even more damage!" shouted Lee, stripping himself from his added weights. "Time to fly!" he shouted as he disappeared almost instantaneously.

Diodora grunted as what felt like a meteor hit his barrier from behind him, but it was Lee that kicked him with such force, knocking him out of the sky. He caught himself though and continued his assault of magic at the Green Beast. "Die, peasant!" he shouted at Lee.

Lee dodged the slow blast like it was nothing, but Issei appeared and cut through his blast with Asacalon, "We got you now, bitch!" he shouted as he engaged Diodora, slicing through all of his serpents that were thrown at him and knocking any magic blast directed towards him.

Diodora laughed, "Like you two can do anything significant!" he said as he created a red death ball over him and disturbed its core, causing the menacing orb to explode.

"GAahhh!" shouted Issei, getting knocked into a nearby water tower from the explosion. Lee was also knocked away from the force of the explosion but landed safely on the roof of a building before engaging Diodora's barrier again with a barrage of punches and kicks.

"Have a taste of my youth!" shouted Lee, his attacks creating small spider web cracks on the glass-like barrier protecting the blue-haired Astaroth inside.

"Imbecile!" said Diodora while launching a barrage of serpents at Lee. However, red laser jumped around Lee's body and pierced into the snakes, disintegrating them from the inside out. Diodora growled when he noticed it was Seekvaira that was countering his serpents from afar with her powerful lasers. "You damn coward! FACE MEE!"

Suddenly, Lee used Diodora's barrier as a platform to push himself away, Gaia's sand boots protecting him from its electric jolt. The injured but still dangerous Bael with a mysterious white hue of energy surrounding him came from behind Lee with his right arm cocked back and delivered a thunderous punch to Diodora's shield, breaking through Diodora's shield. Before he could deal any damage to Diodora himself, the serpents dancing around Diodora's body jumped at Sairarog, bashing into his body and knocking him away.

Sairaorg landed on the ground with a grunt before flying after the royal Astaroth. Issei and Lee joined him as they flew through the skies, countering magical blast, snakes, and any other attack that Diodora launched at them. From beneath them, Seekvaira and Gaia were blocking any attacks that the boys couldn't block with their own spells and sand, keeping the trio safe as they followed Diodora through sky.

Launching multiple death balls at the trio like they were minor spells, Diodora laughed at the group, "This is really what you have to offer!? I could have destroyed you all when this fight first started! AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHH! I AM INVICIBLE!"

Kicking a death ball into a nearby skyscraper, Sairaorg shouted at the blue-haired devil, "Diodora, I don't know how you became this powerful in such a short amount of time, but we will win and stop you! That's a promise I will see forth, for my name is Sairaorg Bael!"

"You're gibberish isn't making sense! I'll shut you up now!" shouted the Astaroth, shooting multiple dragons of different elements at Sairaorg.

Gaia counteracted Diodora's dragons by wrapping Sairaorg in a cocoon of sand, protect him from the elemental beast as the exploded upon contact. Releasing the Bael when it was safe, Gaia called back her sand which allowed the Touki-enhanced Bael to rocket towards Diodora and break through his glass-like barrier again with a powerful kick. Again, Diodora's serpents that were protecting him jumped at the Bael, intending on piercing him with their fangs and bashing into his body, but Sairaorg intercepted the snakes by catching their heads and wrapping them together in his arms.

"What are you doing?!" shouted Diodora, highly confused by Sairaorg's actions.

Suddenly, Issei appeared over the Bael heir and sliced through the snakes with Ascalon , "Gotcha now, dickhead!"

Lee appeared behind delivered a deadly drop kick to Diodora's expose back. His back made a sickening _'crunch'_ sound as he was descended down to the ground.

While he was in a world of hurt, he was confused when he landed on a floating surface of sand. "Wha-what is-

"Take this, PEASANT!" was the sound of Issei's voice before he punched Diodora through Gaia's sand and into a nearby building.

Bursting through the other side, Diodora landed harshly on the concrete ground, creating a personal crater in the ground. "AAHHRRRhhhhAAAAAAHHHH!AHHH!" He hollowed in pain as pain racked through his body in waves.

The group landed on the ground nearby and watched the howling devil. "Alright! We did it!" shouted Issei in happiness.

"He's not finished with yet." said Seekvaira, conjuring a magic seal and shoot a few streams of magic at Diodora, intending on finishing him off.

His sense rang through his head that something was approaching him. Using all of his might, Diodora ignored his pain and summoned a defensive barrier, protecting him from retirement.

"Seems like he still has enough stamina to move." said Sairaorg as they watched Diodora struggle to get back on his feet.

"Ur….urrgghhh…" Diodora gasped as he stood up after some time. He glared at the five devils with all the hatred he had in his body. "H-how…how dare y-yyou put….me through s-such dif...ficulties…"

"Difficulties that you caused." said Seekvaira while pushing up her glasses, "I'm sure you'll be under investigation for this huge power increase. I don't know how you did it, but no young devil should have the amount of magic you do. It is physically impossible."

Diodora was silent, but on the inside, he was panicking. _'Why can't I call upon anymore of Ophis' power? Did….did I use it all? How can that be?'_

"I think he gave up…" said the curious Lee.

"As he should." said Seekvaira, summoning another magic circle, intending on blasting Diodora out of the dimension.

However, the blue-haired Astaroth started to chuckle, stopping her…."Ohhh…You all are so funny….making me resort to such extremes….."

"….what extremes?" muttered Gaia darkly.

Diodora's grin caused the young devils to tense. Something was wrong.

"You must have forgotten! I have a trump card high in the sky!" he shouted, pointing to the fake moon that he created in the red sky, "Witness! WITNESS WHAT DIODORA ASTAROTH CAN DO!"

The five devils stared up at the moon as it suddenly turned purple, scaring a few of them. Multiple magic circles appeared around the moon, dancing along its surface. From the magic circles grew dragons from each element, flying up in the air before descending to the ground, breaking through the cloud layer. The moon continually grew smaller, fueling the multiple spells as it produced more dragons, all of them directed towards the five devils below.

Once the moon had vanished, Gaia, Seekvaira, Sairaorg, Issei, and Lee were amazed as the sky was filled with elemental dragons. The dragons blocked out the real moon along with the red sky of the City Environment, with the fire and lightning elemental dragons re-lighting up the sky with red and blue light.

"Wha…." Seekvaira recalled her magic circle and lowered her arm, starring up at the sky in disbelief, "What can we do….There has to be hundreds of them. We don't have the magic to stop them all…"

"We-we gotta get out of here!" shouted Issei, tugging on Sairaorg, "Come on!"

"We can't escape…." muttered Gaia, starring at their slowly approaching doom, "His spell is to powerful. We're not fast enough to fly away…plus, they're all aimed at us. They'll just follow us if we leave."

"Unfortunately…she's right, Issei." said Sairaorg, crushing Issei's hopes of coming out of this alive, "This is it."

"But…but there has to be some way!" said Issei, turning to the only person that hadn't said anything yet, "Lee! You agree with me, right?!"

Lee's eyes flashed with fire as determination ran throughout his body, something that Issei saw, "You have a plan!?" he said instantly, recognizing that look in Lee's eyes.

"YOSH! IT'S TIME TO RELEASE ALL OF MY YOUTH!" Lee screeched, "GATE OF LIFE-OPEN!"

A green aura erupted from Lee's body, creating a powerful whirlwind. Seekvaira covered her face with her arms as she withstood the powerful gust, "Lee, what are you doing?!" she shouted as she watched his skin turn red and his eyes turned completely white.

"GATE OF PAIN-OPEN! GATE OF LIMIT-OPEN!" two more powerful burst of energy erupted from the Green Beast. His skin was sizzling and multiple veins protruded disgustingly.

After taking a few breathes, Lee calmed his tremendous aura down, which allowed his allies to drop the hands from the dying whirlwind, "I'm going to need some help…" he said.

"Lee….what is this…" muttered Seekvaira in shock.

"No time to explain, I need help." said Lee in a commanding voice.

"BWAHAHAH! I knew I shouldn't have doubted you!" laughed Sairaorg, "What type of help do you need, Green Beast!?"

"I need sand around my body. I'm going to need some form of protection." said Lee, looking towards Gaia.

With a slow nod, Gaia manipulated her sand around Lee's body, just like her own Amor of Sand. Once that he was finished, he looked over to Seekvaira, "Can you use a time spell to make my movements quicker? I remember that Rai Agares could do something similar when we faced him a few months ago."

"….I can…" muttered Seekvaira, holding out her hand and whispering a few chants. A few seconds later, two green seal appeared beneath Lee's feet. "There, it's done."

"Issei, can I get some energy?" asked Lee.

"Sure thing!" said Issei, happy to contribute as he transferred energy to his buddy.

Diodora's laughing interrupted the group, "HAHAHAHAHAHAH! What could you possibly do!? You're going to die here and I'll make sure of it!"

Lee ignored Diodora as he turned to Sairaorg, "I'm going to need a lift."

"One that I shall provide." Sairaorg said with a smirk. Lee nodded and took a few steps back and entered into a running position. Using his uninjured right arm, Sairaorg opened his palm and lowered it to the ground.

"It's time to show them your youth, Green Beast!" shouted Sairaorg as Lee ran towards him. Once Lee's foot landed in Sairaorg's palm, the Bael threw him in the air. Lee's body phased through the air as he summoned his wings and readied his final attack.

Diodora's confidence slightly wavered as he watched the flying Lee, "What….what is he doing?"

"It's time for YOOOOUUUUTTHHHH! REVERSE LOTUS!" shouted Lee, disappearing as Seekvaira activated her time spell.

The five devils looked up to sky to see what Lee had planned. Nothing happened for a few seconds, creating some doubt to seep into their hearts, but that doubt was killed when a few dragons exploded all of a sudden.

"What the fuck!" shouted Diodora as more and more of his dragons started to explode, "What the hell is going on!?"

"He's breaking through them…" said Seekvaira with a small laugh. The blonde Agares thought back of when they first fought Diodora and Lee broke through all of Diodora's lightning dragons. "He's using pure speed to break through them."

"WHAT!" shouted Diodora, overhearing Seekvaira. Even though he could hardly see him, sure enough, Lee was bouncing from one dragon to the other, breaking through them with an incredible amount of force and seemingly teleporting to the next. The sky was filled with explosions as he continually destroyed multiple dragons in only a second, moving to his next victim.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" Diodora shouted out, clawing at his face as he started to breakdown. "THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! IT'S JUST A DREAM!"

Second by second, dozens of Diodora's dragons were destroyed as the explosions increased in number. The sand covering Lee's body, however, couldn't handle all of the explosions and slowly started to peel off, exposing him to the powerful blast. Nevertheless, Lee ignored all of the pain as he continued to break through all of the dragons in a dazzling display of effort.

In one minute, all of Diodora's dragons were destroyed. Lee appeared in the sky, heavily damaged from all his work. His clothes were tattered, his bandages were unraveled, and he was bleeding from multiple open wounds.

"Alright, Lee!" shouted Issei from the ground, "You did it!"

"That man is something else. He deserves the title 'Green Beast'!" said Sairaorg.

Diodora looked utterly defeat while the others celebrated Lee's victory. He fell to his knees as he looked up at Lee floating in the air. "This…..this isn't possible….."

"Lee! Lee, come down here!" shouted Seekvaira with a wide smile. Her smile, though, slowly disappeared because Lee had yet to respond to their yells, "Lee?"

While he was floating in the air, Lee had lost consciousness off of pure instinct. The damage his body took during his final attack was too great for him to handle. Slowly, he started to lose his balance in the sky until he began his descent to the ground, head first.

"Lee!" Seekvaira quickly summoned her wings and flew up to catch Lee before he injured himself even more. By the time that she made it to him, his body was encased in blue light before disappearing from the dimension.

' _Rock Lee has retired.'_ said the announcer's voice.

Diodora, who was still shocked by his defeat, saw Seekvaira fly in the sky to save Lee. When his body disappeared, he glanced over to the other devils on the ground. Gaia, Sairaorg, and Issei were visibly hurt and tired from their battle against the Astaroth – an opportunity he was going wasn't going to waste.

Silently, temporarily ignoring the pain that filled his body, three, small, yellow magic circles appeared over his open palm. Gaia, Issei, and Sairaorg were watching Seekvaira fly in the air to save Lee, meaning they were distracted by the fact that Diodora tossed all three magic seals at the trio.

"Wha-" Gaia muttered as a yellow magic circle appeared under her. Electricity suddenly coursed through her body, along with Issei and Sairaorg, enabling them immobile.

"No!" shouted Seekvaira, changing direction and flying back down to save her allies, but she knew shouldn't wouldn't be able to save them from the quick-charged death ball Diodora created.

"This is it!" he shouted with an insane grin, spitting out blood while doing so, "I win!" he finished as he threw his death orb at the trio.

" _ **NOW, PARTNER!"**_ shouted Ddraig using the mental link he shared with his host. A boost of power erupted from Issei's armored body, instantly breaking Diodora's paralysis spell. His dragon-like wings erupted out of his back and Issei blasted towards Diodora's death orb.

"This won't stop me! Take this!" he shouted, punching and ripping through Diodora's death orb with ease, shocking the Astaroth. Issei's was unharmed by the explosion of the disfigured death orb as he flew through the smoke and engaged Diodora.

"No! Don't touch me!" said Diodora in fear, conjuring a magic barrier to block Issei.

Issei called forth Asaclon and entered a clash against Diodora's barrier. Spark flew everywhere as the two battle against one another. "You fucking dick head!" Issei shouted in anger, "I can't wait to slice through that thick skull of yours!"

"Why are still fighting!? Just let me win! I'm a high-class devil!" Diodora barked back. His barrier cracked as Issei continued to apply pressure, increasing the Astaroth's doubts.

"I don't care if you're a high-class, mid-class, or low-class! You hurt my friends and I'm not having it!" Issei yelled with a battle cry, "Pierce!"

Diodora's shield broke instantly into a million pieces, shocking Diodora. His mouth was ajar and a shiver ran through his body as Issei stood over him with Asacalon aimed at his heart. "Please…wait…"

"I don't have any mercy in my heart to give you…" Issei said with a growl as he pulled his arm back, "This is for Lee!" he shouted as he moved forward, ready to deal the finishing bl-

' _SHRUnkKK!'_

Ascalon's tip was inches away from Diodora's heart, but it wasn't what pierced the Astaroth heir. Both Diodora and Issei slowly looked down at their stomach to see a spear of sand running through the both of them. Seeing how the tip of spear protruded out of Diodora's back, the spear must have come from behind Issei before he finished off Diodora and only one person in the Devil Exams that utilized sand…

Gaia, no longer affected by Diodora's paralysis spell, crossed her arms and closed her eyes, seeing her job done, "And that's that…." she muttered.

"Why in the hell would you do that?!" shouted Sairaorg in a rare display of anger, "Issei is our ally!"

"Nobody is an ally." Gaia answered, not bothered by Sairaorg's outburst, "…they dropped their guard and I took advantage…an opportunity I've been searching for the entire time I joined you lot." she explained.

Diodora coughed up blood as he gripped the shaft of the sand spear. He grunted as he tried to pull it out of his body, but his arms were too weak to do so. "god….d-ddamn it…" he whispered as he continued to struggle.

Issei's Balance Breaker disappeared, revealing his weakened and tattered body. Blood was leaking out of his mouth and from his stomach. While it didn't hit any vital parts, the spear served its purpose. Blood dripped out of the wound, a small pool of it mixing with Diodora beneath them. "Heh….Look at this…" said Issei, slowly feeling his consciousness slip away.

"Why….why haven't you retired yet?" Diodora said with a gasp as he crumpled down to the ground, bringing Issei down with him.

Issei flashed the Astaroth a wide grin before he disappeared, "This isn't the first time I've been impaled. I'm getting used to the sensation." he finished as Diodora disappeared in a flash of blue.

' _Diodora Astaroth has retired. This is the final retirement of the Devil Exams. The Devil Exams is officially over.'_ spoke the announcer.

Issei's body disappeared in a flash of blue once he succumbed to unconsciousness; however, no announcement was made. Seekvaira landed back on the ground with the only other two devils in the Rating Game Dimension. She glanced over to Gaia, who still had her eyes closed and arms crossed. "You know…I can't even get mad at you right now…I would have probably done the same thing." she admitted.

"….like any smart devil would…." Gaia answered after a few seconds of silence.

Sairaorg sighed, putting Gaia's treacherous actions past him for now, "At least we made it to the Final Four. Never in my wildest dreams did I have Diodora causing the most trouble during this tournament."

"Same here, however…" Seekvaira pushed her glasses up on her nose as she looked up at the red sky, "I wonder why they haven't recalled us yet? The Devil Exam is over. I need to leave this Lucifer-forsaken place now before I go crazy."

"I don't know what's going on…" muttered Sairaorg, rubbing the back of his head with his good arm, "Maybe a slip up with the Rating Game System?"

 **Lilith Coliseum - Rating Game Dimension Control Room**

Sirzechs gripped his chair in anger as he watched the devils he had in charge of controlling the Rating Game Dimension panic as they slowly lost control of the dimension itself. "What in the hell is happening?" he asked/yelled to one of the lead devils.

"W-we don't know, Lucifer-sama!" the busty female devil shouted in fear, "All of a sudden, our magic seals were overridden by foreign presence. We don't know who's responsible!"

"Seems like we can't recall the young devils within the dimension now…he only thing we can do is send people inside of it." spoke Ajuka, looking at a few screens and gathering any information that could be of use, "It has to be a being of immense strength to override even the counter seals we had set up in place of an event like this."

"This doesn't look good at all." said Azazel, glancing over to Odin, who seemed to be in an internal conflict with himself, "Know anything, old timer?"

Odin looked down at his lap as he slowly connected the dots, "I feel as if….he's here…" he muttered.

 **Rating Game Dimension – City Environment**

Sairaorg, Seekvaira, and Gaia looked up to the sky as a massive magic circle appeared. Seekvaira narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she study the complexity of the seal. "Is that…Norse magic?" she said to herself, recognized the structure of the seal from her studies of foreign magic.

From the seal was a man as he phased into the dimension. He had long blue hair that floated behind him, along with two bangs flowing down the sides of his face. He was wearing a long white robe that covered his body, and had blue jewels on his forehead. "Hmm…took them long enough to finish their little squabble."

"Who are you?" said Sairaorg to the unidentified man.

 **Lilith Coliseum – Naruto's Suite**

Naruto, his peerage members, and Gabriel's eyes were glued to the screen as the presented himself as Loki.

Orochimaru was the first to respond, "Loki? As in the Evil God of Norse Mythology? Why would he teleport into the Rating Game Dimension?"

Slowly, an evil grin grew on Naruto's face as an idea clicked in his head. He stood up from his chair, gaining everyone's attention while doing so. "…..do you know what this is?" he asked out loud to nobody in particular.

When nobody answered, Naruto clenched his hands together as a wave of excitement filled his body, "An opportunity…" he answered.

 **Timeskip – Minutes later…**

"Forgive me." said Odin, bowing to the Four Satans in front of him, "I should have known that Loki would pull something off like this just to get to me."

Currently, the control room for the Devil Exams was under extreme panic as Loki's talked about the start of Ragnarok, with the three devils in the Rating Game Dimension to be the first deaths of the world-ending process. The Devils tried to find a way to recall the devil youths out of the dimension and way from the powerful god, but found no luck in doing so.

"He's not allowing us to recall the devil youth but hasn't restricted the ability of sending someone in." said Azazel, "Sounds like a ploy to me for Odin to go in for himself so he can finish you off."

"And this responsibility is nobody's but mine. I should be the one to stop him." said Odin. He was about to continue speaking, but the sound of someone knocking and then entering the room interrupted him.

"Seems like you guys are in a pickle! Hehehehe!" laughed Naruto as he entered the control room with his peerage and Gabriel at his side, "Need some help?"

"Help? How so, young Naruto?" asked Micheal.

"Send me in there with my peerage. We'll handle the situation." Naruto said with a smile.

"No, I won't allow it. This is my problem and I should be the one to handle it." said Odin, actually serious for once.

"EHhhhh, calm down, you old geezer." said Naruto, slapping the elder god on his back lightly, shocking everyone in the room with his bravery, "Just let us handle it. You're our guest here in the Underworld so just take a chill pill. We've got things covered."

"Are you sure? Loki is not just some other foe." warned Odin, "He is a god that can kill even the Satans."

"Good thing I'm not a Satan." countered Naruto with a laugh as he looked over to Sirzechs, "You alright with this, old buddy? You trust me enough, no?"

Sirzechs actually smiled at his blonde friend, "I feel like Naruto can handle the situation." he said, shocking a few people in the room.

"Are you sure about his now?" asked Gabriel, visably worried for her fellow blonde, "I don't want you all getting hurt…"

"Don't worry about it, Gabby! I've got the best peerage in the world supporting me, so I won't be alone. Our teamwork it top-notch! One outta' trillion! You'll see!" he said with another laugh.

"If you do fight Loki, take my assistant, Rossweisse, with you." said Odin, motioning to his very beautiful female companion, "She is prominent in Norse sealing magic and can seal someone like Loki. All you have to do is distract him enough for her to work her magic."

"Alright! Seems fair. Nice ta' meet you, Rossweisee!" Naruto said with a cheeky smile to the white-haired beauty.

"And you as well, Naruto-sama." she replied with a respectful bow.

"So!" said Naruto, turning back to Sirzechs, "Can you give us a lift?"

 **Rating Game Dimension – City Environment**

Seekvaira shakily took a step back as Loki floated over to the trio. _'We can't defeat a god! We hardly beat Diodora! Why haven't they called us back to the Underworld yet!?'_

"You're scared?" he said, noticing that Seekvaira was shaking all over. He laughed, "Good. It means you realize just how beneath me you really are."

"Seems like we're going to have to fight our way out of this one….or die trying." said Sairaorg, entering a battle stance, even though his left arm was still limp from Suigetsu piercing through it with his sword earlier. Gaia called forth her sand and readied it to use against the approaching evil god.

However, a large, red, magic circle appeared behind the young devils, catching their and Loki's attention. From the magic seal came Naruto and his peerage, with Rossweisse arriving in her own magic circle. "Hi there!" Naruto said with a wave, "Naruto Beal is here to save the day!"

"Naruto-sama? What are you doing here?" Sairaorg said, his stance loosening a little at seeing his fellow clansmen.

"Just here to stop an evil god from destroying the world." Naruto said casually.

"I'm starting to get used to these weird occurrences we get ourselves into…." Anna muttered, clearly annoyed at their current predicament.

"Don't worry, Anna. We'll make this quick so we can go back home. I promise you." said Yoh, gripping the handle to his sword, Harusame.

"Oh! So you're the backup they brought in? Not what I was expecting…." said Loki, disappointed in the turn out.

Rossweisse stepped forward, "Lord Loki, please stop this madness! If you have a complaint with the All-Father then you should file a complaint through the proper channels!" she shouted.

"And who's going to stop me? You? Talented you maybe, you can't stop me – A God!" Loki stated arrogantly.

"A God?" said Kisame, " A God…Where have I heard that from…..Uhhh…wasn't it those black guys on Youtube that had that funny video? Yoh, you know what I'm talking about?"

"You mean RDCWorld1's reenactment of The Avenger's but as African-Americans?" Yoh said as his face lit up in happiness, "OH Yea! Those guys were too funny! Whenever Mark would say 'I am a God!' I would die of laughter!"

"Is that the YouTube thingy you two shown me before?" asked Naruto innocently, "From the Google thing…right?"

"Are we really talking about YouTube videos and Google when there is a god right in front of us…" said Orochimaru with a sigh.

"Mannnn, you just a hater!" shouted Kisame, "Always got some negative ass shit to say! Go back in your lab and…I don't know! Dissect children or some shit. What the fuck you do in that creepy as lab of yours."

"I just want to go home. There's a documentary about Native Americans coming on later and I want to watch it." said Hao.

"Not so fast, Hao. Tonight is my night with the remote." said Anna with a glare, making sure nobody took away her TV privileges.

"I just want to go hoooommmmmeeeeee…." yawned Kuroka, covering her mouth with her small hands.

Seekvaira, Gaia, Sairaorg, Rossweisse, and even Loki sweat dropped as the peerage totally ignored them in favor of entertaining themselves in useless conversations.

"Are they always like this?" Seekvaira asked Sairaorg, knowing that he had been around Naruto's peerage a few times in the past.

"Unfortunately, yes." he said with an awkward head scratch, "Truly, these people have no shame."

Loki growled as he summoned a mass array of magic circles, interrupted the group's conversation, "Enough of this blasphemy! How dare you ignore my presence for ignorant banter! It's like watching vermin fight over trash!"

"Hey! Who the fuck is he calling vermin!?" yelled Kisame, gripping Samehade in anger, "I don't even know what that word means, but I bet you it has to do with shit!"

"I'll let you have that one for now, Kisame." said Orochimaru, focusing on the task at hand, "We have a god to defeat."

"Right, let's get back on track." said Naruto. He then looked over to the three young devils, "You three. Get behind us. We don't need you getting in the way."

"Y-Yes sir." said Sairaorg, pulling the slightly offended Seekvaira aside. Gaia followed the two, but she was curious as to how the outcome of the approaching battle would turn out.

"Alright, team. Let's make this quick. You guys ready to defeat a god?" said Naruto, calling forth his magic.

Loki scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest, "As if you pitiful devils could even harm me! But alas, I'd like to see you try…"

 **Team Naruto vs. Loki [Norse God]**

"Kuroka, could you be a dear and start things off for us?" asked Naruto, looking over to his [Queen].

Giving him a silent nod, Kuroka summoned multiple, purple magic behind the group, matching Loki's own field of Norse magic circles in size.

Loki raised an eyebrow at Kuroka's skill, "Oh? Maybe this will be a little entertaining…"

"You all may really want to fly somewhere safe," Kuroka said to the onlookers, "Things are really going to fiery, nya~"

Taking heed to her warning, Seekvaira, Rossweisse ,Sairaorg, and Gaia took to the skies, taking what they felt a safe distance away from the battle zone. "Stay safe!" said Sairaorg.

Kuroka smiled at the young Bael before focusing her attention on the evil god in front of her. With a snap of her fingers, purple gasses expelled from her magic circles, filling the entire area in a shade of purple.

"Hmm?" said Loki, confused at what she was doing. He didn't try to escape the purple gas as it engulfed him and his magic circles. "This gas isn't poisonous…" he deduced.

"Disperse." muttered Naruto. All of his peerage members, excluding Kuroka, flew out of the purple gas field, leaving the Nekomata by herself. Kuroka created a blue sphere around her and started to walk towards the Evil God, knowing his exact position thanks to her mastery of Senjutsu.

"So you're my opponent? This is really disappointing." said Loki, shaking his head, "By the way how you all disrespected me by ignoring my presence, I thought that you all may have some skill, but I guess I was wrong."

"Shut up, nya." said Kuroka with a roll of her eyes, "You're just a big meanie."

"If that's all you have to offer, then I'll end you now." the Norse God said, activating his many magic seals. However, the moment his seals glowed blue with power, the gas surrounding them sparked a massive explosion. Loki was caught in the middle of it all, getting knocked out of the skies because of the force. All of the nearby buildings were utterly destroyed from the powerful explosion. Nothing could withstand the eruption of fire as many of the skyscrapers were dismantled and thrown around the City Environment like toys.

From the skies, Rosswiesse and the three young devils watched the hellfire below them with wide eyes, except for Gaia, who was hiding her shock under her nonchalant appearance. "A third of the city is gone…" muttered Sairaorg, shocked by what looked like a basic spell was the fuel to hell.

"The gas was explosive, but not to fire…but foreign magic." said Seekvaira, thoroughly shocked at Kuroka's skill level, "This is incredible…"

With the ground now destroyed, Loki freed himself from the wreckage on top of him with a burst of magic, "Wasn't expecting that. This may actually be interesting."

Before he could take to the skies again, a blue magic circle appeared beneath his feet. Chains shot out and wrapped around his limbs, holding him in place. "What's this?" he muttered.

Suddenly, snakes from the ground below the god jump out and bit him on various parts of his body, injecting him with their venom. Loki scoffed, not even noticing the pain, "How stupid. Venom doesn't affect me. I am a god!" he shouted with a burst of magic, breaking from the snakes and chains holding him down.

His senses warned him of something nearby and he instantly created two barriers on his left and right sides. Zenki and Goki, with Goki equipped with his battle axe, burst through the smoke and attacked Loki's barriers but couldn't break through.

A new ally in Yoh appeared in front of Loki, using the gap in his barrier to attack. Loki quick-fired a blue beam of magic. The beam shot clean through the younger Asakura twin's body, but his body fazed away, surprising Loki. "An after image?"

Yoh appeared above him with Harasume aimed for his head and Loki shot another pressurized beam from his finger again, but Yoh's body fazed away like an illusion. The process continued to happen, with Goki and Zenki joining Yoh to injure Loki.

Loki continually grew frustrated because he couldn't land a clean hit on the vanishing boy, "Stop running away, vermin!" he yelled.

Yoh jumped away from Loki and vanished within the dying smoke cloud caused by Kuroka's explosion. Loki's attention was pulled away from the retreating Yoh and to the ground. He was surrounded by pink spell tags, all of them glowing in power. _'He wasn't trying to injure me. He was setting these spell tags down the entire time!'_

Magic danced around Loki, forming a shape of a star, with him in the middle. He was suddenly paralyzed and couldn't call upon his magic, surprising him. As soon as the spell was complete, from the smoke came a massive flamethrower of blazing flames from his front and a huge column of water shaped as a shark behind him on a collision course with him in the middle.

"Fucking sucker." Kisame said with a grin, recalling the huge massive circle he used to create his shark bomb. His grin on grew when he saw the two attacks collide into the god, creating another massive explosion: not the size of Kuroka's nuclear explosion, but enough to still permanently damage the environment.

"Enough of this!" shouted Loki, fed up that he was being toyed with. Flying out of the steam caused by Hao and Kisame's combination attack, Loki created a massive magic circle that covered a large portion of the City Environment, "I don't know where you roaches are hiding, but you can't evade this!" he yelled as the sky rained blue magic streams of destruction.

Naruto and his peerage were on the ground, safely protected by a powerful barrier that Orochimaru created. "Seems like he's mad now." stated the snake man.

"Good, that means he's not thinking clearly now. With a little more confusion, he'll be easy to seal – god or not." said Hao.

"You guys are really doing great. You may not even need my help." said Naruto with a few nods, highly impressed with his peerage.

"You know I could be absorbing a lot of that free magic he's throwing around, right?" Kisame said to his [King], "I would've been perfectly fine!"

"Can you please stop complaining about everything little thing?" Anna said to the blue-skinned man, "It's getting annoying."

"Can you please go jump in a volcano and leave me the hell alone?" Kisame countered.

"Alright guys," Yoh said with an awkward laugh, "Let's not fight each other now."

"He's finished his spell." said Kuroka, interrupting Kisame and Anna's argument, "Let's finish this so I can get in bed, nyaaaahhhh…." she said with a yawn, "I wanna take a nap."

"Sure thing." said Orochimaru, recalling his barrier, "It's all you."

Summoning her wings, Kuroka lead her peerages members as they confronted the angry god in the air, "You're taking up more of my night night time, nyah." the girl said with a glare.

"Then just die and you can sleep forever!" he yelled, blasting an impressive stream of Norse magic at the group.

Taking advantage of the free energy, Kisame jumped in front of the blast and let Samehade eat all of it, getting a pleasurable shriek of thanks from the demon sword. Anna re-summoned Goki and Zenki and had them attack Loki again. Orochimaru decided to back up the two shikigami by creating small water serpents to follow them as they engaged Loki.

Loki dodged all of Goki and Zenki's attempts of hurting him with pure speed, floating gracefully through all of their attacks. He blocked Orochimaru's water serpents with ease, before shooting both shikigami with pressurized beams of magic, causing the duo fading and retreating back into Anna's mind.

The Evil God of Norse mythology didn't have an opportunity to gloat from his small victory as he was assaulted by a barrage of blue flames coming from Kuroka. Dodging through the barrage, Loki didn't notice Yoh appear behind him and slice his arm off with lightning speeds.

"Urgg…" Loki winced as he flew above the group. Flying past the clouds, Loki's arm started to grow back because of the powerful healing spell he had in his arsenal.

From below, pink dust broke through the clouds and surrounded Loki to his annoyance. Flying out of the pink dust cloud, he was greeted to Kisame with an evil grin as he slammed Samehade on top of his head, knocking him out of the sky with a loud thunder clap.

Breaking into a skyscraper, Loki halted his descent with a burst of magic, using it as an air break. "Enough of this! They're just toying with me!"

Suddenly, a red arm burst from the floor under him, grabbing his leg and pulling him through each floor. Reaching what seemed to be a lavish lobby, Loki was thrown into the ground, creating his own personal crater. "Hi there." said Naruto with a smirk. Standing over the god's crater while recalling his Destruction Arms.

Loki growled as he tried to stand up, but couldn't as he was suddenly hit with a wave a paralysis. "What…what is this?" he said as he noticed a growing black flame pattern dance along the surface of his skin, "A curse mark?"

"Yup." said Naruto, stuffing his hands in to his pockets. His peerage members and Rosswiesse casually entered the destroyed building through the front door, surrounding the paralyzed god. "Remember when Orochimaru's snakes bit you? They didn't inject you with venom. We're not stupid to think that a god would be hurt by simple poison."

"Correct. My snakes were the one that placed my curse mark on you, immobilizing you by his command." said Orochimaru, pointing towards his smiling [King]. "Anna, if you would be a dear…"

Anna nodded, reaching into a magic circle and pulling out a plethora of spell tags that she placed around Loki. The tags all gleamed a dangerous red as a multi-layered red barrier phased around the fallen god.

"And that's game." said Naruto, "That was a good little work out. Too bad Lee couldn't enjoy it with us."

"Lee's had enough fighting for a few weeks." said Orochimaru, "While I was disappointed that he didn't make it to the Final Four, he still stood out from the other participants."

"Yeah! I'm proud of him." said Naruto with an innocent smile.

Meanwhile, Rosswiesse stared at the group with wide eyes, not able to comprehend how they were so laid back at a time like this, "How….how did you capture him so simply? Even Asgard's strongest Valkyrie would have trouble subduing a god."

"Well, no offense, but we work better as a team than Valkyries. They all know the same spells and it's predictable, while my peerage is diverse with abilities." Naruto said with a shrug, "But now that this over, you can seal him with no problems. Right?"

"Uh…uh-yes sir! Thank you very much!" she said with a bow before creating a complex array of magic seals.

"Good job, everyone." said Naruto, "Now, we should go pay our rookie Lee a visit."

"He did really good, nya." said Kuroka with a small smile, "I hope he doesn't feel disappointed in himself."

"Knowing him, he probably does." said Hao, fixing his poncho, "He's very adamant on proving himself to us, so-

" **A plague…a plague of those associated with Naruto Bael…May your truths reveal themselves….resulting in your eternal suffering….."**

-Loki chanted as Rosswiesse sealed him away.

Naruto and his peerage members glanced at each other awkwardly, not sure what to do.

"Uhhh….okay?" said Kisame, "What a weirdo."

"Maybe that was his last attempt at scaring us?" said Yoh, looking to his fiancée for an answer but was gifted Anna shrugging her shoulders in confusion as well.

"Eh, no matter!" said Naruto with cheeky grin while flashing a peace sign to his loyal followers, "We win!"

 **Same time**

 **Location: ?**

A mysterious figure watched Naruto and his peerage members defeat and seal Loki, the Evil God of Norse mythology, in an impressive display of skill and dominance.

The figure paused the screen to Naruto, who was grinning with his peace sign. Taking in his form, the mysterious person smiled.

"He's the one."

…

… **..**

…

… **..**

… **.**

… **.**

…

… **.now…before you all try to find my social media account, track down where I live, and kill me for making yall wait for so long, let me give my explanation.**

… **EEHHHHH, I really don't have one. I just got tired of typing. I had a huge episode of writer's block so I was all like 'Eh, fuck it' and then I went to sleep.**

 **But yea, I'M BACK BITCH! I will never abadon this story yall. It'll just take me sometime because its hard out here for a real youngin in the south going to college and gotta juggle all these responsibilities, ya dig? But I didn't forget about yall!**

 **I would read all of the reviews and PM's yall would send me! The motivation yall gave me just wanted me to give you this grandmaster, epic …25k long chapter –holy fuck that's a lot of words. Took me two months to do so (* cough* even though I could have done it in a week if I wasn't so distracted *cough*) but I'm proud with how this chapter finished.**

 **The Devil Exams are over (thank god!...or maybe Lucifer?) SO WE'RE BACK TO THE MAIN STORY BABY! SPRAY THE CHAMPAGNE!**

 **Yup, yup, yup! The rest of the story will mainly surround Naruto for now on! No more side story bullshit – that is, if I wanna throw in another filler, which I think I'm going to do again, but no time soon- just the main story. I've basically got the entire story planned out in my head.**

 **I'm telling you…the ideas I have in this fucked up mind of mines…..ooooohhhhhweeeeeee y'all! Yall are gonna like it. Trust me.**

 **But now that the Devil Exams are over, we need a winner! So! Who do you think should be a member of the Rookie Four? Should I add somebody into Naruto's peerage or should I just keep it how it is now? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

 **I wanted to make Diodora the main antagonist of the Devil Exams because why the fuck not? If you have a snake from the Infinte Dragon, that's like - the best excuse for me to take that shit and make him OP AS FUCK!- in which I did. Just a little twist to spice up the fight.**

 **I took so long with this chapter because I wanted the fight scenes to be really good. Like, I'm heavily inspired by Dragon Ball so I wanted the flashes, explosions, mufuckers breaking through shit and moving at insane speeds. I wanted to incorporate the best finale to a tournament in Fanfiction and hopefully I delivered. Tell me your thoughts about the chapter and the Devil Exams in your reviews.**

 **Whew! I'm burnt out. I've got some test and homework to do….but maybe I'll just go to sleep or watch some YouTube. 85 South Show and Everyday Struggle is calling my name….**

 **Thanks for everybody sticking it through and being patient. Future chapters won't be this long EVER AGAIN! I just wanted to deliver you all a massive chapter since I was gone for so long. Hope you liked it.**

 **I'm back, again bitch…..well, again again bitch (cause I know I said that shit a few times before, lol)**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	23. ThreeStepsAhead

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, just got done eating from the cafeteria after working out at the gym. I bet you didn't know that your favorite Fanfiction author worked out? I need to work out some more but at least I'm doing it! The females better be noticing all these bulging muscles of sexy-ness, ya heard me?!**

 **I waited to start typing this chapter cuz I was really thinking and planning things out. As I told you before, the remainder of the story will focus solely on Naruto and his peerage members. No more side character arcs unless necessary-which I don't see happening unless you all want me to do something with a specific character-and only the main story from here on out! Yup, yup, yup! Naruto is back on his bullshit and ready to cause hell in the underworld!**

 **Also…I'm still kinda debating about adding someone from the Devil Exam to Naruto's peerage. Right now, it's between Dosu, Gaia, and, surprisingly, Rosswiesse. I'm kinda liking how Naruto's peerage is now, but then I do want to add another character in the mix a little just to have a little fun. I don't know yet. I'll still take up some suggestions but I may just keep Naruto's peerage the way it is unless some great idea pops up in my mind as I type this chapter.**

 **I know a lot of you had mixed feelings about the Devil Exams….I promise you, I'll make up for it in this chapter.**

 **Trust in the Plug.**

 **Let's continue the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **ThreeStepsAhead**

 **2 Days Later…**

 **Old Royal Capital: Lucifaad Palace Ballroom**

Inside of the massive palace of Lucifaad was a ballroom full of devils. Since the Devil Exams were now over, the decision on who would be a part of the legendary 'Rookie Four' would be announced at this party hosted by the Four Satans. The participants of the Devil Exams were fully healed of the injuries during the two day break while the Satans decided upon whose performance proved them worthy as a member of the 'Rookie Four'.

Inside of the huge ballroom were various tables reserved for those associated with the participants of the Devil Exams and other notable Devils with political power. Maids and butlers were scattered about, serving those who were seated at their reserved sections. If not at a reserved table, the Devils in the room took to talking in groups in the ballroom. Some even took to dancing as the beautiful sounds produced by the various harps, trumpets, violins and other instruments were played elegantly by their masters, all seated next to the main stage where the announcement would happen.

The main stage was in the back of the massive ballroom, and on that stage were four seats, all of which were occupied by the Four Satans as they watched the party continue. While they were whispering amongst themselves every now and then, their eyes were usually on the crowd, spotting anything of interest.

On the back-right most side of the room from stage's perspective, was Naruto's reserved table. Because Lee was a participant of the Devil Exams, he and anyone associated with him were allowed reserved seating for the gathering. The same could be said for Rias, as she was seated with her parents, a few members of the Gremory Clan and her peerage members. Issei, while he was a participant in the Devil Exam, decided to sit along with his [King] since he didn't come from any Devil Clan. Not far away from the Gremory's and Issei was Sairaorg, seated with his peerage members and a few Bael Clan members.

At Naruto's round table, was Naruto himself and his peerage, holding casual conversation. However, an extra member also joined them for the festive party. It was Gabriel, clothed in her usual angelic garbs and luminous smile, seated at Naruto's right. Everything was going well for the group as they continued to wait for the announcement of winners for the Devil Exam…

"…and make sure that all three fishes are baked! And add that sauce that I had last time during the Exams! That shit was good as hell…" mumbled Kisame as he searched through the menu given to them. Standing beside him was a short butler who was sweating bullets while writing down everything Kisame demanded. The shark man was known by many of the servants working during the Devil Exams of his brutal and specific orders, and the butler didn't want to be on the receiving end of Kisame's wrath if anything was wrong.

Yoh, Anna, and Hao were seated across from Kisame and watched him abuse his rights of the free food, "Kisame, maybe you shouldn't order so much food? Other Devils have to eat as well…" said Yoh with a sweat drop.

"Shut the hell up, Yoh!" snapped the blue-skinned man with a snarl, "I deserve all of this food! Do you know how hard I've been working to get this type of privilege?! Now that I have it, I'm gonna take advantage of it!"

"Just let the blue-slob do what he wants, Yoh." said Anna, eating a piece of sushi elegantly with a pair of chopsticks, moving her long, flowing locks out of the way as she ate, "His dinner etiquette is just a reflection of his stupidity…"

"hIS dInNeR etiquEtTe iS JUsSt a ReflECtiOn of his sTupIIditYyyyy-SHUT UP!" he shouted at the shaman, "I was minding my business-eating my damn food-and here comes miss "I've-got-a-stick-so-far-up-my-ass-that-I-only-sit-on-one-ass-cheek" having-ass messing up my happiness! Yoh! Handle your wife! Hao! Handle whatever the fuck she is to you!"

Hao sighed, rubbing the side of his head in distress, "You all are some of the most childish people I know…"

"I've gotten used to it." said Orochimaru nonchalantly, garbed in his usual tan tunic and sipping from a halfway-full wine glass, "You just have to ignore them…just the everyday life in Naruto-sama's peerage."

"YOSH! I just wish that I could have made it to the 'Final Four!'" shouted a fully healed Lee, who was wearing a green suit and orange tie, "I need to prove myself again! Let's have another Rating Game with someone right now!"

"Hold on there, Lee." said Naruto with a smile. The blonde Bael was sitting in his old wheelchair. He wasn't injured at all, Naruto just liked the fact that his peerage members would push him around and he didn't have to walk. He was wearing his usual black cargo pants and plain orange shirt; he ditched it for a simple white-buttoned down dress shirt and tan dress pants-followed by a pair of black shoes. Gabriel was seated next to him in her usual angelic robes and a small smile as she watched the peerage communicate. "We can't go rushing into another battle. Just give it some time, and I'm sure the right opportunity shall appear." said their [King].

"So you really don't have any plans for the near future?" asked Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow, "That's highly unlike you. Anything going on inside of that head of yours?" asked the [Pawn] of the group.

"I think we need to take a break on the physical aspects of my quest and focus more on the political for now." said Naruto, kicking his feet up on the edge the table, "We need more connections in the political world…people know of us by now from all of our escapades…now we need to act accordingly."

"And what is this 'goal' of yours, Naru?" asked Gabriel with the cutest of head tilts, "You still haven't told me about your master plan."

"I will in due time, Gabby." said Naruto with a smirk, "For now, just stay next to me and look pretty."

He laughed at the now blushing Seraph and focused his attention to his [Queen] who was seated to his right. Kuroka had her chin on the table surface as she depressingly pushed a ball of yarn around. She wasn't talking at all nor was she eating any of her food, which was highly unlike the cat-girl. Naruto took notice to this, leading him to ask, "Are you alright, Kuroka?"

"Yeah….nya…" she muttered, not even making eye contact with her [King]/crush as she continued her antics.

Everyone looked over to the Nekomata in confusion, wondering why she was acting so distant. "What's wrong with the pussy?" KIsame asked abruptly.

"She hasn't talked much these last couple of days…" said Hao, ignoring Kisame's vulgar choice of words, "I don't know what happened to her…"

"Kuroka, do you want to talk about what's going on with you?" asked Gabriel. She was worried about Kuroka's sudden change in attitude. Before the Devil Exams started, Kuroka was her usual hyper, crafty-self, but now she was distant and quiet.

Kuroka suddenly gripped her ball of yarn with her right hand and glared at the Seraph with an impressive amount of anger, "No." she stated with no hesitation.

"….Let's just leave Kuroka alone for now…" said Yoh, shuddering at Kuroka's condensed **KI** , "It seems like she wants to be left alone."

"If you say so…" said Gabriel with a frown, sad that she couldn't help out her friend.

Naruto stared at the Nekomata from the side of his eye for a while before turning his attention elsewhere. He noticed two approaching figures coming from his right and smiled when he identified the two as Lord Agares and his daughter, Seekvaira. "Well then, look what we have here, hehehe!" he said with a giggle.

"YOSH! Seekvaira!" Lee jumped out of his seat and appeared in front of the slightly startled Agares heiress, enveloping her in a bone-crushing hug, "How are you! Are you hurt after that battle with Diodora!? Ooh! Congratulations on making it to the 'Final Four' of the tournament! What's your training regi-

"L-lee!" shouted the blushing Seekvaira. While she knew her partner was a very loud person, Lee was breaching her comfort zone, making her a little uncomfortable. "Release me at once!"

"Can you please order your servant to let go of my daughter?" Lord Agares asked/demanded Naruto.

The Bael laughed at the red-faced Agares, "Alrighty, Lee. I know you're happy to see her, but you have to let her go. She doesn't seem quite comfortable right now."

"I think it's cute that he's showing such appreciation to the person that helped him out in the Devil Exams." said Gabriel, "She did have a big part in defeating the Asaroth heir." said Gabriel, "What happened to him, anyway?"

"Imprisoned." Lord Agares stated, "His received his massive power increase from an outside source. That's all I can speak upon in public for now."

"We'll talk about that at a later date then." said Orochimaru, lacing his fingers together in a business-like matter, "I would like to know if you were satisfied with the job our Lee did in the Devil Exam? He did protect her as promised."

"I am actually more than pleased. I must thank you for allowing your [Rook] to partner with my daughter, Seekvaira. Not only did you protect her during the tournament, but you also gave her enough space to display her on talents in front of the Underworld." said Lord Agares to Lee, bowing somewhat to the [Rook].

Lee, appalled by the amount of thankfulness and respect he was receiving from the usual stoic Agares leader, blushed while scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "Oh…uhhh...thank you very much for such encouraging words, Lord Agares."

"So have we proven ourselves to you?" asked Naruto with smirk, crossing his arms over his chest, "Or do we need to accomplish another feat to prove our strength?"

"What your [Rook] did in the Devil Exam is a testament to the power of your peerage." started Lord Agares, "We, the Agares Clan, will take you and your peerage seriously moving forward. We'll talk more about future plans at a scheduled, private setting. For now, enjoy your night…and congratulations." he finished, stretching his hand out to Naruto for a handshake.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Lord Agares." sad Naruto, accepting the handshake with a sly smile plastered on his face, "I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together."

"I know how wild you can get, Naruto Bael." said Lord Agares with a small glare, "Just control yourself these next few months until we're in the clear. I suggest you take the opportunity to associate yourself with a few devil in-power attending this party. It's for your benefit."

Naruto playfully rubbed his chin in thought, "Hmmmm…I guess you're not wrong. Having more allies on my side will come in handy later on….yup, yup, yup….definitely will come in handy…"

"Again, we'll meet soon. Good day." said Lord Agares, leaving the table. Seekvaira elegantly bowed to everyone before following her father's lead elsewhere.

"What plan are you two talking about?" asked Gabriel, "Is it the same plan you all keep whispering about but never tell me anything?" she said with a childish huff.

"Yup, yup, yup!" said Naruto with a smile, "I promise you that I'll tell you everything, but at a later date. For now, I need to talk to some people." he said while standing out of his seat, "You all are free to do whatever you want-just don't leave the party. I want everyone present while they honor Lee for his efforts in the Devil Exams."

"You're leaving?" asked Gabriel.

"Yes, but just for a little bit. The big guy was right- I need to make more allies...Orochimaru, would you come with me? Let's talk to a few people."

"Yes, master." the snake man said with his raspy voice, "I'm sure your peerage members will behave themselves while we're gone, right?" the only [Pawn] of the group said while glancing over his teammates.

Kisame didn't care about Orochimaru since he was stuffing his face with all of the food he selfishly ordered. Hao and Anna rolled their eyes at Orochimaru's discreet demand to not do anything stupid, while Yoh and Lee nodded in agreement.

"Sure…" Kuroka mumbled quietly, rising eyebrows again at her weird behavior.

Once Naruto and Orochimaru were gone for a while, it was Hao who was next to leave the table, "I think I'm about go off and explore as well. I'll be back soon." he said.

"Searching for anything in particular?" asked Anna as she nibbled on a fluffy roll.

"I smell something familiar that pleases me, and I'm about to go look for it." answered the older Asakura brother.

"It must be some really good food if Hao-sama goes out to get it himself." said Lee, interested in what piqued Hao's curiosity.

"It isn't a food…"an evil grin grew upon Hao's face, "….it's someone…" he finished as he walked off.

Yoh frowned at the back of his retreating brother, but didn't say anything. However, Anna caught how Yoh was looking at his brother and instantly understood his worries, "Hao's changed, Yoh. He won't do anything drastic."

"I hope not…" Yoh said with a sigh.

"I also want to go about and talk to some of the contestants from the Devil Exams if you all don't mind." said Lee, "Farewell!" he said as he walked into the crowd of people.

Gabriel frowned as Lee left. If felt like everyone around her was leaving her to handle important matters. While she knew that Naruto was very busy, and that he had some 'plan' that he and his peerage members were working towards, but it did make her feel a little lonely.

Noticing Gabriel's frown, Yoh spoke, "Are you alright, Gabby? You seem a little down."

"I…I am, Yoh…" she admitted, "I just realized that I don't have many people here in the Underworld to talk to. While I am good friends with Naruto, and therefore, associated with his peerage members, I feel…out of place…if you understand what I'm saying."

Anna nodded, "I understand. You are in the Underworld, a place filled with Devils. You're supposed to feel out of place here. I do consider you to be a comrade because you help Naruto-sama while he was weak, but do understand that he is working towards a goal and must act upon every opportunity given to him, so he can't stay with you at every given moment. It may be hard now, but everything will work out in the end."

Yoh smirked and nudged Anna's shoulder, "That sounds like something I'd say. Seems like I'm rubbing off on you, eh?"

"Shut up." Anna blatantly said, but she couldn't stop the small blush that invaded her cheeks.

Gabriel smiled at the couple and couldn't help but to pry out some information about the two, "Yoh? Anna? How did you two meet?"

Yoh's smiling face instantly morphed into a cartoonish, dead-eyed look. "She tried to kill me."

"That's….actually true…" the shaman whispered in embarrassment.

"Eh?! She tried to kill you?" said Kisame, who was previously ignoring their conversation in favor of the free buffet, but was interested in the conversation topic of Anna and Yoh. Even Kuroka looked up, curious of the duo's story. "Oh, now you've gotta tell the story!"

"I'm not sure…it was a difficult time for Anna back then…" said Yoh, a little hesitant in revealing their past.

"No…..It's alright if they know…" said Anna, surprising her fiancée, "I've moved on from those days. I'm open to letting others know about us."

"Good, cause this place is hella boring. Give us all the juicy details!" said Kisame.

"While you don't have to give all the details, I would like to know more about you two." said Gabriel, shifting in her seat to get comfortable for what could be a long story.

"Well, if Anna's okay with it then I'll tell you all." said Yoh, "Back when I was 10 years old, I was told by my grandfather that I would be in an arranged marriage with Anna….."

 **With Hao…**

Hao thanked a waitress as he took a glass of wine from her. He was walking through the crowd while searching for the familiar scent the Spirit of Fire was mentally telling him to investigate. During his search, he spoke with a few people that recognized him by his performance during the Rating Games he participated in. While Hao didn't care about many things, he did take the time to appreciate the admiration others had for him. It made him feel important and superior….in which he was.

Scanning the area, his senses were acting as a compass as the familiar magical presence was getting closer. The Spirit of Fire was getting louder in his mind and he could only wonder why the usually quiet spirit was now so keen on finding what interested him so much.

However, he understood why his partner was so frisky once he found the source of the interesting smell. It was Lord and Lady Phenex, seated at a table with a group of Phenex bodyguards at attention behind the duo, not too far off from where he was now. "Hehe…You are really something…" Hao whispered to the spirit he was housing in his mind.

" _ **Hao…"**_ whispered the dangerous fire spirit.

' _You know we can't eat them. They're too important and people will notice instantly if they were to vanish. They are off limits.'_

"… _ **.Phenex….."**_ the massive creature whispered again.

' _But…it wouldn't hurt to mess with them.'_ Hao thought with bad intentions as he made his way over.

Ignoring all of the stares he was receiving from nearby Devils as he stopped in front of the table and grabbed a chair, forcing the attention of the two Phenexs on him, "Well then…I expect this conversation to be VERY interesting…"

Both Phenex's tensed as they instantly recognized Hao from his Rating Game against their son, Riser Phenex. "Y…..you….." Lord Phenex hesitantly humbled. All of the Phenex bodyguards were glaring at Hao for invading the leading Phenexs' personal area, but weren't going to act unless he did something outlandish.

"Is someone sitting here?" asked Hao, but then laughed, "Probably not." and allowed himself a seat at their table, "This is our first time meeting face-to-face, isn't it? Lord Phenex? Lady Phenex?"

"Y-yes…Hao Asakura." said Lady Phenex. Said women looked like an exact copy of Ravel, her daughter, only older. She had long blond locks and ocean blue eyes, followed by an elegant red dress that was a testament to her social class as a high-class Devil. "This is the first time we've met face-to-face. I am Lady Phenex, and this is my husband, Lord Phenex." Hao mentally noted at the small amount of **KI** building inside of the lady Phenex. _'Seems like she holds some disdain for me…'_ Hao smirked mentally as he drank for his glass.

"Uhm…yes..." said Lord Phenex, awkwardly coughing in his hand while gathering himself "While I never thought I'd met the man that forced me into such a….predicament…I'm actually not against it."

This caused Hao to raise an eyebrow in curiosity, "And why is that?" he asked, interesting in hearing the Phenex out.

"Well…I'm sure you are acquainted with my youngest son and only daughter from your Rating Game against them a few months prior…you left quite the impression on them." said the leader of the Phenex Clan.

"If my brother were here with us, he'd say something like, 'A not-so-good impression' I assume?" asked the Asakura twin.

"Yes…and that impression has troubled both of my children. They have both been…traumatized in their own way. My son has become even more outlandish since your battle. He hides his embarrassment of the lost with anger and arrogance. Because of it, even our servants have decreased in number because of his treatment towards them. We've tried all types of counseling to help him move past your battle, but he's holding onto the lost was a curse to his family's name. Maybe by facing the source of his lost may force some humbleness onto the boy." finished the Phenex Clan leader.

Hao hummed in thought, "So that little boy has gotten arrogant since I've last saw him…alright, what about the girl….what was her name again?" asked Hao.

"Ravel Phenex, my precious daughter." said Lady Phenex, "Because of her encounter with you….she's scared of her own fire…just the feeling of heat flashes her back to the time you held her by her throat." Lady Phenex had to hold back the volume of her voice, but she couldn't help but glare at Hao. He was the reason behind both her children's suffering.

Hao smirked, hearing the venom lanced in Lady Phenex's tone, "I had a job to, madam, and it had to be flashy…and to defend my actions somewhat, your son did threaten to kill some of my peerage collogues before our battle. I recall that he said, "All deaths are considered accidents in a Rating Game". After hearing that, did you expect me not to retaliate appropriately?"

Lady Phenex was about to counter, but her husband cut her off, "Wait…I know what you're about to say, but he's right….plus, what he said…..it sounds similar to something Riser may say. In order to help our children, we'll need his help….like it or not."

Lady Phenex glared at her husband from the side of her eye, but after a few moments of thought, sighed and recalled her anger, "Fine…but I'm still skeptical about this idea."

"As you should." replied Hao with his ever present cocky smirk, stirring up more anger inside of Lady Phenex, "To make you feel some type of comfort…I am also skeptical towards this idea, but open to it as well."

"You…you actually want to help our children?" said the surprised Phenex leader. Even Lady Phenex couldn't hide the shock that was present on her face. "Why do you want to help us?" asked Lord Phenex.

Hao 'hmmmed' before taking a long sip from his glass. Once he was finished, he laced his fingers together in a very Orochimaru-like fashion as he spoke, "Well, for starters, my master, Naruto Bael, does want more allies in the political world. Maybe this 'agreement' of ours can somehow relate into an actual friendly relationship in the future."

"I don't see why it shouldn't." said Lord Phenex, rubbing his bare chin in thought, "Your [King] has made quite the ruckus in the Underworld since he's sudden appearance. Because of the strength he and his peerage have displayed in their various Rating Games and presence in the media, I'm sure he'll be a power in the political field."

"Which is something he's striving for." said Hao, "Our connection may help both parties in the long run."

"And what is your other reason for helping us?" questioned Lady Phenex.

Hao's usual cocky smirk slowly disappeared, replaced with a small frown. He swirled the wine in his cup for a few seconds, seemingly in thought of his next words. He had the two Phenex's waiting for a while, but finally responded after a while, ending the tense silence. "I was once a bad person. I've done a lot of things I regret and I want to atone for my sins. I know, it really isn't 'Devil Nature' to search for atonement, but it's something I'd like to do for myself…." he finished, thinking back to a past memory argument he had with Anna the day his peerage collogues met Kuroka and freed Naruto from his prison.

"It's funny because one of the members in my master's peerage actually said that I could have traumatized your daughter because I took things too far." he continued, "Since she did become traumatized from my actions, it's my responsibility to help her recover…even if I have to help your prick of a son."

"I...thank you." said Lord Phenex, generally shocked at how well the conversation was going, "I honestly didn't think this conversation would flow so smoothly."

"I'm surprised you don't have as much hatred towards me like your wife here." said Hao, his cocky smirk returning in full force.

"My wife is very protective of our children, which she and every good mother should be," started Lord Phenex, "however, my wife also has a problem of holding grudges."

"Edward…" Lady Phenex growled.

"-but my wife is also a loving person and will do what's best for her children." he finished, staring down his wife. "If we want to help them, we'll need his assistance." he whispered softly.

Lady Phenex sighed, "You are too trusting…..but I'll allow this plan of yours to proceed." she said, causing Lord Phenex to smile.

"Alas, while I do want to help," interrupted Hao, "my services won't be like others. I'll do things my way and my way only. You're son has been spoon-fed for all of his life. It's time someone beat it out of him. As for your daughter…I'll just scare her a few times." he said with an evil laugh that made the duo shiver.

"Just don't make things any worse than they are now." said Lord Phenex with a sweat drop, suddenly rethinking if hiring Hao was a good choice.

The Spirit of Fire was crackling with laughter inside of Hao's mind, enjoying the thought of 'helping' the two young Phenexs overcome their fear of him…which will never happen. He'd made sure of it.

"Now let's talk." said Hao, sitting up in his seat, "When's my first play date with the two children, hmmm?"

 **With Naruto and Orochimaru…**

The [King] and [Pawn] duo made their way to the bar area after they finished a long conversation with a few Devils that were heavily impressed with Lee's performance during the Devil Exams as well as previous Rating Games his peerage participated in.

Naruto sighed as he sat down on a bar stool, "This party is so damn boring. Everyone wants to talk politics and other complicated stuff…no time for jokes…"

"I'm impressed with how you handled yourself, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, letting a rare compliment slip from his mouth, "And yes, I know these type of events aren't your preference, but at least you recognize that these relationships you are forming will be for your benefit once we need their help in the future." he said before asking the bartender for two glasses of water.

"I guess…" said Naruto, resting his head in his palm, "Let's take a break from all the talks, Orochimaru. I'm a little burnt out…" Naruto covered his mouth as he suddenly yawned, "...and a little tired…"

"As you wish." said Orochimaru, silently thanking the bartender for their drinks and sliding one of the glasses towards his master, "I don't expect this party to last much longer. I've seen Sirzechs and the other Satans a few times tonight. I suppose they'll announce the winners of the tournament at the end of the party."

"Well, they need to hurry on up. I didn't want to leave Gabriel by herself…She's probably uncomfortable in a room filled with Devils." said Naruto, mulling while swirling the water in his glass.

"If you don't mind me asking…what is your relationship with the Seraph?" asked Orochimaru, "I've always wanted to know the history between you and Gabriel and how you would describe the relationship with her."

"My relationship with Gabriel?" asked the blonde Bael, "Well…we're friends…really good friends….super close." he whispered before taking a sip of water.

"I presume you haven't had sexual relations with her, no?"

"ACht! *cough cough*" Naruto suddenly choked on his water and entered a loud coughing fit, drawing a few eyes at the duo because of the sudden noise.

"Da-*cough*…..damn it, Orochimaru!" Naruto shouted, "What type of question is that?"

"I was just curious, is all." said the snake man, however, he couldn't hide his growing smirk. He'd never seen his master so nervous, especially from such a simple question. "Forgive me if I brought up an uncomfortable topic…"

"It's alright…" Naruto grunted, "No, we haven't had 'sexual relations'…we're not even dating."

"But do you wish to be in a romantic relationship with the Seraph?" Orochimaru asked.

Naruto sighed in annoyance of Orochimaru's questions, "Seriously, Orochimaru, what's with the sudden interest of Gabby and I? We're supposed to be taking a break from all the interviews and questions, but now it's like you're asking even more confusing questions," he mumbled.

"Forgive me, but your relationship with Gabriel is somewhat interesting to your peerage members," Orochimaru started, "While I don't find any interest in the opposite sex or love in general, your strange relationship does raise a few eyebrows…specifically because you are 'somewhat' involved with one of the leaders of the Angels. While peace has been made between the Three Factions, I'm not so sure if everyone is in acceptance of you being in a relationship with an Angel."

"I don't care what anybody says…" Naruto mumbled into his cup before taking a drink. Gulping down the remnants of his drink, he continued, "I'm not your average Devil, Orochimaru. I'm sure you know this by now. I don't care about what others think of me…it really won't matter soon…" he whispered darkly with a growing grin.

Orochimaru 'hmmed' and finished his glass of water and set it down on the wooden tabletop, "Well, I guess I'll stop prying for information about a subject that doesn't pertain to me. If you are happy with yourself, Naruto-sama, then I am happy for you."

Naruto nodded at his [Pawn]'s words with a small smile replacing his evil smirk, "Thanks for supporting me, Orochimaru…it really means a lot."

"Now what type of servant would I be not supporting my [King]'s desires?" asked Orochimaru, standing up from the bar stool and smoothing out his robe, "Unfortunately, we need to continue to take advantage of all the important Devils and potential allies here at this party. I don't expect this party to last much longer, so we should return amongst the people now."

The blonde Bael was about to agree, however, he noticed one of the participants from the Devil Exam not so far away from the duo. It was Dosu, who was seemingly ending a conversation with an older Devil by the hand gestures Naruto saw the young Devil sending his way. "I'll catch up with you, my [Pawn]…I think I found something of interest. I'll meet with you later when the winners of the tournament are announced." he said as he made his way to Dosu.

By the time Naruto made it near the mummy-boy, Dosu had already dismissed the older Devil and was about to move somewhere else. "Dosu Kinuta?" said Naruto, catching the boy's attention.

Dosu sighed as he turned around, "Again, I'm not joining any pe-", Dosu stopped midsentence when he realized that it was Naruto Bael behind, who was smirking at his slightly widened eye, "Naruto Bael…" Dosu whispered with surprise evident in his tone.

"For a Devil who uses sound as a weapon-quite effectively, I may add- you sure are easy to sneak up on." Naruto said with a giggle.

Dosu couldn't find the words to say for a few seconds, still in shock that Naruto Bael was speaking to him so casually, but finally spoke when he cleared his mind, "T-there are many sources of sound around us. If I try to amplify my hearing to much, I may damage my ears, causing more harm than good." said Dosu, "That and I was not expecting to be snuck up on during this party."

"I get cha'." said Naruto, "I'm guessing that guy was offering you membership into his peerage huh?"

"Like most of the Devils here." said Dosu with a roll of his sole eye, "I knew that I'd gain some amount of fame with how big the Devil Exams were, but it's starting to get annoying how everyone is treating me as a valuable item they want to claim as their own."

"In their defense, that's what the Devil Exam was." said Naruto with a shrug, "It was basically a talent show with unclaimed Devils displaying their strengths to the public…also one of the reasons why I didn't too much like the idea of the Devil Exams in the first place because of how the Devils not in peerages would be treated-mainly the low-class Devils like yourself. But I also believe the pros outweigh the cons too. My [Rook] was given a platform to show his strength and he took advantage of that…just as you did."

Dosu grunted, "Still got embarrassed by that sand witch…" Dosu mumbled with a bit of annoyance.

"You were at a disadvantage. She was in her natural element." said Naruto with a shrug, "The accolades you made in that tournament were very impressive…you even defeated Rias, who I once trained for a little while."

That got Dosu's attention, "You trained the Gremory before?"

"Yup, yup, yup!" Naruto laughed, "I swear, the girl has talent. I just wish she was more confident in herself. When she was spawned into the Rating Game dimension, she was shaking like a child about to get a shot from the doctor, hehe!" he giggled.

Naruto shook his head before getting back on topic, "But, what I came over here to say is congratulations. You were amazing in the Devil Exams and I'd be surprised if you aren't a member of the 'Rookie Four'."

Dosu visibly lightened up after hearing the blonde Bael's words. "Thank you…" he muttered.

"Also…" continued Naruto, "I know that you have been offered various request to join peerages, but I believe you should deny those request for your own benefit."

If Dosu had eyebrows, he would have raised them in curiosity. "Your reasoning for this?" asked the younger Devil.

"Your struggles…they somewhat remind me of myself." started Naruto, "I was once a low-class Devil myself. I fought my way to the top and became a high-class Devil. Don't join someone peerage and then become a high-class Devil because the credit of you hard work will only go to your [King] and not you." said Naruto, poking Dosu in his chest.

Rubbing the spot where Naruto poked him out, Dosu suspiciously glared at the Bael, "Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be trying to add me to your peerage like the rest?"

Naruto laughed and patted the boy's shoulder, "To be honest, I did consider recruiting you for my peerage. Some of my peerages members agreed to invite anyone we liked into our peerage, but I may just stick with what I have. However, if you do decide to join a peerage...find me….We'll do right by you." finished Naruto as he patted Dosu on his back one last time before walking away with a wave, leaving the mummy boy to his own thoughts.

After his conversation with Dosu, Naruto regrouped with Orochimaru and continued conversations with a few other Devil at the party. While Naruto hid his disinterest during the conversations with a neutral face, he knew that he had only a little while longer to deal with the annoying political side of his master plan. He needed allies, and this party was a good way to increase those numbers.

While Naruto allowed Orochimaru to do most of the talking, one thing he did learn through his efforts was the current state of the Astaroth Clan…

Sometime later, the [King]/[Pawn] duo returned to their table to see Yoh, Anna, Kisame and Gabriel talking amongst each other. Lee had returned along with Seekvaira and joined the festive dialogue with the peerage members and Seraph. Kuroka, while she wasn't talking as much as the others, was sitting up instead of having her forehead planted on the table top.

"Seems like we missed something." said Orochimaru, pulling out his chair and taking a seat with Naruto following his lead.

Spitting a chicken bone from his mouth, Kisame shouted, "YOOOOOooo! Did you know the crazy back story between Yoh and blank-face over here?!" asked the shark man with a laugh, "She really tried to kill him because she didn't have any friends! AWwwwwwwwwwwww-hahahaHAHHAHAHAHA!" he laughed hysterically.

Naruto glanced towards said duo and couldn't hold back his laughter and their red faces of embarrassment. Anna was gripping her kimono shirt as she tried to hold back her rage towards the laughing shark man. She was muttering under her breath deathly curses that she was planning on enacting on Kisame if he kept laughing.

Yoh scratched his head and laughed awkwardly, "Yup...heheh…such fun memories…."

"I think it was a wonderful love story." said Gabriel, "Although there was a lot of violence in it, your love story is one of a kind and special to you two. I say you should cherish it."

That actually made Yoh feel a little better, "Thanks, Gabby. I knew I could count on you to make me feel better."

"Well you shouldn't!" said Kisame, "You were literally fighting demons she created because she was self-conscious of herself. If that isn't the most emo-shit I've heard in my life."

"…He's going to die soon…." Anna whispered with a dark aura of magic enveloping her, creeping out her fiancée in the process.

It was at this time that Naruto noticed that his other [Bishop] Hao wasn't with them. "Where is Hao?" asked the [King].

 **With Hao…**

"So in two days, I shall arrive at the Phenex Manor for my first little…session…" Hao said with a chuckle.

Lord Phenex shuddered at Hao's tone, "You really shouldn't put it like that…It sounds weird and scary…" muttered the Phenex leader.

"He'd better not do anything to my children…" said Lady Phenex, keeping a watchful eye on the black-haired Devil.

"Listen, in order for your son to stop being a prick to your servants, he needs to be knocked down a peg or two." said Hao, "I'll do that for you since you two obliviously don't put any fear in him. As for your daughter, I'll just show her that fire isn't all that bad. See? Nothing to be too scared about." explained Hao with his everlasting cocky smile.

"For some reason, that doesn't settle the troubles I have…" said Lord Phenex, scratching his graying beard awkwardly.

"Listen, old timer, just know that my services will work. You two just have to trust in me enough to help." said Hao with a shoulder shrug, "And if things go south, I'll leave. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Well…if you say so…" said the man.

"Good. Then there's nothing else to talk about, correct?" said Hao, standing from his seat and stretching his right hand out to the duo, "Do we have a deal?"

Both Phenexs looked at each other, silently holding a conversation between each other through their eyes. However, after a few seconds, Lady Phenex sighed as she stood and gripped Hao's hand, "We have a deal…..just don't do anything drastic."

"Glad to help." said Hao with a nod.

Lord Phenex was about to shake Hao's hand next, however, before he could, his attention was summoned elsewhere-specifically towards the front of the ballroom, causing Hao to raise an eyebrow. "Something a matter?" he asked the older Devil.

"Oh! Forgive me!" said Lord Phenex, stretching outward and shaking Hao's hand, but his eyes remained elsewhere, "It's just that the Sitri's have entered the party…"

"The Sitri's?" said Hao, now interested as he followed Lord Phenex's view to the front of the ballroom. Sure enough, protected by a circle of bodyguards were three Devils…one of which Hao knew very well. Sigil Sitri, leader of the Sitri Clan, his wife, Amur Sitri, and finally, Sona Sitri, walking behind the duo closely as they made their way to a reserved table.

Hao kept his eyes mainly on Sona. While he wondered why Sona didn't come with her peerage, the real questionable thing was the amount of security protecting the family. This was a party, was it not? So why take to such precautions of bring 15 bodyguards to a party?

"What's with all the security they have?" Hao asked the Phenexs, hoping to get an answer out of the duo.

Lord Phenex rubbed his beard as he answered, "A few weeks ago…something happened concerning the Sitri….I can't say anything about it however, because of confidentiality reasons."

Hao hummed while nodding his head, understanding why the clan head couldn't speak openly about such sensitive information, but was mentally grinning like a mad man. He already knew about the Sitri's memory seal, since Orochimaru had broken Sirzechs out of his way before Ajuka and Falbium were revealed to have the same seal. He also took notice to the Devils in the ballroom. Throughout the crowd, there were Devils whispering and looking at the family, as if they knew something. However, not everyone shared the same attitude towards the Sitri's. Some people didn't care, some took notice of their arrival, and other actually waved. _'It seems like the Sitri's treasonous acts are still unknown among most Devils…only the highest-of-high Devils know about the memory seals and what actually happened during that meeting a few weeks ago. However…that distrust is what's going to help further our goals. I'm sure Naruto-sama and the others took notice to their arrival as well….hmm…this is really an interesting predicament that Naruto-sama has conjured…'_ he thought with a smirk before finishing off his wine with one last sip,

Setting the glass on the table, Hao spoke, "Well, nevertheless, I'm glad we had this conversation. I shall see you both in two days. Don't tell your children I'm coming. I want it to be a surprise." finished Hao as he walked off, not caring for anything else the duo had to say to him.

Hao had his sights targeted on one Sona Sitri. She was seated at the table reserved for her family but Hao couldn't deny the beauty she exuded. She was wearing a strapless, pink dress with black ribbon tied into a large bow directly beneath her breast. Certainly, Hao was impressed with the girl's attire.

"Ahem!" said the familiar voice of Sirzechs Lucifer, catching everyone's attention, including Hao's. Said Satan was standing on the stage at the back of the ballroom with a microphone positioned in front of him. "Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for attending this celebration for the success of the Devil Exams! It was an extremely popular and exciting event that has highlighted a select few of our Devil youths to come forth and test their abilities at the highest stakes. Now is the time that you all have been waiting for. After much debate, we have now decided on who shall be members of the legendary 'Rookie Four' group!"

"Will all of those that participated in the tournament meet me here in front of the stages for the conclusion of this grand celebration." said Sirzechs.

' _Damn it…'_ Hao thought with a growl as Sona stood from her chair and made her way to the stage, _'So they purposely came to the party at the conclusion just for her to be during the award ceremony…seems we'll have to meet up at another time, Sona.'_ Hao thought as he decided to go back where his peerage members were.

Back at Naruto's peerage, Yoh nudged Lee's shoulder, who was seated beside him, "That's you, buddy! Now's the time to find out if you made it or not."

"Yosh! I must hurry than!" shouted Lee, jumping out of his seat and running up to the stage. Because of the speeds he was running at, a small gust of annoying wind blew past and under the dress of a few unlucky Ladies attending the party. However, Lee didn't even notice the disturbance he was making as he ran up to the stage with excitement.

Naruto chuckled at his [Rook]'s antics, "That's Lee for ya…" he said with a smile.

"I pray that he wins!" said Gabriel, sending up a small prayer for the hyperactive to Heaven.

One by one, from the crowd, all of the participants (excluding Diodora) made their way in front of the stage. Lee fist bumped with Issei as he stood next to the Red Dragon Emperor and waved at Ginta, who was towards the end of the line of contestants.

Sona was near the end of the rightmost side of line, standing next to Zephydor. Said male huffed in annoyance at the Sitri's presence and turned away from Sona childishly. He was still resentful and embarrassed at being the first retirement of the Devil Exams. He wanted to stay out of the public eye by being at the end of the line, but with Sona being next to him caused the few eyes following her to also notice him as well.

Gaia entered the line right next to Seekvaira, near the middle of the line. Instantly, the two she-devils entered an intense glaring match with lightning dancing between them. Seekviara hadn't forgotten how Gaia betrayed them at the end of their battle against Diodora, but Gaia felt she justified her actions enough as to why she did what she did.

"Fucking traitor…" the Agares heiress muttered under her breath before turning away from the redhead. Gaia closed her eyes, unbothered by Seekvaira's words.

Suigetsu sighed as he stood next to Deidara, "So you didn't get to kill anybody either, huh?" he asked the explosion artist.

"Un…yea…The disappointment I have for myself is heavy…." said Deidara, "I had them right where I wanted…" Deidara's fist tightened as he glared over at Issei, "…and that punk had to hit me with a surprise attack…I'd like to see him doing it again, hmmm?"

"Ehh, take a chill pill." said Suigetsu, picking at his teeth with his finger while pissing Deidara in the process, "We lost….at least we did something a little something during the tournament…I'm just glad I didn't have to fight that other guy they were fighting at the end."

Deidara grunted, but not giving anymore input on the matter.

Lastly, Sairaorg stepped next to his cousin, Rias, and grunted as a sign of recognizing her. She smile and nodded at the boy before standing attention for her brother's next words.

Sirzechs raised a glass to the participants, "Let us all applaud the efforts and show these participants gave us during the Devil Exams!"

Of course, at the command of one of the most prominent figures in Devil culture, the large crowd stood on their feet and applauded all the youths gunning to be a member of the 'Rookie Four'. The sudden of eruption of noise shocked some of the Devils, mainly Dosu and Suigetsu, who weren't used to such a positive reaction from such a massive amount of Devils. However, Lee, a man of the people, was blowing kisses and waving to the crowd like a celebrity.

After the crowd quieted down after the long applaud, Sirzechs continued, "You all really put on a show during the Devil Exam. We were highly impressed with the ability this generation has and are excited to see how much you all will grow in the future. Again, good job for your efforts."

"And now, I will announce the winners of the tournament!" he shouted, "After hours of countless debate, my team and I have decided upon who's performance during the exam was worthy enough to become a member of the 'Rookie Four'. As I call your name, please make way to the stage to be recognized as a member. Also, if you are not accepted in the group, please stay after the announcements and follow me into the backroom for an opportunity we have for all those who participated."

"For our first winner, please come to the stage…." Sirzechs left a few moments of silence to add onto the suspense of the first qualifier of the 'Rookie Four', "…..Dosu Kinuta!"

Dosu's lone eye widened in shock as his name was called first. What even shocked him more was the roar of approval he received from the crowd.

"Good job, Dosu…" said a familiar voice. Turning to his left, he saw Rias with a kind smile and an outstretched hand, "Seems like you really accomplish what you wanted. Congratulations."

Dosu stared at the Gremory's hand, ignoring the loud applaud from the crowd. Slowly, he reached forward and grabbed Rias' hand, shaking it. Rias smiled and stepped out of the way of the approaching Lee, who jumped on Dosu in excitement. "YOSH! Great job, Dosu! We must spar one day soon!"

"Yeah…Never in a million years." said Dosu, pushing the green beast off of him with a grunt. Finally making it onto stage after shaking the hands of Devils he didn't even know, the mummy-boy stopped in front of Sirzechs, awaiting his award.

"Good job, Dosu. I knew you were special the moment I saw those battles online of you. I'm very proud of you." he said.

"Thanks." Dosu said, allowing a random butler to place a medallion on his neck. Said butler bowed before grabbing the next medallion and awaiting Sirzechs' next announcement.

After Dosu stood next to the Lucifer Satan with his new shining medal, Sirzechs continued to call out the winners, "Next we have…Sairaorg Bael of the Bael Clan!"

The inhumanly large teenager couldn't hide his happiness as a large grin grew on his face. His applaud was even louder than Dosu's, mostly likely due to his popularity throughout the Underworld. Shaking a few hands and dodging a crying Green Beast who wanted to hug, Sairaorg accepted his award and stood proudly next to his new colleague, Dosu.

"The next new member of the Rookie Four is…..Rock Le-

"YYOOOOOSSHHHHHHHH!" Lee immediately reacted loudly, even before Sirzechs could finish his name. A river of tears flowed from the [Rook]'s eyes and pooled under his feet as he ran around the room, unable to contain his excitement.

"I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID ITTTTTTTT!" he cried out, causing many of the Devils in the room to laugh at his reaction.

Seekvaira sweat dropped at Lee's antics, "I know you're happy, but you didn't have to do all of this, Lee…"

Both Rias and Issei face palmed, "He really doing too much with all the running and crying…" said Rias with a sigh.

"I guess that's what makes Lee…Lee…" Issei muttered, but he was happy for his friend nevertheless.

After his run around the entire ballroom, the crying green beast made his way to the stage with the Lucifer Satan. Sirzechs smiled at Lee in approval, "You've done well, Lee. You deserve this aw-

Stealing Sirzechs microphone, Lee shouted, "I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me! To all my fans…supporters….Everybody! Rock Lee loves you!" wiping a few more tears with his sleeve, he continued, "Shout out to my peerage members and my master, Naruto Bael! I love you all!"

"And we love you too, Lee! Good job!" was Naruto's voice from the other side of the room.

Before Lee could continue with his shout out and emotional outbreak, Sirzechs stole back his microphone from Lee, "*cough* Uhh…Thank you, Lee, for those…nice words….Now for the final member of the Rookie Four."

Everyone's focus was on Sirzechs as they awaited the winner of the last position in the Rookie Four. "This decision was the hardest to agree upon. It took my council and I hours to decide on who deserves this last position of the Rookie Four, however I feel as if we have chosen correctly. After hours of debate and struggle, the last remaining spot of the Rookie Four goes to Gaia of the Desert."

Ignoring the loud and sudden applaud of the audience, and the glaring Agares heiress next to her, Gaia calmly made her way up to the stage and accepted her medallion, solidifying her spot as one of the members of the Rookie Four. She took in line next to Lee and crossed her arms over her chest, as if she didn't even care about the award.

With the Rookie Four now official, cameras were flashing everywhere with the intention of taking the best picture of this generation's newly established Rookie Four. Lee was soaking up all the attention, wrapping an arm around Sairaorg and flashing a large smile. Sairaorg laughed and joined in with Lee, posing with his rival. Dosu and Gaia decided not to entertain the public with silly poses and remained neutral pose which was their arms crossed while glaring at anyone that got to close.

"Thank you all for attending the Devil Exams after party. I wish you all a good night and let's congratulate the winners of the Devil Exams one last time." said Sirzechs, "And remember, all of the participants of the Devil Exams will have a small meeting with me in a few minutes, so please meet with me in the back room. Again, I thank you all for attending this party and for the success of the Devil Exams." he said with a small bow before abandoning the stage.

"Good job, Lee!" shouted Naruto as he was being pushed in his wheelchair by Gabriel.

"Master!" Lee cried out, jumping off of the stage and hugging Naruto.

"Lee!"

"Master!"

"Lee!"

"Master!"

"Lee!"

"Shut the hell up!" shouted Kisame, covering his eyes from the scene, "I don't know what's going on between you two, but that shit needs to end now!"

"I'm just happy for my [Rook], Kisame." said Naruto, releasing Lee from their tight hug and wiping the tears escaping from his eyes, "You'll understand when you have your peerage one day."

"If this is what happens to a person when becoming a [King] to a peerage, then I'll never have one in my life." said Kisame, "I don't feel like taking care of anyone's kids any way…"

"Don't forget to go meet with Sirzechs for your final meeting, Lee." said Gabriel.

"Yes ma'am! I shall be back momentarily!" said the hyperactive [Rook] before dashing into the back room for their last meeting.

"Kuroka, maybe you should go with him." said Naruto, causing the cat girl to perk up, "Just to make sure we have extra ears listening to any important information Lee may miss out on."

The [Queen] of the group silently nodded, something that was again very unusual for her to do, and followed after her rookie.

"At least this little party of ours is over so we can finally go home." said Yoh with a yawn, "Tonight was exhausting."

"Yeah….you telling the story of how your wife would bitch you around would probably tire me too!" Kisame said with a laugh, Samehade shrieking at its master's joke.

Yoh slumped in depression, a chunk of his pride being destroyed because of Kisame's joke. In defense, Anna's **KI** spiked as she glared at the blue man with hatred. Her hair fluttered as a small veil of magic enveloped her while her two guards Zenki and Goki appeared behind her. "You have been making fun of my husband all night. Now it stops." she muttered darkly.

Kisame, unafraid of Anna's anger, laughed, "Uh…excuse you…that ain't ya husband yet cuz y'all ain't married yet...STOOPID!"

Before Anna could attack, Gabriel stepped in-between the two, "Allies shouldn't fight. You two are family, whether you like it or not. Stop making fun of each other and learn how to become better friends!" she said with a beaming smile that radiated light, "That's something my father would say!"

Kisame hissed at holy light illuminating from the Seraph, "Okay, okay! Sorry! Damn…just stop smiling!"

Anna calmed her nerves before recalling her magic and her two shikigami guards with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. Yoh put an arm around her shoulder to comfort his fiancée, causing a small blush to appear on her cheeks.

"Thanks, Gabriel. You handled that well." said Naruto with a smile and giggle.

"Thank you, Naruto. I aim to please." she said with a similar smile.

It was Orochimaru who spoke next, "Master, it isn't like you to try to annoy any of the Gremory's today. They were all here for you disposal. Why not act upon that or any other Devils you may want to trick?"

"Ehh…today's about Lee, not me. I didn't want to start an argument today…to tired..I'm sure they'll make their move soon though…" he said lazily.

However, that laziness instantly disappeared as a sudden boost of energy filled Naruto's body, "Now then!" he said with a clap, "While we wait for Lee to finish his meeting, Hao, you said you had something of interest to tell everyone?"

 **Same time…**

 **Old Royal Capital: Lucifaad Palace Meeting Room**

Inside of the meeting room were all of the participants of the Devil Exams along with the Four Satans of the Underworld. While the Four Satans were sitting together leisurely in regular chairs, the younger Devils were standing at attention, not want to show any disrespect to the leaders of the Underworld.

"You know you guys don't have to look so stiff!" said Serafall with a childish 'huff', "All the losers are gone!"

"There just showing their respect, Serafall." said Falbium, who was actually awake for once in his life, "I'm sure anybody would stand at attention with even just one of us in the room."

"Alas, everyone else it gone, so it's okay if you all want to take a seat." said Sirzechs.

"Are you sure, Lucifer-sama?" Sona asked.

"YES, WE'RE SURE, SO-TAN!" shouted Serafall, "Now come over here and give your big sister a hug!"

"No thank you." the younger Sitri said as she found a chair to rest in, causing the Leviathan Satan to cry out in sadness.

"You know, now that I've been around the Satans more because of this tournament…you all really don't seem to be the serious type like most portray you to be." said Ginta, following Sona's lead and finding a chair for himself.

Sairaorg, choosing to remain standing, decided to express his own thoughts, "Well, I knew Leviathan-sama wasn't as a serious person with her having a kiddie show and all…"

"It's not a kiddie show! _Miracle Levia-tan_ is a well-done, serious show!" she countered.

"Maybe…for kids…" Suigetsu mumbled, but everyone in the room heard him. A few laughed at the fish boy's joke, causing Serafall to deflate in sadness.

"Alrighty now…let's not bully Serafall anymore…" said Sirzechs, after a round of laughter at Suigetsu's joke, "We called you back here for two things. One: to award everyone a cash prize for participating-

"Wait! Everyone gets sum' money from this shit!?" asked an excited Suigetsu.

' _Why is everyone cutting me off today?'_ thought Sirzechs with a sweat drop, "Yes, everyone will receive a stipend for their efforts in the Devil Exams. This tournament actually made more revenue then we first perceived, so we decided to pay all those who participated." said the leading Satan.

"Of course, those who were elected members of the 'Rookie Four' will receive a large stipend, everyone will still leave here with happy pockets." said Ajuka.

"Well, that's very considerate of you all, hmmm?" said Deidara with money signs in his eyes.

"I have a question…" Gaia said, moving all of the attention of the room to her, "Do we know how Diodora became so strong?...and his punishment?"

"Good question…" Falbium said with a sigh, "It actually ties in with the reason why we brought you all in here to talk. After analyzing Diodora's once he spawned to the medical corps after his retirement, we found out the sources of his power."

"Yes…" said Sirzechs, "Apparently, the source of Diodora's strength was the Infinite Dragon, Ophis."

A collective 'gasp' could be heard around the room. Everyone knew Ophis as the all-powerful dragon god, an impossible force for any Devil to defeat. The fact that one, if not 'the', strongest being in existence had something to do with the Devil Exam was shocking in itself.

While everyone was in shock at the reveal of Ophis, Lee was highly confused. _'Yosh…it seems like everyone else knows about this 'Ophis' person. I, however, do not. I knew I should have read some of those books Mr. Orochimaru gave me to look at during my free time...'_ he thought, _'I know! I'll just act like I know who this 'Ophis' person like everyone else!'_ he thought, smirking at what he believed to be an elaborate plan.

Slapping his palms on his face, Lee shouted, "Oh my goodness! Ophis! The one and only Ophis?! How is this even possible!?"

Everyone in the room, even Gaia, stared at Lee as if he grew a second head. Kuroka, who was sitting in a back corner by herself, sweat dropped at the obvious lie Lee yelled. _'He doesn't know who the hell Ophis is….does he…"_ she thought to herself in disappointment.

"Uhh…yes…Ophis…" muttered Ajuka, "The dragon apparently gave Diodora some of her power because he is linked with the terrorist group, The Khaos Brigade."

"That's interesting…." muttered Deidara.

"What's worse is that this group has been causing trouble for quite some time now, annoying not only Devils, but beings apart of other factions as well. We need new recruits to combat this growing threat." stated Falbium, "We're starting out small, creating a band of Devils specifically aimed to fighting against the Khoas Brigade, but I'm sure it'll grow over time if this group becomes even more of a problem."

"And what better group of Devils to add to this small group are the participants of the Devil Exams!" exclaimed Serafall, "Now, you don't have to join if you don't want to, but know that it is a good opportunity to prove your strength and possibly the chance of increasing your social ranki-

"Sign me up, now!" said Suigetsu with a grin, "I'm ready for this shit right now! I'm sick and tired of fighting stupid fucking Orks at the borderline of Devil Territory. Where's the list!?" he shouted with excitement.

"I am also very interested in being involved in this group." said Deidara, "Anything is better than what I've been doing, hmmm..."

Even Dosu was rubbing his chin in interest at the opportunity of increasing his ranking _. "I was once a low-class Devil myself. I fought my way to the top and became a high-class Devil. Don't join someone peerage and then become a high-class Devil because the credit of you hard work will only go to your [King] and not you."_ Naruto's words echoed in the mummy boy's head as he considered joining the anti-Khoas Brigade team.

"I'd like to join." said Seekvaira, surprising a few Devils in the room, "I assume I wasn't chosen to be a member of the 'Rookie Four' because of my lacking performance in the battle over Phenex Tears during the first night of the Devil Exams. I'd like to prove myself and my peerage's abilities by combating against these terrorist you mention." she finished while pushing her glasses up on her nose.

"I may join, too!" said Ginta with a grin and fist pump, "Fighting against some terrorist sounds like a good time to me!"

Falbium couldn't hold back the smile growing on his bearded face, "I'm very pleased to see a few of you already interested in joining. If you do, you'll be working with me personally in the effort to defeat the Khoas Brigade. I thank you." he finished with a bow.

"Thank you all for your efforts in the Devil Exam." said Sirzechs while reaching into his robe for a stack of envelopes, "I have your individual checks here, starting with Rock L-

A flash of golden orbs appeared behind the red Satan as Kuroka teleported behind the man and snatching Lee's check for herself and running out of the room with insane agility.

Sirzechs didn't even notice the check was out of his hand. The sound of the door of the meeting room shutting brought the lack of Lee's check in his hand. "Uhh….I didn't even know she was here…" he muttered.

Lee only laughed, "YOSH! I'm sure I'll find Ms. Kuroka and get it back!" he said with a beaming smile, "However, I'd like to say thank you all for such an enjoyable event. I've met and made many different people here and I'm glad to have faced you all in battle. Let's do it again sometime soon!" he said, giving the crowd one last nice guy pose before disappearing with his own teleportation seal.

 **A few hours later…**

 **Bael Territory – Team Naruto's House**

Kuroka sighed as she stripped from her kimono and threw on an extra large T-shirt to act as her pajamas for the night. After she stole Lee's money, she tried to escape the palace with the intentions of blowing through her newly found wealth. However, just as she was about to leave the palace, Orochimaru caught her with his snakes, wrapping her up and snatching the check away.

' _I wasn't gonna spend it all...'_ she thought with a grunt as she got in bed. Ever since they had moved to the Underworld, she hadn't slept with Naruto at all, sleeping in her own room which was very weird for the girl. She was always sleeping with Naruto during their training. Alas, Naruto would be in his orb form because he was still sealed at that time, but at least Kuroka had something to latch onto while she napped. And when Naruto was freed but weak from the seal, Kuroka thoroughly enjoyed sleeping with the person that had saved her from a life on the run from hunters.

Just the thought of Naruto brought the emotional wreck she was in a few hours ago back. She tried to suppress her feelings but the conversation she had with Naruto a few days ago kept echoing in her head. Add that on with the fact that Naruto and Gabriel were cuddled up with each other for most of the Devil Exams really put the teen Nekomata on edge. Her feelings for her [King] were still strong, and just the sight of Naruto hugged up with the Seraph was torture for her,

" _None of this would be happening if you didn't leave Papa for Ginta. You didn't put us first. You deserve this."_

"….that same dream…." she muttered. It was another thing that had been haunting her. Ever since Gabriel's arrival, Kuroka has been constantly reminded of all the mistakes she made with Naruto, with the worst of leaving Naruto for Ginta plaguing her mental the most. She gripped her sheets and tried to think of something else, but as usual, her daily torture of leaving Naruto continued.

After an hour by herself, Kuroka's ears twitched when she recognized the sound of someone stopping at her door. Remaining still, she used her extremely powerful nose to smell who it was outside. Sure enough, it was Naruto who was outside her room.

Her entire body tensed when Naruto entered her room; however she continued to feign sleep as her [King] sat down on the edge of her bed.

Naruto only had on a pair of black gym shorts and an undershirt, which was what he usually wore to bed. He sighed once he sat on his [Queen]'s bed as he thought about the approaching conversation. He knew why Kuroka was more distant from the group. Ever since he had the conversation with her about Ginta, she'd been quiet and discreet.

A heavy silence filled the room as Naruto remained sitting on the edge of Kuroka's bed, while Kuroka continued her act of sleep. While she wanted to talk to Naruto about what happened between them, she didn't know how Naruto would react to any pleases of forgiveness. She knew how distrustful he was, even if he was improving on his social skills. He was locked inside of a seal for centuries; something she knew would probably scar him for the rest of his life.

She was interrupted of her inner thoughts as Naruto finally broke the silence in the room, "You know…" he started, "….since I had so much time…ya know…..in the seal….I used it to discover any secrets that the Evil Pieces may have…it only helped that I was given a [King] piece when I received my Evil Pieces. While it didn't give me any power boost, it did increase the connection I have with my other pieces…"

The blonde Bael glanced over his shoulder to see Kuroka's sleeping face, "So I can always tell when you are sleeping or not."

Taking in a deep breath, Kuroka sighed before slowly opening her glowing golden orbs in the dark room. "Okay, nyah….you got me…." she muttered.

Naruto smiled before leaning back until his back was supported by the comfort of the bed. "I'm a bad [King], aren't I?" he said abruptly.

"Nya?" said the confused Nekomata, "Naruto, you are not a bad [King]…What…why would you even say that?"

"Because I've been pushing away my [Queen]…" he said, "…making her feel uncomfortable."

Kuroka instantly deflated, her ears slumping on her head, "No…No, Naruto…" she said, sitting up and scooting closer to the Bael, "That's not what's wrong…you haven't done anything wrong…I messed up. I shouldn't have left you for Ginta…I… I knew how that may have affected you but still chose to do so….i-it's my fault…" she stuttered.

Naruto ran a hand through his blonde locks, deep in thought. His silence actually scared Kuroka because she didn't know what he was thinking or how he would react. She'd tried asking for forgiveness before, but that only got her the cold shoulder.

However, to her surprise, Naruto shook his head, "No…it isn't your fault, Kuroka…it's mine…"

Kuroka's mouth was slightly ajar after hearing Naruto's words. "….bu...but how?" she asked.

The [King] actually chuckled, confusing the [Queen] even more. "You were young, Kuroka. You were traveling around with a talking, glowing orb as your only form of communication. Of course you were going to want to do something different. It was my fault even bring us to the city for you to even meet different people, and it was my fault holding that against you for so long…" he admitted, "I've guess I still got some improving to do when it comes to trusting people…even my own [Queen]…"

Again, a heavy silence filled the room. It wasn't awkward atmosphere, but tense because of the honest release of emotion from the duo. Kuroka, in a display of bravery, took the initiative and closed the gap between the two and laid next to Naruto. Wrapping her arms around his waist, Kuroka laid her head on his shoulder and soaked in his warmth. "It's been a while since we've slept together…nyah…" she whispered.

Naruto chuckled, "Last time we did, I could hardly move my pinkie!" he joked, referring to the time he was bedridden after being freed from his seal.

Kuroka giggled at his joke, glad that the tense atmosphere was somewhat dissipating. "It seems like we were both in the wrong for this entire situation, nya…I'm sorry for leaving you for that time, Naruto. It will never happen again and I'll always remain loyal to you and this peerage."

"And I'm sorry for not having enough trust in you." admitted Naruto, "I've been so caught up with this Devil Exam and Lee…and talking to stupid, uptight royals…I haven't had a lot of time to connect with my peerage as much lately."

"Your plan demands your time, Naruto." said Kuroka, moving her right arm up to his head to play with his hair, "We understand."

The blonde [King] sighed, "I guess…even tomorrow, I have something to do just to get another step closer to my goal…."

"Oh really, nya?" said Kuroka, "And what may that be?"

"Just blowing through a majority of the money Lee won for us." Naruto said with a shrug.

"….."

"…"

"…."

"….."

"…"

"…."

"You better at least buy me something with that damn money." Kuroka threatened, "Do what you want with the rest."

"Yes ma'am." he said with a laugh.

"What time will you be getting up?" she asked.

"Probably early in the morning….way before you wake up." he said, "I'll try not to wake you up then."

"Oka-" Kuroka yawned, flashing her pearly white fangs, "Okay…" she whispered, laying her head back on Naruto's shoulder, "Let's just sleep for now…."

Naruto hummed and leaned into his [Queen], wanting to get more warmth from her soft body. With a clear atmosphere and no cover, the [King] and [Queen] descended into a deep sleep with no interruptions.

 **The next morning…**

Lee jumped out of his bed when he heard the sound of someone knocking on his door. Clothed in a pair of green boxers, the Green Beast answered the door with his usual hyper-active personality. "Good morning…ah! Naruto-sama!" said Lee, "What brings you to my room at such early times of the day? You usually get up at around 10:30-ish."

"Good morning, Lee." said Naruto. The [King] was wearing an all-black muscle shirt tucked into a pair of orange joggers and his usual blue sandals. "I was thinking of taking you and Yoh on a little trip with me."

"A trip? Where to?" Lee asked with excitement.

"I'll tell you when we get Yoh out of the bed. I know it'll take some time, which is why I got up earlier." he said.

"YOSH! Then I shall put on my cloths faster than you can say 'New Training Regime!'", he shouted before shutting the door in Naruto's face.

Said [King] smirked while crossing his arms, "New Train-

"Done!" shouted the newly dressed Lee, opening his bedroom door and revealing that he was dressed in his green jumpsuit, "Let's go wake up Yoh!" he said while running down the hallway to Yoh's room.

"Wait, Lee!" said Naruto in distress, "Don't forget Anna is in-

"Hello, hello, hello!" Lee shouted while banging on Yoh and Anna's closed door, "Yoh! You must get up to come with Naruto-sama and I on an exciting adventure! I'm sure it'll be great!"

Naruto took a few steps back because he knew what was coming. From the inside of the duo's room was some shuffling until the sound of someone's foot hitting ground was heard. After a few footsteps, Anna opened the door in a black robe, similar to what Orochimaru would wear in the morning.

"Lee…." Anna muttered darkly.

Realizing his mistake, Lee put both hands up in defense, "Oh…Anna-sama. You look as amazing as ever!" he said nervously.

The [Rook]'s heart dropped when both Zenki and Goki appeared behind their leader, "You've made a grave mistake…" Anna muttered.

 **A few minutes later…**

Orochimaru sighed as he gave Lee an icepack. Said boy had multiple bruises on his face from the beat down he just received from Yoh's angry fiancée. Naruto, Orochimaru, and Lee were currently in the kitchen waiting on Yoh to get ready for Naruto's 'trip'.

"You know how much Anna hates being woken up by large noises." said the snake man as he tightened his robe somewhat before retrieving a coffee cup for his morning blend.

"Yeah, Lee. She really let you have it." Naruto giggled.

"I shall remember never to make Anna-sama mad for the rest of my life." Lee said with a shiver, "I didn't know Zenki and Goki could hit that hard…."

"Yeah, Anna's a tough one, that's for sure." said Naruto, kicking his feet up on the dinner table and leaning back in his chair, "At least she didn't kill you…the old Anna would have did it in a heartbeat."

Lee gulped, "That doesn't sound too youthful…"

The trio waited for a couple more minutes until, surprisingly, both Asakura brothers entered the kitchen fully clothed. "Mornin'." Yoh said with a wave.

"Good morning, Yoh and Hao-sama!" said Lee.

"I heard you pissed off Anna this morning." said Hao with a smirk, "Those bruises of yours only prove the noises I heard in the hallway were those of a losing battle."

Lee deflated, dropping his head on the table with a loud 'thump'. "Please don't rub it in, Hao-sama. I'm already hurting everywhere."

Hao rolled his eyes and pulled back his tunic. Two yellow magic circles appeared over his gloved hands as they hovered over Lee's skin. "I've been practicing some healing spells with Anna lately. Maybe this will help soothe your injuries."

"Thanks, Hao-sama…." Lee sighed, grateful for his friend's support.

"Where do you plan on going so early in the day, Hao?" Orochimaru asked, "I thought your first 'play date' with the Phenexs was scheduled for tomorrow?"

"It is…I decided to surprise them and come a day early." Hao said with an evil smirk, "It'll make things more interesting."

"Ah, Hao," said Naruto with a similar evil smile, "That's why I like you so much. We're so like-minded it's scary."

"Make sure to kick some of the arrogance out of their youngest son." said Orochimaru after taking a sip of coffee, "Such an idiotic boy, I remember…"

"I have that on my to-do list." answered Hao. After healing Lee, Hao recalled his magic and fixed his tunic, "Where do you plan on taking my brother and Lee, Master?" he asked Naruto.

"Hmmm….I plan on going back to the hometown to meet someone." said Naruto, gaining the curiosity of Hao, Lee, and Yoh.

"Ah, so you plan on visiting 'him' today?" asked Orochimaru.

"Yup, yup, yup!" said Naruto, "I haven't seen our little buddy in a couple of days. Hope he's doing well…"

"Forgive me, Naruto-sama, but who are you talking about?" asked Lee, "And where is 'the hometown'?"

"My hometown…the capital of the Bael Territory, Reshiram" started Naruto, "There we'll meet someone very important that help me reach my goal of becoming Great King of the Underworld. You'll understand when we meet him."

"Well, I wish you success on your journey." said Hao, "I shall be leaving now." he said while creating a teleportation seal.

"See you later, Hao-sama! Say hello to the chicken man for me!" said Lee with a wave as the older Asakura brother disappeared.

 **Phenex Territory – Phenex Castle**

Hao appeared in front of a large, bronze castle that smelled like the inside of a volcano. Fire sprouted from various towers and from old trees surrounding the outside of the castle walls. _'This is a castle?'_ thought Hao. _'Seems more like a magnificent dungeon to me.'_

"Halt!" instantly, Hao was surrounded by 10 Phenex guards, all equipped with sharp spears pointed at him.

Hao lazily raised both his arms over his head, but he seemed rather unbothered at the Phenex's defense. "If you are going to-

"Shut up!" said one of the guards, interrupting Hao, "Tell us your business here!" he demanded.

Hao exhaled, "This is so stupid…just go get Edward. He'll know why I'm here."

"How dare you refer to our Lord by his first name!" shouted a female guard, inching near to Hao with her spear, "You need a lesson in respect!"

Hao glared at the woman, causing a wave of powerlessness to follow throughout her body. His powerful **KI** started to leak into the surrounding area, smothering the group. "I'd suggest you move that spear away from me and go get your fucking leader before I get upset." Hao demanded, no longer taking any shit.

With Hao's insane **KI** backing up his threat, the guards woefully took a few steps back in fear. They knew who Hao was and were familiar with the power he has from his various battles in Rating Games, especially against Riser.

After a few tense moments of silence, one of the guards summoned a communication spell over his ear, "Reporting. We have Hao Asakura by himself at the main gate asking for Lord Phenex…alright."

Ending his call, the guard shouted to Hao, "If you wait here without any complications, then Lord Phenex will meet with you."

"Excellent." Hao said, his infamous cocky smirk pissing off some of the guards, "I may as well get comfortable. You know how long those high-class Devils take to put on some simple cloths." he said while taking a seat on the ground.

 **15 minutes later…**

The older Asakura brother eyes opened after his little nap when the sound of the main gates opening filled the air. Both Lord and Lady Phenex, escorted by a mass of guards and servants, made their way to the awaiting Hao. "Finally…" Hao muttered under his breath.

Once the group made it close to Hao, Lady Phenex instantly expressed her frustrations, "Why are you here a day early!? You were supposed to come tomorrow, not today!"

Hao simply shrugged his shoulders, "Surprise."

Everyone sweat dropped at Hao, even the guards, at his lack of respect.

Lord Phenex sighed, "Well…now that you're here…we may as well see if this agreement of ours will work…"

"Good. Glad you see the brighter side of my appearance, Edward." said Hao, patting the older gentlemen's back, "Now lead me into this dungeon you call a castle."

Lady Phenex growled at Hao's back while Lord Phenex just sighed, "Let's just see how this works out dear…" he said his wife, trying to calm her down.

 **Minutes later…**

"No wonder your son is a prick. This place looks like a fiery insane asylum."

Hao was being escorted by Lord and Lady Phenex to Riser's room where he was currently resting.

Lord Phenex sighed, "Mr. Hao, you should decrease your use of such vulgar words. It isn't fitting vocabulary for people to use..." seeing Hao's disinterest, Lord Phenex tried to compromise, "..at least limit your curses around my daughter."

"Sure…" Hao said with an eye roll as he followed the two down a long hallway.

The group continued its long stretch in the castle until they stopped in front of a room with large door filled with a colorful array of fire painted on it. "Impressive painting." mumbled Hao. Even he had to appreciate the detailed design of the architecture.

"He's inside, but I'm warning you: you better not do anything drastic…to either of my children." Lady Phenex threatened.

Hao laughed and stepped past the Phenex, "Sure thing, Elizabeth." he said before entering the room.

 **Riser's Room**

The sleeping Phenex was forced out of his sleep when the sound of his door closing registered in his head. Riser sighed. He didn't want to get up. He was comfortable in his bed, but he knew he wouldn't hear the last of it from his father if he spent all morning sleeping.

"Marvin….prepare my breakfast and bring it here." Riser decided to have his breakfast in his bedroom so he wouldn't have to leave his bed. He was sure his father would understand.

….

"Marvin…." Riser mumbled, but a little louder this time. He still had his eyes closed, so he didn't see his personal butler, but he knew he was there because Riser heard the sound of his door opening and closing.

…..again, no reply…..

Riser was about to retort but the sound of his blinds being pulled back and allowing a flood of light to infiltrate his room caused the blonde Phenex to hiss in distress. "Damn it, Marvin!" shouted Riser, suddenly sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes, "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Fufufufu…I remember that uptight attitude of yours…" said a voice that definitely wasn't Marvin's, "Don't worry, that will change in the near future."

Slowly, fear crept into Riser's heart as he realized where he heard that voice from. Slowly removing his hands from over his eyes, Riser's fears were confirmed when he saw one smirking Hao Asakura, the demon of his nightmares, in his room.

"This is going to be a lot of fun." said Hao, his grin only growing at Riser's fear-driven face, "…for me…not for you….fufufufufufu…."

 **Same time**

 **Bael Territory Capital – Reshiram**

The trio consisting of Yoh, Lee, and Naruto were walking down a busy sidewalk filled with Devils. They were the upper part of the city with massive skyscrapers surrounding them and large buildings used as office spaces and more.

"Woooooowwwww…" said Lee, astonished at the sight of such a big city, "This place is amazing."

"Being the capital of the Bael Clan, the most powerful family of Devils in the Underworld." said Naruto as the group continued their walk, "There's massive shopping complexes, parks, coliseums, living spaces, just about everything a thriving society needs."

"You said coliseums. What do they use that for?" asked Yoh.

"Well, the Bael Clan considers strength and power to be a Devil's most important quality. Those coliseums are used for Rating Games or battles between Devils just to decide on things." Naruto explained, "Or, you can just go to coliseum to test your strength against a random person. The coliseums are always open and always have intense matches going on in them."

"We should go to one! Let's challenge someone!" Lee shouted.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly, Lee." said Naruto, noticing a few Devils taking notice to their presence because of Lee's yelling, "The Devils here really take fighting seriously. It'd be best if we stay under the radar for now and stay on task."

"Yeah, Lee. You just won a tournament." said Yoh with a lazy yawn, "Let's take a break from any fighting for a while…..hopefully a long while."

The trio continued to walk and take in the sights the great city of Reshiram had to offer. Far off in the distance one could see Beal Castle, one of the largest constructs in the entire Underworld. The massive blue and grey castle was above the entire city in the mountains, overseeing Reshiram.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto stopped his two peerages members once they were in front of a large tent inside a powerful, multi-seal barrier protecting it from anything outside it. "Whelp…We made it."

"Oh! Is a circus inside of the tent, Naruto-sama?" asked Lee.

Said blonde [King] laughed at his [Rook]'s question, "No Lee, there isn't a circus….which actually kinda sucks now that I'm thinking about it. We should go to a circus or some other crazy thing back on the human realm one day. It'll be fun." he finished with a giggle.

"So what is this place?" asked Yoh.

"This place, my powerful [Knight], is the laboratory of a genius by the name of Magdaran Bael." said Naruto as he knocked on the gate, "He's around your age, Lee, so I thought I'd bring you along…and since you're so easy to get along with, Yoh, I thought Magdaran would like to meet someone like you."

"I'm always down to meet new people if they are cool." said Yoh with a shrug.

After a few minutes of waiting, the flap of the large tent was pushed out of the way, revealing a dark-haired boy who was about average height. Said boy was dressed in a white lab coat with black pants and a dark green dress shirt. He instantly perked up when he saw the smiling face of Naruto. "Oh! Naruto! You're back!" said the boy.

"Yo, my main man Mag!" said Naruto with a wave, "I've brought some friends over who I'm sure will be interested in your project."

"R-really?" the boy said as he unlocked the gate for his guest, "There haven't been many civilians who are interested in my work. Just other scientist…"

"YOSH!" Lee shouted, scaring Magdaran in the process, "If Naruto-sama says it's interesting then I'm sure I'll find it interesting as well. Right, Yoh?" he asked his friend.

"Sure thing." said Yoh with a shrug, "Just make sure not to scare Magdaran like that again, alright?" he said to Lee.

"A-alright…follow me." Magdaran stuttered before leading the group into the large tent.

Once inside, both Lee and Yoh were at awe at the amount of plants in the tent. For what seemed like a mile long were several rows of a variety of plants; which were all strategically placed for each plant to have enough space to grow properly. For every two plants was a head lamp hanging above to provide light for photosynthesis.

"Wow. This place is amazing." said Lee, "So why do you grow so many plants, Magdaran?"

"We-well, I'm a botanist, so I study man plants h-here in the Underworld. My goal is to revive any extinct or endangered species and b-breed plants together to create new species that can benefit society." explained the Beal.

"Yup, yup, yup! My boy Mag is pretty smart!" said Naruto, throwing his arm over the shy boy's shoulders, "He's good with all the plants and medicine. Maybe even Orochimaru could learn a thing or two from him!"

"Thanks for the co-complement, Naruto." said Magdaran, a little uncomfortable with Naruto touching him but he knew Naruto meant no harm, "I've put a lot of work taking care of these plants. I feel as if this is my destiny to create a species of plants like none other."

"That sounds amazing! I commend you for working hard to achieve your goals!" said Lee.

"Really?" said Magdaran with a small smile, "That's….that's really nice of you…m-most people make fun of my wo-work…especially the elders and the council…they say such a job is befitting for the son of the Great King, but I believe my job is just as important as any other."

Yoh raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Wait...son of the Great King? I thought that was Sairaorg?"

"Sairaorg is Mag's older brother." explained Naruto, "The two have different mothers."

"Ye-yes, Sairaorg is my older brother…." the younger Bael muttered.

"AH! So you must be pretty strong just like your brother! We should spar sometime!" said Lee with excitement.

Magdaran scratched his head awkwardly, "Hehe..I d-don't think that's a good idea. My brother is way stronger than me…even with my Power of De-destruction, Sairaorg will always win…" he said with a little disdain.

Yoh, noticing Magdaran's tone changing the more they talked about Sairaorg and his right fist tightening around his clipboard, quickly changed the conversation, "Well, I believe what you have here is enough….Hey, what type of plant is this?" he said, pointing to weirdly shaped, blue plant. The flat plant was growing straight from soil with leaves surrounding it on all sides.

"Oh this?" said Magdaran, picking the blue part from the soil, "This is actually a fruit I've been developing. When eaten, it recovers one's magical reserves somewhat. I haven't given it a name but it taste pretty good."

"Can I try it?" asked Yoh, surprising the young Beal yet again.

"Uhh…S-sure," he stuttered, "But I must warn yo-

"Ehhhh, forget the warnings." said Yoh, snatching the fruit out of Magdaran's hand and taking a bite out of it.

"How does it taste, Yoh?" Naruto asked in interest.

Yoh munched on the fruit while humming, analyzing the taste and flavor. After a few seconds, Yoh gulped and exhaled a satisfying sigh, "That was pretty good! And…and I can feel my magic increasing a little!"

"My plans for this species is for it to replenish one's magic, similar to the Phenex's Phenex Tears." explained Magdaran, "While I'm heading in the right direction, this fruit still has a few complications."

"Complications? Like what?" asked Lee.

"W-well…" started the botanist, "When digested, the fruit somehow expels certain toxics within the body, informing it to create more mucus. Because of this, the major side effect of this fruit is chronic sneezing and a runny nose."

"Chronic….sneezing…" sweat dropped Yoh in disbelief, "Really? That's it? I thought it would be something seeereeereeeeeeee-aaaaaaaaaCHOOO!" sneezed the Asakura.

"Seems like the fruit's symptoms are already taking affect." laughed Naruto.

"My….my nose! It's suddenly has a lot of snot in it!" panicked Yoh, "What's going on?!"

"That's what happens when the fruit is digested. The effects are almost i-immediate." said Magdaran with a shrug.

"How long-aaaaaaCHOOO!...Ugh….how long will this last?" asked Yoh, suddenly feeling a little sick.

"A few hours maybe?" Magdaran said with another shrug, "The time span of your chronic sneezing depends on how good one's immune and respiratory system are."

"Well, with all the vitamins Anna forces Yoh to eat, "I'm sure he'll be fine." said Naruto, ignoring another harsh sneeze from his [Knight], "But let's continue the tour. There are still some plants here I haven't seen yet, so let's take our time going down the list!"

"O-okay!" said Magdaran with a large smile, happy that he was with people that actually appreciated his work.

"Ughh….I think I'm gonna need a tissue…..box…." muttered Yoh as he followed the group to the next station.

 **Two hours later…**

 **Phenex Castle**

"Riser, I demanded you unlock yourself from the bathroom this instant!" shouted Lord Phenex, banging on the rather large bathroom door.

The moment Riser realized that Hao was in his room, he instantly ran out of his room and locked himself in the nearest place he could find- the bathroom. It had been over two hours since the youngest son of Lord and Lady Phenex locked himself in the bathroom and he wasn't coming out for anybody.

"This is a waste of time…" muttered Hao, who had a glass of wine in his hand. Since Riser was in the bathroom for so long, the older Asakura twin decided to treat himself to the many luxurious drinks the Phenexs had in their possession. "I'm telling you, just let me break in there and I'll fix this right up."

"No, you've done enough damage as it is!" shouted Lady Phenex, furious at Hao. While Hao didn't even do anything to harm her soon, he was still the cause of Riser's trauma, which was why he was acting the way he was.

Lord Phenex sighed as he ceased any other attempt to convince his son to open the door, "I guess he'll just stay in there for a while…."

"Or I can teleport my way in there and teach him how to be a man." suggested Hao with a shrug.

"If his face alone has this type of affect on our son, I can't imagine what would happen once he confronts Ravel!" said the protective mother.

"Oh, you mean your daughter?" said Hao casually, "She's been hiding behind that corner the whole time." he said, pointing down the hallway.

Sure enough, a loud "EEEPPP!" was heard down the hallway. Both Phenex's looked at each other and sighed, "This isn't going how we planned it."

"It's because you're not listening to me." said Hao, "I told you two that I wanted to do things my way and you're not holding your end on the deal."

"And what do you plan on doing! Traumatizing my children even further!?" criticized Lady Phenex.

Hao chuckled darkly, as he created a teleportation seal while muttering, "Maybe…" before disappearing.

"NOO! Stay away from Riser!" came Riser's voice from within the bathroom. A few thumps could be heard from the bathroom before everything was quiet.

"Riser! Riser! Is everything alright!?" shouted his concerned mother. When she didn't receive an answer, Lady Phenex decided enough was enough, "I don't care about this anymore! Break this door down so I can get my son!" she demanded.

However, before the servants could even attempt to break the door, the lock slowly untwisted until it was fully unlocked. The door slightly opened until it was pulled open by Hao, "Get outta here." he said, kicking the young adult's back.

Riser landed on the ground with a grunt, but didn't verbally retort. Hao 'tisk'ed as he left the bathroom, "Just seeing my face and you lose your will to fight back? Such a disgrace..."

"He isn't ready for something like this!" shouted Lady Phenex.

"Too bad!" Hao shouted back, surprising the elder woman, "If he isn't ready to see me, then that's on him. But he better prepare himself, because I'm going all the way." Grabbing the collar of Riser's pajama shirt, Hao dragged the Phenex down the hallway, "Now where's that little girl of yours?"

 **Bael Territory – Magdaran's Lab**

"And that's that! I hope you enjoyed my lab!" Magdaran said after he finished showing everything in his lab.

"I must say, I am truly impressed with the amount of work you put into your projects, Magdaran! Your plants are really amazing!" said Lee.

"Ye-yea…." Yoh wheezed out after he blew his nose into a wad of tissue, "…amazzzzizzizzziiiiii-CHOO!...ugh…..sniff….I need some Mucinex…"

"Thank you. Honestly, that means a lot." said Magdaran with a true smile.

"See, Mag? I told you other people would appreciate your work." said Naruto, patting the teenager's back, "You just had to step out of your comfort zone a little."

"Yeah…" said the younger Bael, taking a seat at his desk, "I feel like I needed this…" however, Magdaran's face morphed into a face of sadness, "To bad all of this will end soon…."

"W-wh-whwhy…*sniff*…do you say that?" asked the sick Asakura.

"Well…" he started while fiddling with his fingers, "This lab…it cost a lot of m-money to run….money I don't have. This lab has been funded by my father, but he has expressed his disproval of my work numerous of times…Sadly, after many fights, he stopped funding my lab and my projects, so I won't be able to keep this place for long." he admitted.

"But why doesn't your father like your work?" asked Lee, "This place is amazing and if you are given enough time, you could really create something special!"

"Because I am the son of the Great King, I'm expected to work on other things like my political standing and my magic capabilities." said Magdaran, "He doesn't understand…no one understands just how important my work is…the only thing that's holding me back from continuing is my last name…"

"Again, Beal's are all about power." interrupted Naruto, "And since Mag is in such high-standing in the Beal Clan, he's expected even more from regular Devils. However, even Mag's personality doesn't quite mesh with the stereotypical Beal Clan member. He's quiet and reserved….and likes science." Naruto said with a laugh.

"Naruto has helped me these past few weeks, though." said Magdaran, "I first met him in the city a few weeks ago and I brought him here. He really helped me over come a slump I going through in my work, but I fear all of that was for nothing since I'll have to close my lab soon with my lack of funds…"

"Yeah…and that's sucks…" Naruto said with an exaggerated sigh as he threw his arm around Magdaran, "If only we knew someone with a lot of money who was willing to just shower you in it, allowing you to pay your rent and continue your work….hmmm…"

"Uhh..uh..y-yea…that's the goal…." Magdaran muttered uncomfortable.

Lee rubbed his chin, deep in thought to find a way to help his new friend. "Hmmmm….." suddenly, the Green Beast's eyes sparkled in realization as he looked towards his master, who was grinning, "YOSH! I KNOW WHERE WE CAN GET THE MONEY!"

"R-really!?" Magdaran stuttered with excitement, "Where, Lee?"

"Naruto-sama has it!" Lee said, pointing at the blonde Bael, "I just won a lot of money from the Devil Exams. Naruto-sama has more than enough!"

"That's right!" said Naruto with grin, "Get ready, Magdaran Bael, to become the first recipient of 'Naruto Bael's Awesome Scholarship/Grant Fund'!" he yelled while pulling out a check from his pocket and handing over to the botanist.

Tears pooled out the sides of Magdaran's eyes as he shakily grabbed the small piece of paper and stared at the amount with hope. "This….this is what i-i-I need…Thank you…thank you, thank you, thank you!" In a rare fit of happiness, Magdaran hugged Naruto while crying into the older Bael's shoulder.

"Awwwwwwwww…sniff…that's so-sosssosssss-AAaAAA-CHOOO!...nice…" Yoh wheezed out.

 **15 minutes later…**

After calming Magdaran out of his crying fit, the group decided to take a seat in a different room where Magdaran had a multitude of scientific tools and chemicals used for his projects.

"Are you okay now, Mag?" asked Naruto, rubbing the sniffing boys back in comfort.

"Yes…I'm alright now." said the botanist, using some of Yoh's tissue to clean his face, "I'm just so shocked that someone actually believes in me enough to fund my research. Even my own father doesn't even believe in my work."

"Well, that's because your father sounds like a d-d-d…..dick…" said Yoh, holding back another sneeze, "Naruto-sama has your back."

"And I really do appreciate it…" said Magdaran with a true smile, "Thanks again, Naruto."

"Ehhh, it's nothing." Naruto said with shrug, "Just gotta take care of my buddy. I really don't have too many friends in my clan…just wanted to show that I support you."

"Well, you defiantly have my friendship." said Magdaran, "I'm glad you all came today. I've been stressed out about a p-project and I needed a breather. Now, I feel like that stress has washed away, especially since I have enough money to stay in shop."

"Seems like you need to go back to work then!" said Naruto, standing from his seat with both of his servants following his lead, "We'll leave you for now, but I'll come back soon to see how things are here, okay?"

"S-sure!" said Magdaran, shaking each of the boy's hands, "Thanks again, you all."

"No…..aahahaaahhAAAAA-CHOOOO!...er…problem…" sniffed Yoh.

"YOSH! Make sure to keep us updated on any findings you have, Magdaran!" said Lee while creating a large magic circle for the three.

"Thanks for support, Lee. I'm glad to have met you today." said Magdaran.

As the magic circle consumed the trio, Magdaran didn't see dark smirk on Naruto's face as he disappeared, _'I'm such a Devil…..'_

 **Timeskip – Night**

Magdaran Bael, after a long day of work, finally decided it was time for him to return home to the Beal Castle and rest. After Naruto, Lee, and Yoh's visit, Magdaran was motivated to continue working into the wee-hours of the day. Whenever he felt the sense of doubt start to creep into his mental, he would look at the check Naruto gave him, using it as a symbol that somewhere someone believed in his work and that he couldn't let them down.

"I should study more on the fruit that Yoh ate to see if I can somehow understand why that happens….I wonder what properties inside of that particular fruit that causes the sneezing…and I hope Yoh's chronic sneezing has wore off by now." the young Beal muttered as he tweaked with the seals that protected his lab.

"Yoh's okay." said a voice coming from behind Magdaran, surprising him, "His fiancée is taking care of him now."

"Na-Naruto?" said Magdaran, recognizing the voice. Sure enough, it was Naruto behind him with a neutral face, "You're back so soon? I was just about to activate the barrier around my tent for the night."

"I just wanted to talk to you really quick, Mag." said Naruto, walking over to the younger Bael and throwing an arm over his shoulder, "You get some good work in today?" Naruto asked him.

"Uh…y-yea! You're visit and funding money really motivated me to work even harder!" he said as the duo entered the tent, "I really do appreciate you believing in my Naruto. With your money, I won't have to worry about what's going to happen to my facility and my work anymore."

"I told you, I support you and your work, Mag." said Naruto, "I think it's really important what you're doing and it's a shame people don't recognize your work or take you seriously."

"Don't worry, Naruto. That will all change in the future. These things take time." he replied, "But what is your reason for coming back? I didn't think you were coming back so soon."

"I just wanted to talk with you seriously." said Naruto, surprising Magdaran. Based on all of the experiences Mag had with Naruto, he didn't take Naruto as the 'serious-person' because he was always smiling and joking. Something must be wrong.

"It's something a matter?" asked Magdaran suspicion.

Naruto narrowed his eyes while in thought of his next words, causing the younger Bael to worry for him. He had never seen Naruto so serious about anything. However, after sometime, Naruto broke the silence with a bold question, "What are your thoughts about your father?"

That really shocked Magdaran, his mouth opening in surprise reflecting his emotion. "M-my-my fat-father?" he stuttered, "Why do y-you want to know about hi-him?"

"Just…reasons." cryptically replied Naruto.

"Oh…." Magdaran continued their walk between two rows of his plants, "Well….he's very commanding. H-he doesn't take no for an answer. His arrogance isn't like most Beals…because of his political stance as one of the, if not most, powerful Devil in the Underworld, he lives a life by the philosophy either my way or the highway' sort of deal. While I do love my father for all that he's done for me, it's getting harder and harder to love him with each passing day. He makes me feel like an alien in my own clan….treating my passion as if it isn't worthy of a Beal's time…" he sighed, "And the situation with my brother."

"You two fought before, correct?" asked Naruto.

"Yes…" he admitted, "We fought to see which one of us would become heir of the clan. Of course, Sairaorg, even with his inability to produce the Power of Destruction, defeated me easily. He knocked away all of my attacks like they were nothing and embarrassed me in front of the entire council." his said, gripping his fist in anger of the memory.

"Isn't that a little counterproductive, though?" asked Naruto, "In order to become the head of the Beal Clan, one must have the ability to use the Power of Destruction, something that Sairaorg can't do. So aren't you, in fact, still the heir of the Beal Clan?"

"Well…if you look at it that way, yes." he answered, "But there are other factors that could change that. For instance, if my father were to impregnate one of his mistresses and that child inherits the Power of Destruction. I may have to fight my sibling to keep my position as heir…..the thing is, I don't even want to be the heir….." he muttered.

"And why's that?" asked Naruto.

"Because if I'm the head of Beal, then I wouldn't have enough time to partake upon my passion!" he said while motioning his arms to all of the plants in the room, "This is my life, Naruto. Working on bringing back extinct plants, producing concoctions that will benefit society, breeding plants together to create new plants….this room is my life! A life that I want! I am Magdaran Beal the botanist…however; people want me to be Magdaran Beal, heir to the throne of Great King."

"Hmmm…that's very….interesting." said Naruto, "Why haven't you talked to your brother about this? Does he even know?"

Magdaran glared at the ground while gripping his fist together, unknowingly destroying the clipboard in his left hand, "Our….relationship is complicated…" he started, "Another reason why I'm starting to hate my parents…is because they've convinced me to hate my brother."

Walking over to one of his plants, he pulled off a dead leaf hanging towards the bottom of the it, "All of those years….Everyone told me that Sairaorg was incompetent and less than me because of his lack of our clan's bloodline ability. Hearing that all your life, you start to believe it…..but when I was thrashed by him in our battle, it was like everything was taught was wrong, however, those who taught me that instantly turned their back on me…..confusing me in the process….."

"You didn't know who to blame, huh?" said Naruto, stepping behind him, "So you blamed your brother?"

All Naruto got in reply was a weak nod of confirmation. Magdaran was glaring at his plants in anger as he thought back of all the false teachings he was taught during his youth. And when he found out that those teachings were wrong, the only solution he had was to place all of the blame on his brother, but he knew that wasn't right. Throughout his life, Sairaorg was treated unfairly by their father because of his inability to produce the Power of Destruction, but he worked hard for his strength to defy the odds and prove his doubters wrong. Now that he was strong, Magdaran hated him not listening to their father and elder Beals because now he was confused on what to believe.

"You're looking for a way out…aren't you?" said Naruto.

"….yea….." Magdaran whispered, "but I don't know what to do…I want to live one life…my clan expects me to live another. I honestly don't know what to do."

The younger Beal was forced out of his depressing slump when he heard Naruto's laughter, confusing him. "Why…why are you laughing at me?"

"Oh, Mag." said Naruto with chuckle, "You're so young. Hehehehe! You don't even notice that the answer is right in front of you! Hehehe!"

"The answer…is right in front of me?" questioned Magdaran.

"Yup, yup, yup!" Naruto said with a giggle, "You know….let me predict the future for you real quick just to explain how things are gonna be."

Walking over to the other row opposite of Magdaran, Naruto plucked what looked like rotten banana with purple stripes, "You see, let's start off with the harsh reality: eve with that money I gave you, do you honestly think you'll be able to continue your work here?"

Now Magdaran was confused, "I-Isn't that the purpose of your funding?"

"Yes, but let's be honest: even with that money, do you really believe that your father will allow you to continue your work while denying your priorities as heir of the almighty Beal Clan?"

That visibly shook Magdaran as he took a step back, "I…I thought that it wil-

"See, the problem is that you're thinking wrong." said Naruto, interrupting the black-haired Beal, "You have all the necessary resources available to run your lab, but because of your last name, you will never be able to accomplish your dreams."

"So what should I do, huh!" shouted Magdaran, displaying a rare fit of rage, "What other options do I have!?"

"Well, let's review the case." said Naruto, walking over to Magdaran, "You continue your work but your father will definitely come here one day to force you into accepting your role as heir of the Beal Clan." Naruto stepped behind Magdara and secretly started to call upon his magic, "Take a good long look, Magdaran Beal. This entire room is filled with plants the Underworld hasn't seen in centuries. You brought them back. Magdaran Beal brought them back….." Naruto's grin couldn't grow large as he covered Magdaran's eyes with his hands, scaring him, "You got that image in your head? Now think of what happens the day your father and his entourage comes here….they don't care for you work…they hardly care for you as a person…just the royal blood that runs through your veins. Do you know what will happen to this place when they come?"

Magdaran started to sweat as the temperature of the room suddenly skyrocketed. It became harder to breathe for the royal Bael and swore he heard something crackling in the room. As he felt Naruto's hands lift from off his face, Magdaran was able to open his eyes only to see carnage. His face withered in fear as he took in the scene of all of his plants on fire and his facility destroyed. The roof was caved in and rubble was everywhere. His vision was blurry as the heavy smoke filled his eyes, but he didn't dare try to close them. In fact, he was trying to move to put out the fire, but his body was paralyzed, not listening to any of his mental commands.

' _MY PLANTS!'_ Magdaran cried mentally as he continued to struggle, however, it was to no avail as everything he worked on was consumed by the merciless fire.

" _They won't show any mercy,"_ echoed Naruto's voice, _"They'll destroy this place, so long as your name is Magdaran_ _ **BAEL**_ _!"_

' _No! Please, stop!'_ he shouted, but his life continued to burn in the hellfire, _'That's my life that's burning!'_

"Mag…" suddenly, Naruto stepped in front of the crying boy, "I hope you understand what this means…."

" _ **Wake up.** "_

… **.**

… **..**

… **..**

… **..**

In a shock-filled gasp, Magdaran's tear-filled eyes burst open as he instantly looked at his facility. His heart thudded against his chest as he sighed in relief at the sight of his plants unharmed. However, he jumped when Naruto suddenly appeared next to him, wrapping his arm around Magdaran's shoulder. "So do you see the answer now, huh buddy? Do you get what I'm trying to tell you?"

Magdaran looked down to the ground in shame, slowly coming to the conclusion he wanted to ignore. Naruto giggled insanely at the boy's depression, "I think you know what I'm talking about, hehehehhehe!"

Magdaran sighed, "You want me to renounce my family…don't you…"

"Yes, yes, YES!" Naruto said with a clap of his hands, "We have a winner here, folks! HEHEHEH! I swear, Mag, you're one of the smartest people I know!"

Circling around Magdaran, Naruto continued, "You know they don't care about you. Your mother…father…your entire clan! heheheh! They just see you as a prop! A political sex toy for the elders to get off on! They don't care about your work-just you're WORTH."

Magdaran clenched his eyes closed, trying to stop the flood of tears flowing. Naruto used his sleeve to wipe the salty water off the boy's cheeks, "Oh no! Don't cry, my friend…even though they don't care for you, your best buddy Naruto is here to sweep you off your feet and save the day!"

"Oh yea? And what can you do, Naruto!" shouted Magdaran through his hiccups, "How can you stop them?"

Naruto pressed his forehead against Magdaran's, "Just listen to me…" he muttered, his voice taken on a darker tone, "Just listen to me and I'll get you out of this. Renounce your family when I tell you to and you'll be able to live your life peacefully as the Magdaran Beal YOU want to be and not what others want you to be. Do you agree?"

The facility was deathly silent, with the only sound of Magdaran's uneven breaths filling the atmosphere. Opening his eyes, Magdaran's dark eyes met Naruto's glowing red eyes. His breathe hitched as fear filled his body. It felt as if Naruto wasn't just invading his space, but he felt his presence in his mind, whispering him to listen. He was locked into the intense stare down, unable to move as what felt like the pressure of his entire clan clamped him down to reality.

Shakily, Magdaran slowly replied, "….o…..okay…I'll wait for to tell me…..when to denounce my name."

"….hmm….heheh….heehehhehheheh! HehehHAHAHAHA! AAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA! Great, my small friend!" laughed Naruto, "Now that's what I call a productive conversation! aaaaaaaAAAAAHHHHHHAAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

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 **AYO, AYO, AYO! NarutoPlug is back giving you all the illest chapter yet. Yeah, I know, I've been gone for a little bit (that seems to be the new trend: me saying I'll be back updating quicker and then not doing that) but guess what!**

 **Guess guess guess!**

 **I FUCKING FINISHED MY FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE! ALL A'S AND B'S BITCH!**

 **SOMEBODY CALL THE FUCKING MIGOS SO WE CAN SPRAY THE CHAMPAGNE!**

 **Now that I'm outta college (Jesus Christ that sounds so good to say) I have more time to work on this Fanfic. While I do wanna go back to the weekly update, it's gonna take me a while to get back to the flow of things. I've been seeing everyone's PMs and review, checking up on me, but I was honestly had to focus on my school work before this story.**

 **While I will be getting a job to make me some money during the summer, I have WAAAYYYY more free time to type now compared to before. The ideas are flowing and I'm ready to get BreakThrough back on the road!**

 **Summer 19 finna be litty!**

 **Tell me how you all feel about this chapter too. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I honestly love reading everyone's reviews because that's what motivates me to type these chapters.**

 **I'm not expecting the next chapter to be this long (I'm currently at 19,688 words…..wait now I'm….wait…it's still going up….you get the point I'm making) but I had to give you all a long chapter to make up for the time gap between chapters. You all have been waiting long enough.**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	24. PoliticalScience

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, staying on schedule and typing up the next chapter two days after my last update!**

 **I'm happy with the reviews I got back on the last update and I must say that I'm really thankful for the support I've gotten from everyone! Congratulating me on finishing my freshman year of college and returning to Fanfiction (even though I never left, just took a month hiatus) really motives me to continue BreakThrough to the best of my abilities, no cap.**

 **Mostly everyone was glad we're back on the main storyline, myself included. It's just easier and more fun to type the story with Naruto and his peerage as the main characters. Plus interesting…I really like what I've done with their individual characters.**

 **With all of the political stuff going on, something you all have continuously asked for more of, you know shit's about to get wicked! Also, I may drop in the next opponent that Naruto and the gang may face in their next Rating Game, but the fight won't happen anytime soon. May two more chapters in the future, but I've given you all enough fights to last a lifetime so we're still on break from any awesome fights typed by yours truly.**

 **Small intro today, but I really wanna get into the story now, so let's continue.**

… **(Ayo, I'm writing this little message halfway through the chapter. I decided to look online to see if anyone has opinions about BreakThrough outside of FanFiction. I created a Reddit account and say someone talk sum bullshit, lol. Look at the comment I left and hit me up on Reddit. Here's a link to the little thread thingy: r/NarutoFanfiction/comments/aulty4/what_was_the_worst_ever_naruto_fanfic_you_ever/ehao9rv/?context=3 )...**

 **Okay, now let's get to the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **PoliticalScience**

 **Three days later…**

 **Phenex Castle – Riser's Room**

Inside the room, the first thing one would notice was the massive bed where one Riser Phenex slept. While it rather massive for one person (for some nights), the bed hardly took up a space in the ridiculously large room. The walls were littered with paintings of the all-powerful Phoenix, the mascot of the Phenex Clan, in all its glory. Hanging on the wall in front of Riser's bed was a huge television that one could see from any corner in the room. Other than the exit, there were two other doors led to Riser's incredible bathroom fit for a king and large walk-in closet filled with only the highest quality of clothing.

While he didn't flinch, Riser was awakened out of his slumber when he heard his door creep open slowly, "Marvin…." Riser mumbled into his pillow, used to everyday tradition of his personal butler entering his room every morning.

"Yes, Riser-sama, it is I." said Marvin.

With a grown, Riser pushed himself up, "What have the cooks prepared for breakfast?" he asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"For your parents, the cooks have prepared a large breakfast for the two to enjoy. However, they won't prepare anything for you or your sister." said Marvin.

"What? Why would they do such nonsense?!" shouted Riser, angry that he didn't get to enjoy his usual breakfast meal.

"Hao-sama," hearing the name of his 'babysitter', Riser instantly groaned and fell back into his bed, "has ordered to meet him in the kitchen to help the head chief make your own breakfast this morning." stated Marvin, "I believe your sister is readying herself to go to the kitchen as we speak."

Riser slammed his hand into the soft bed, "Why does he have the authority to cancel my breakfast!? Who the hell does he think he is?!"

"Honestly, Riser-sama, I don't think you should make too much noise this early in the morning nor should you talk badly about Hao-sama in such a manner. I'm sure you know that his 'punishments' for disobedience are very brutal, taking the spar you two had yesterday into account…" said Marvin.

The youngest son of Phenex growled at the memory of Hao administering his 'punishment' yesterday when Riser didn't want to help the groundskeeper tend to the plants in the royal garden located in the backyard of the castle. Riser didn't even get to lay a finger on the Asakura as he danced through all of his attacks before summoning that behemoth he called a partner to munch off his regenerative arms as a snack.

Rubbing his left arm, Riser asked, "Is he here already?"

"Yes." answered Marvin, "After that, he asked for your peerage members to meet at the training grounds for a battle simulation."

"I don't care," mumbled Riser, rolling onto his stomach and planting his face into his pillow, "Riser isn't going today."

"I shall report your decision to Hao-sama then." Marvin said with a bow before leaving the room.

The room was quiet as Marvin shut the door, leaving Riser to his thoughts. He tried to go to sleep, but flashes of his one-sided 'spar' with Hao kept him from re-entering his slumber.

….

" _Hehe….you call yourself a [King] with such weak attacks? Laughable."_

….

" _Honestly, I don't understand how one can be so arrogant and so incapable at the same time…"_

….

" _Your pride is toxic. I'll beat it out of you and teach your obedience…"_

…

" _You won't be able to protect your sister if you stay at the level you're at now…"_

… _._

" _So small…"_

…

…

…

…

….

"Damn you, Hao Asakura…" Riser said with a snarl as he pushed himself out of bed and walked to his closet for his daily attire.

 **A few minutes later…**

Riser entered the dining room with a grumble. He noticed that both his parents were sitting at the massive table, elegantly eating the wonderful food cooked carefully by the various chiefs in the kitchen. Lord Phenex perked up at the sight of his youngest son, "Ah, Riser!" he said, "Good morning, my son."

"Good morning father…mother…" he mumbled, "Where is he" he asked without hesitation.

"Kitchen…" answered his mother, sipping from her coffee mug, "You're sister is there as well. Have a good day."

"There's no such thing as a good day with him around." Riser grumbled, passing by his parents and pushing through the double doors that led into the kitchen.

Looking around, Riser was actually surprised at how the kitchen looked. This was his first time inside of the kitchen….ever. He never had an actual reason to go in the kitchen, so this was really something new for the boy.

"Bro-brother…" squeaked out a voice from nearby. Locating the source of the voice, Riser saw his younger sister, Ravel Phenex, hiding behind one of the various stoves in the large kitchen.

"Ravel, what are you doing?" he asked, walking over to the shaking girl.

"Apparently, she doesn't like being near me." said another voice, coming from the one and only Hao Asakura. He was sitting in a foldable chair next to a man dressed as a chef. Riser came to conclusion that this would be the person helping them make their own breakfast for the day. "I don't know why she hates me so much…all I did was act like I was going to kill her…and that was a long time ago." he said with a small chuckle.

"You're sick." Riser said, allowing his sister to hug his side, "You're bullying my sister and Riser-

"Please, I don't want you of all people preaching to me about bullying. Don't you remember how you treated you ex-fiancée?" countered Hao. That instantly shut the Phenex royal up, causing Hao to laugh again. "We didn't come here for an argument. We came to cook, something you need to learn how to do yourself."

"Why should we learn how to cook if I have others to do it for me?" Riser snapped.

"Because I said so." replied Hao, taking no shit from Riser, "Of course, you can always leave and receive my punishment. I'm glad I didn't have to drag you out of your bed this morning, but the same punishment I gave you yesterday can easily happen again."

Suddenly, to the shock and horror of Ravel, the head of the Spirit of Fire appeared above Hao, surprising even the chef standing next to Hao. The magic-hungry beast quietly shrieked at the two darkly, recognizing them as its favorite play things. "Seems my partner is ready to deliver a few rounds of punishments as well." he grinned.

"Le-let's just g-g-g-get this oo-over with…" muttered Ravel into Riser's side, "Can you p-please recall your fr-f-f-ffri-friend…Hao-sama…." Raval managed to get out.

"Hmmm…..Since you asked so nicely, I shall comply." said Hao with a snap, recalling his partner back into his mental, "See? All you two have to do is be nice and things will work out. Now, let's get to cooking."

"Uh..yes! Let's cook!" said the chief cook, watching the entire scene awkwardly, "I'm sure you two will enjoy cooking. I've been told that Raval-sama already has an interest in the culinary arts."

"I..like cooking…" she stuttered, slowly stepping from behind her brother, "But I don't think I'm any good."

"Nonsense!" said the chef, "I'm sure someone of you status has the natural ability to cook! Today, we'll start with something simple, but still one of my favorites to cook: eggs!" exclaimed the man.

"Nice and simple….sounds like a great starting point." said Hao, giving Riser and Raval aprons to wear, "I'll watch and hope you two make me a nice breakfast."

' _Riser will make sure to put poison in any food you're going to eat…'_ thought Riser with a deadpan stare.

 **Same time…**

 **Beal Territory – Naruto's House**

Sitting in the living room watching television together was Orochimaru, Kisame, and Naruto. Kisame was lounging about in his personal recliner with Samehade laying in his lap while Naruto and Orochimaru shared a couch together. On the screen was a Rating Game match between two inexperienced peerages.

"This Rating Game sucks. They don't know what to do." said Kisame, rubbing his exposed stomach with Samehade's scales, "Fucking kill each other already…sheesh…"

"They're rookies, Kisame." said Orochimaru after taking a sip a coffee, "They're not experienced in Rating Games."

"But this does suck…" complained Naruto, "Just start killing each other already…"

"That's what I said!" said Kisame, "Can we change the channel? Where's the remote?" searching for the remote, Kisame saw that it was set on the coffee table in the middle of the room, "Fuck…that's too far and I'm not getting up to get it."

"I've got it…" said Naruto, channeling his magic. Suddenly, the remote floated off of the table and over to Kisame's awaiting hands, "There ya go."

"Even know it's probably a pain to learn, I've gotta get a crack at that telekenesis shit." said Kisame as he started to flip through channels, "Nobody wants to watch the fucking, stupid ass Teen Titans Go bullshit….where's the old show….." he muttered.

"Naruto-sama, do you know the whereabouts of your other peerage members?" asked Orochimaru.

"Lee's hanging out with Seekvaira, which is very surprising." started Naruto, "Hao is at the Phenex's, Kuroka's asleep, and Yoh and Anna are trying to get married again…I hope they make it this time."

"Yup, cause something always stops them from finally tying the knot." laughed Kisame as he continued channel surfing, "No, fucking Los Angeles Lakers don't need to pick up Anthony Davis…just get Bradley Beal or something…."

"Seems today is a lazy day for us then." said Orochimaru, "Not that angry at the fact. We've been working a lot recently…"

"And a chill day is something we need." said Naruto, "I just hope Hao doesn't fry those kids at the Phenex's. He doesn't seem like the person to like children."

"Actually, and this may surprise you, but our Hao may really like children." said Orochimaru, "I caught him sneaking out one day and followed him to the city of Lilith. He volunteers at an orphanage every now and then."

"Tch…..I knew he was a softy." said Kisame, "'Naked and Afraid?' That's a show? Adding that to the recording list…"

"Seems like Hao is doing some personal atonement." said Naruto, "That's good for him. I hope he's having fun with the children."

"I don't see how…" said Orochimaru, "Children are such disgusting creatures. I plan on never having kids…"

"Somehow, snake man, I feel like that isn't true." said Kisame, "You'd probably love em' if things were different…..huh, so that Game of Thrones show is finished with….good riddance…."

Naruto grinned, "Kids huh…..I was once a kid, hehehe!"

"Yes you were, Naruto-sama, and now you're older."

"Fucking dumbass…I can't believe you used to be my rival during the war….and why isn't there anything exciting on the fucking television!"

Before the group could continue their conversation, the sound of someone knocking on the door interrupted them. "Somebody is at the door? That's weird…we never get visitors…" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll handle it." replied Orochimaru, standing up from the couch and headed towards the door.

Opening it, Orochimaru was highly confused at the sight of one Grayfia Lucifage standing in front of him. "Grayfia? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Apologies if I interrupted your day, Orochimaru-sama." she said with a bow, "I've come with an urgent message for your [King], Naruto Beal."

"Interesting…" said the snake man, taking a step back and allowing the wife of the Lucifer Satan inside.

 **Phenex Castle**

Hao, who was sitting on a small table inside of the kitchen, was forced out of his thoughts when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. It was Ravel, who was still a little shaky being around the older Devil, tying to get his attention. "Uh..Mr. Hao…sama…"

"You can just call me Hao, Ravel." he replied.

"Oh..uh..Hao…we finished the eggs." she said.

"Really? Well bring a portion over to me. I'd like to taste both yours and Riser's creation." he said. She nodded and went back to the stove the two siblings were practicing on.

Soon enough, two plates were set in front of him. One plate had eggs that looked deliciously fluffy and quite enjoyable. However, the second plate…

"What the hell is this?" Hao said, staring at the black scar that took up the majority of the plate. Hao's eyes slowly closed in on Riser who flinched and looked away.

"Riser-sama had some troubles while cooking." muttered the chef with a sweat drop, "Apparently, he had the burners on too high and causing the…massacre we see now."

"I'm not eating that." Hao said, pushing Riser's science experiment away, "I assume this plate is Ravel's, no?"

"It is! Ravel-sama did excellent during the training course and picked up the cooking arts with a fiery spirit, just like a professional chef!" shouted the man with a raging passion.

"Oh…" Hao sweat dropped at the chef's love for cooking, "Well, I guess I shall try it out then."

Using a fork, Hao took a bit out of Ravel's eggs. The girl looked on in suspense as Hao chewed on her meal, wanting to know how she did cooking the eggs. Her heart jumped as Hao hummed in thought before gulping the eggs down. "Interesting…"

"H-how were they?" she asked as her heart started to pound against her chest in anticipation.

"Pretty good, I must say." said Hao. Ravel lit up at the compliment, her blue eyes sparkling in delight. "Even Spirit of Fire enjoyed it. It seems you have a niche for cooking, little Phenex, unlike your brother." Riser grumbled but didn't say anything in defense because he knew it was true, "I'm sure with enough practice, you can cook your own delicious meals for everyone to enjoy."

"Thank you!" blinded in her happiness, she hugged Hao's waist, surprising everyone in the kitchen.

Hao smirked, "Well aren't you getting comfortable around me."

Realizing what she was doing, Ravel jumped back and hid behind her older brother, "S-sorry!" she squeaked.

"No problems." said Hao, taking another bit of Ravel's food, "After I finish eating, we'll head to the training grounds for a small spar/training session. Are you two alright with that?" he asked the siblings.

It was Riser's turn to smirk, "Hopefully you'll volunteer yourself to be Riser's training dummy."

"Oh please," Hao waved off, "Before that could ever happen, I'd use you and your peerage members for target practice….just like I did last time…"

The older Phenex growled at Hao, his **KI** slowly leaking out. "Oh? You really want to do thi-

"Stop!" shouted Ravel, interrupting the two, "We don't have to fight anymore! Let's just go outside…"

The two fire users stared at each; Hao's never-ending smirk only irritated Riser further, but he held back his magic. "Fine, but only because my sister said so." he muttered.

"You're sister just saved you from another one-sided fight." laughed Hao. He ignored any retort Riser had and looked to the chef that helped the two Phenex's cook. "Thanks again for helping these two. I'm sure this is their first time having any instruction in the culinary arts. Hopefully the two learned something from this experience.

"uh..y-yes!" said the man, "Cooking is a very dignified artform that takes years of practice! With it, one learns how to be patient with your food, careful with your ingredients and spices, and how to appreciate one's final product once said meal is done! Oh, the joy that floods my heart when I finish a meal and it comes out exactly how I planned it! And the savoring of the meal is the best part! Able to taste and feel the ingr-

"That's so nice, but we must leave." said Hao, sick and tired of listening to the passionate chef, "I'll contact you again whenever we want to do this exercise again. Ravel. Riser. Let's go." he finished, making his way out of the kitchen.

"Bye-bye, Mr. Chef-man!" Ravel said with a wave as she followed the older Devil out of the kitchen. Riser just followed Hao's lead, not even recognizing the chef's presence anymore. _'Just you wait, Hao Asakura…'_ he thought as he glared at Hao's back, _'I will defeat you. Nobody can stop the Phenex!'_

 **Phenex Castle – Training Grounds**

Hao sighed as he sat down on the ground, crossing his legs together. In front of him stood Riser, Ravel, and Riser's peerage members, confused on whey they were there.

"I'm glad you all were able to come here without any complications." started Hao, "Today, I wanted to start training with you all just to see where you're at in terms of skill level."

"So you wish to fight us all at the same time or individually?" asked Karlamine, one of Riser's [Knight]s.

"You will all fight simultaneously together." answered Hao, "But it won't be against me. I'm sure you all remember my partner…"

A horrific shriek filled the area as a massive column of fire built behind Hao. Everyone either took a step back in fear or started to call upon their magic as Hao's deadly partner, Spirit of Fire, appeared behind him. The huge monster swiped its clawed hands down while roaring, creating a strong gust to blow through the training guards and forcing everyone to cover their faces.

"He says hi." Hao smirked at the group's shocked expressions.

"We can't fight that!" shouted Xuelan, pointing at the large Cherufe, "He's too powerful. Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"I sure do, which is why I'll have you all fight Spirit of Fire just to gauge how much you've grown since our last battle together." explained Hao, "My partner won't take you seriously since I know you all are weaker than the both of us, but Spirit of Fire will attack without remorse. If you want to make it out of this training session with minimal injuries, I'd suggestion you attack with the intent to kill."

"While us fighting whatever that it is seems like a great source of entertainment for you, I highly suggest that Ravel-sama not to take part of this." said Yubelluna, Riser's beautiful, purple-haired [Queen]. She was hugging onto Ravel, who was shaking at the sight of Spirit of Fire, memories of the past flooding her mind.

"You indecent swine!" shouted Riser as he summoned his flaming wings, "Look what've done to my sister! She's shaking in fear because of you! You know that she fears your beast!"

Hao smirked only grew at Riser's anger, "It seems like you've got some spunk today…"

With a war cry, Riser rocketed towards the cocky Asakura with a trail of fire behind him, "You made my sister cry yo-" Before he could get close to Hao, Spirit of Fire protected his partner by slamming Riser into the ground with its palm, effectively trapping Riser.

Hao rolled his eyes at Riser, who was trying to free himself from the spirit's clawed hands, "Your anger clouds your judgment, Riser. You won't be able to beat me or Spirit of Fire like that."

"Fuck you!" Riser growled as he tried to free himself, but he could hardly move from the amount of pressure Spirit of Fire was exerting on his body.

Hao ignored the screaming boy and locked eyes with Ravel. The girl jumped in fright and hid behind Yubelluna. Hao sighed at the sight, knowing that he was fully responsible of traumatizing the girl. He ran his hands through his hair as he called out to the young Phenex, "Ravel…come over here…"

"What! Don't listen to him, Ravel!" shouted Riser. Spirit of Fire growled at Riser as he crushed him deeper into the ground, not concerned with hurting him since he had his regenerative Phenex powers.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Ravel." said Hao, "I just want to talk."

"Ravel-sama, you don't have to talk to him if you don't have to." said Yubelluna with the other peerage members agreeing, "We can leave now if you want to."

"She can leave," interrupted Hao, "But you all have a training session. Plus, I'm sure you don't want to leave your [King] in the state he's in." for added affect, Spirit of Fire continually pushed Riser deeper into the ground with a alien chuckle, enjoying the fact that he was causing pain to the boy that annoyed his partner so much.

"You're just a bully!" yelled Mira, Riser's [Pawn], "You probably like the fact that Ravel-sama is scared of you! You're enjoying this shit show!"

"Please shut up before you make me mad."

The tension in the air grew with those words as Hao nonchalantly glanced over the [Pawn]. However, to Mira, a wave of fear coursed throughout her body as Hao's **KI** targeted her specifically. Dropping to the ground, Mira gasped out for air as Hao's **KI** suddenly left as quickly as it came.

"Mira!" Riser's peerage said as they gathered around their fallen ally.

"Damn it…" said Hao, rubbing his hands through his hair, "That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, Hao…"

Spirit of Fire screeched at its partner, laughing at his predicament. To ease the tension somewhat, the spirit released Riser from his imprisonment. Riser quickly flew out of his personal crater and landed next to peerage. "How dare you !" he shouted.

"This isn't working…." muttered Hao, "One of the reasons why I hate children…..well, some of them…"

Looking up to his massive partner, Hao asked it, "Spirit of Fire, do you mind if you retreated back into my mind for a little bit. I'll call for you again when we start the match."

With another inhuman shriek, Spirit of Fire dissipated into fire before returning into Hao's mind. Standing up from the ground, Hao started to walk towards the group, putting them on edge. "Listen, I'm not going to do anything wrong. Apparently you all don't trust me…"

"And why should we?" asked Xuelan, feeling threatened by the approaching Asakura and entered a fighting stance, "You haven't done anything to show that your trustworthy! You just crushed our master and scared Mira half to death!"

"Dear Lilith, I know…" groaned Hao as he stopped in front of the tense group and sat down on the ground again, "Look, I am not the best at this type of thing. I'm here to repent for my sins of the past but I don't know how to do that…" he sighed as he smoothed out his poncho.

The tense silence between two parties was deafening. Riser stood in front of his peerage, ready to attack if Hao moved even the slightest inch. _'I don't trust a word you say…'_ thought Riser with a scowl firmly etched on his face, _'…we're just your little playthings…you don't care about us. I know you don't care about us…'_ The Phenex male was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed Ravel from the corner of his eye slowly walking towards Hao. "Ravel…what are you doing?"

However, Ravel ignored her older brother in favor of continuing her walk until she stopped in front of the older Asakura. "Well, hello there." he said with a chuckle.

Said girl was hesitant in speaking, but after some time, she built up the confidence to speak her thoughts, "What….what sins of the past are you trying to repent for?"

"Hmmm…where to start…." muttered Hao, rubbing his chin in thought, "Well….you can say for a very large portion of my life, I've had issues with….how should I put this…..weaker beings, I guess."

"Weaker beings?" said Riser, "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Basically, life forms that are weak." said Hao with a shrug, "Humans, weak beings from certain factions…most of the members of your peerage for example…yourself…all of those things…"

Ignoring Riser and his peerage's denial at being weak, he continued, "I had a problem judging other life forms by their power. If they were weak, they were insignificant and nothing to me. Stronger beings somewhat had a bit of my respect."

"So what were your 'sins'?" asked Marlon, one of Riser's many [Pawn]s.

"I'd kill weaker beings for no reason." he answered, causing the group to tense up in fear, "I'd unfairly judge one's life based off of their capabilities. That and I hated how certain beings treated one another. Humans, for example, have a terrible history of hating each other for ignorant reasons, judging and killing one another for idiotic reasons. Wars, genocides, slavery…human history is disgusting to me…back then, it disgusted me so much to the point that I thought humans didn't deserve to live anymore…..so I killed many of them…."

"Oh…." said Marlon, taking a few steps back away from Hao.

He laughed at the girl's obvious fear of him, "Don't worry, I don't care about power as much as I did before. Yes, I still have a hatred for humans…..some humans, at least. Not all of them are bad, or other weak beings in other factions. But yeah, that's me I guess…" he said with a simple shrug.

"What made you change your opinion on other people?" asked Ravel.

"My master, actually." Hao said with a laugh, "I'm sure you all have heard of Naruto Bael? He's the one to convince me to give people a chance at that everyone wasn't bad. It took a while for his lesson to get through my head, but his teachings really have affect. It's one of the reasons why I'm here trying to help you and your brother."

"So you think sparing with your partner will help?" asked Ravel.

"Well, I was going to have them fight Spirit of Fire." Hao said while pointing to Riser's peerage, "He's been getting frisky these last couple of days and needs a work out."

Ravel tilted her head cutely, "And what about me?" she asked.

"Well…somebody told me that you're now scared of your own fire." Ravel visibly flinched at his words, only confirming his doubts, "Was I the reason for this fear?"

"Uh…..kinda…" she muttered.

"I see….well, one of goals is to cure this fear of yours. I want you to hold something for me. Can you hold out your hands for me?"

With a small bit of hesitation and confusion, Ravel nodded and held out her hands. Hovering over hers, Hao snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared, surprising everyone. Ravel shook at the sight but was calmed when Hao placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Don't be afraid of it. While it can be used for destruction, fire is also life. Treat it carefully and you'll have nothing to fear."

Ravel nodded as she held the floating flame. Her shaking slowly ceased as she felt the warm heat of the flame. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah…this is nice." she replied.

"Good….now for the rest of you." the crowd of Devils watching the two tensed as Hao's menacing grin returned as he turned to them, "Don't think I forgot about our little training session."

The Spirit of Fire returned in full force as he shrieked out, causing his soon to be opponents to take a few steps back away from the massive being. The Cherufe radiated with heat and its skin glowed a dangerous red as he stared down at its prey with its light green eyes with hunger.

"No, you can't eat them." said Hao, hearing the spirit's thoughts through their mental connection, "Just rough them up a bit….Ravel, would you like to take a seat next to me and watch the little children run around like fools?"

Ravel giggled at Hao's joke before taking a seat, still holding the flame he gave her. With a sickening loud roar, the Spirit of Fire engaged the awaiting group lead by Riser in an eruption of fire and lava.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"Fuck!" shouted Naruto, a veil of red magic surrounding him as he slammed his foot into the wooden floor, denting it in the process, "That damn Sirzechs!"

The source of Naruto rage was the information he was just told by Grayfia. The wife of the Lucifer Satan informed him that he was called to a secret meeting that would be happening in the next two hours to discuss certain topics. When he asked what, the gray-haired beauty said she couldn't release such information. Before leaving she told him that he could bring two people from his peerage to the meeting and demanded/threatened him not to tell anyone about the meeting.

"That woman was bullshitting…" Naruto said through gritted teeth in a rare display of rage, "She knows exactly what the hell what this meeting is about!"

"Jesus fucking Christ, block head." said Kisame, not caring for Naruto's outburst, "Calm the hell do-OW!...fucking angels…"

"Naruto-sama, you should calm down so we can think clearly about our next plan of action." said Orochimaru, "We have less than two hours to prepare, so it's best we use this time to our advantage."

"Fine." muttered Naruto childishly, recalling his deadly magic, "Okay, let's break this shit down…" he said as he dropped into the couch.

"Now, the basic premise of this meeting is most likely going to be about you coming back to the Underworld, those seals on the Satans…basically everything dealing with you, Naruto-sama." started the snake man as he paced back and forth, "Now, as your advisor, I shall definitely come with you to this meeting to hopefully control the situation to the best of my abilities. Now, taking everything into consideration, I suggest that out best course of action is to-"

"Looks like I'm going to have to come clean with everything." Naruto said casually, interrupting Orochimaru and confusing him at the same time.

"Come…clean?" he said, "Why would you do that?"

"There isn't any point lying to all four Satans, who I believe will be at this meeting," said Naruto, "Plus, Sirzechs already knows mostly everything about me, Ajuka and Falbium are in dark about everything, and Serafall is probably still guilt ridden about our little fiasco of a relationship. Plus, this meeting will probably be filled with royals only Sirzechs trust. He ordered that nobody talk about the last meeting with the council when Ajuka and Falbium's memory seals were revealed, so he is probably only invited people he trusted to come to this meeting today."

"So…we tell them everything?" asked Orochimaru.

"Well…maybe not the plan on dethroning the Great King and becoming the new ruler of the Underworld…..or maybe I should…" Naruto thought out loud as he rubbed his chin.

"That is a tough decision to make…" said Orochimaru, "But we could use this meeting to our advantage."

"And how do you plan on doing that…." Kisame mocked while rolling his eyes.

"We could use this meeting to convince others to support your goal of becoming Great King." said Orochimaru, ignoring his peerage colleague, "Just like how we did with the Agares Clan, we could convince other clans that they can benefit from you becoming Great King."

"True, but then we'd have to reveal everything at the meeting and we don't even know whose invited." stated Naruto, "One thing for sure, Sirzechs is starting to feel pressured about this. I know he lost some trust when I revealed that he was the one that secretly pardoned Kuroka of her false crimes."

"And we may be able to use that against him, just in case." said Orochimaru, "If we stay on the offensive, it may be possible to create even more distrust the council has with Sirzechs and form relations with some important Devils."

"Everything is all about making some damn friends…" muttered Kisame, "Why can't we make some freaking enemies to fight? I'm starting to get bored from all this waiting around."

"We could find our next opponent there as well." said Naruto with a shrug, "We don't have to arrange the Rating Game right away, but we could take note of anyone worth fighting against."

"Doesn't seem like a bad plan…" mumbled Orochimaru, "Kukuku…This is a very interesting predicament. Who would have thought our red-headed Satan friend would pull a bold move like this?"

"This short-notice secret meeting is unlike Sirzechs…however, Sirzechs is smarter than he gives off...him and his other little Satan friends." said Naruto, "But we'll outsmart them! Just like how we usually do! Hehehe!"

"Well then, since we know the plan, we'll just wait until Grayfia comes back to pick us up." said Orochimaru, reclaiming his spot on the couch.

"I promise you, Orochi." said Naruto with a grin as an orange orb of magic hovered over his hand, "We'll outsmart them…We've just gotta _think_ a little harder. Hehehe!"

"Good, glad you two finished that up." said Kisame, "Talking while I was trying to find a tv show to watch….stupid secret meetings…." Kisame's eyes perked up when a movie title on the wide-screen television stuck out, "How High 2? Let's see what that's about…."

 **Timeskip…**

 **Lilith – Lucifer Mansion**

"And this is where the meeting will be held." said one Grayfia Lucifage, stopping in front of a pair of huge double doors, "This meeting isn't like the one-on-one conversations you would have with Lucifer-sama, Orochimaru-sama. There are clan leaders, representatives from clans, and other Devils of important stature within the meeting room behind me. I expect you two be cooperative and not to cause any disruption throughout the duration of this meeting. Am I understood?" she asked sternly, but her eyes were mainly set on the smiling Naruto Bael.

"Don't worry, Grayfia." said the Beal, "Orochimaru and I have everything under control! Hehe!"

' _We're literally entering this meeting without a solid plan…'_ thought Orochimaru, his neutral face not reflecting his inner thoughts.

With a nod, Grayfia turned and opened the doors for the duo to enter before her. Entering said room, both Naruto and Orochimaru stood in at the front of a large meeting room, the same room Sirzechs had the last meeting before Naruto's Rating Game against Rai Agares a few months prior. At the middle portion of U-shaped table were four risen platforms available for the Four Great Satans: Falbium Asmodeus, Ajuka Beelzebub, Serafall Leviathan, Sirzechs Lucifer respectively. Along the sides of the table were other Devils; some Naruto and Orochimaru recognized while others were new faces.

"Glad you came even under such short notice, Naruto." said Sirzechs, "Sorry about the timing, but this meeting had to be organized swiftly and discreetly."

"Really?" said Naruto as Grayfia led him and Orochimaru to the only two available seats in the room: right at the front and center of attention. "Well, while I'm glad to see everyone here is looking well and alive, I'm sure this meeting must have some serious connotations for it be called under such short notice.

In his mind, a chibi Naruto grinned excitedly, ' _Connotations! That's a big word! Look at me, taking control and sounding like an adult!'_

' _Master, I'd appreciate it if you didn't use this momentary link we have for childish reasons.'_ Orochimaru said, intruding on chibi Naruto's celebratory dance, _'Remember, I can here almost everything you think….which is why I was highly against this invasion of privacy…'_

' _Ehh, it was a good idea. I promise you.'_ replied Naruto mentally, _'Just try not to listen to all of my random, uncontrollable thoughts and we'll be good!'_

"Naruto?" the [King] and [Pawn] were forced out of their mental conversation when they heard the deep voice of Falbium Asmodeus echoing throughout the large room, "Did you hear me?"

"Oh…whoops!" laughed Naruto, "Sorry about that. I was thinking about what I was going to eat after this meeting!"

' _Nice recovery…'_ Orochimaru sighed as there was a collective laughter throughout the hall.

"Always the comical one." laughed Ajuka, "It's nice that you're here during such tense times."

"Not to interrupt, Beelzebub-sama, but why are we here?" asked Orochimaru.

"Sadly, Orochimaru, certain….events of the past have been brought to light recently." started Sirzechs, "Because of this, I couldn't trust certain people to attend this meeting with the lingering threat of sensitive information leaking out to the public. I'm not sure how the Devils of the Underworld would react to such information; therefore, I have regulated this meeting to those I trust whole-heartedly with intentions of improving the Underworld to greater heights."

Ajuka picked up where his red-headed friend left off, "This meeting was called today to discuss this 'sensitive information' to fully comprehend it and then act accordingly upon the conclusion of this meeting…the reason why you're here is for the simple reason that certain events and this information we speak of is all connected to you in some way."

' _Well, that answers the first question to what this meeting is about.'_ thought Orochimaru, using their shared link to communicate.

"Really?" said Naruto, using his acting skills to feign confusion, "How so?"

"You don't have to do that anymore, Naruto…"

All eyes moved to Sirzechs, who had his hands laced together in a business-like fashion as he narrowed his sights on the smiling Bael, "I told them about what happened…what I witnessed before your Rating Game with Rai Agares. How you spoke to me with that orange orb of yours... knowingly revealing that I pardoned your [Queen], Kuroka the Nekomata, of her past crimes while we were watching you."

The silence in the room was deafening. All eyes were either on the red head Lucifer of the Underworld or the blonde-haired Bael that was the main reason for the meeting. Naruto's grin and eye-smile slowly disappeared as they were replaced with a blank stare centered at his long-time friend.

' _Change of plans, Orochimaru.'_ the snake man heard through the mental link he shared with his master.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, "Do they know of the little 'favor' I did for you?" he asked.

"No, not yet." Sirzechs replied, confusing a few people as to what the duo was referring to. Noticing the confusion, Sirzechs explained, "We'll talk more about it later, along with everything else today. All secrets will be revealed today."

Before the topic at hand could continue, the sound of someone knocking on the door drew everyone's attention. As the acting maid in the room and nearest to the door, Grayfia opened the door of the large hall. "Lord Zekram, we're glad that you accepted our invite."

"Lord Zekram!" gasped many Devil within the room at the entrance of the First Bael. Everyone, including the Four Satans, stood at attention as the old Devil entered the room with a wave.

"Hello, everyone! Sorry about my tardiness! I had some important business to handle and took a little while longer to finish than expected!" he said while scratching the back of his head with a laugh.

"It's fine, Bael-sama." said Sirzechs, "We've prepared a special seat for you." Behind the meeting table grew a wide magic circle. From it grew a throne reserved for the former Great King of the underworld.

"Ho! Why thank you." said the man as he made his way to his seat, not even noticing Naruto or Orochimaru.

' _This changes things…'_ thought Orochimaru.

' _Yeah, big time…'_ replied Naruto, _'Let's not mention my plan to overthrow the Bael. While retired, Zekrom still has more influence than even the Four Great Satans, and I'm almost certain that he still communicates with the current Great King and the Bael Council. If he were to hear any plot against them, he'll surely inform them beforehand.'_

"So have I missed any important discussion?" asked Zekram as he sat on his throne.

"No sir. Everything we've mentioned I have told you before at our private sit-down." said Sirzechs.

"Ah, alright then." he said, getting comfortable in his seat. "Naruto Bael…" he said, scratching his bearded chin at the sight of the blonde Bael, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

"We ran into each other at Lilith Coliseum during the Devil Exams and talked briefly." said Naruto with a wave, "Nice to see ya again!"

"You shouldn't be so informal around Bael-sama." said one of the nearby Devils in the room with a small glare, "Bael-sama has done too much for the Underworld to be addressed as such."

"No, no, it's quite alright. Plus, this man interest me." said Zekram, "I was thoroughly shocked while listening to Sirzechs when he told me about you. I won't say much during this meeting, but I will be listening in-depth as this meeting progress."

"Yes sir. You're opinion will always be respected." Sirzechs said with a bow before sitting down, the rest of the room mimicking his actions….

…All except for a confused Naruto Beal and a neutral Orochimaru. _'Wait, we were supposed to bow?'_ he thought to his servant.

' _I believe we were out of respect for the First Bael…'_ replied the snake man.

"Now, I believe it's time to officially start this meeting." said the red Lucifer, re-lacing his fingers together, "Before starting, I want to let you know that you aren't in any trouble, Naruto. You are the one that has suffered the most and what we learn today can only help you in the long run."

"Sure." the blonde Bael said casually, "So where do we start off? I'm sure you all have many questions that I may have the answer to."

A red head female Devil raised her hand, "I have a question, Naruto-san. My name is Natalia Berith, representative of Berith Clan for today's meeting. The one thing that everyone has questioned without an answer is where were you hiding for so long? For over 500 years, it's like you disappeared from existence…"

Naruto smirked as he eyes moved to one Serafall Leviathan, who remained quiet since his arrival. Her heart jumped when their eyes met. Warm blue eyes locked onto a fearful pink. However scared she was a the secrets of her former clan coming to light, nothing compared to the feeling regret and guilt of not trying more to stop what was bound to happen to her former lover so long ago. She inhaled before exhaling deeply, "Tell them everything…" she whispered, but at a loud enough volume for everyone in the room to decipher.

"Hmph…Where to begin…" muttered Naruto, rubbing his chin in thought, "I believe the best place to start is when we, the Anti Satan Faction, were celebrating our victory of the civil war against the Old Satan Faction. After my many conquests serving under Serafall Leviathan, formerly Serafall Sitri, I was invited to this party regardless of my social ranking as a Low-Class Devil. Serafall and I were romantically involved with each other at this time too, causing some murmurs as to why a Devil of Serafall's stature would lower herself to mingle with the likes of little ole' me."

"I do remember…hearing some rumors about that…" said an elder Devil who was also present at the last meeting Sirzechs called when he suggested the idea of the Devil Exams, "While normal that some High-Class Devils may have Low-Class Devils as concubines, it was rare for a High-Class Devil, an heiress especially, to be romantically involved with one."

"Correct," said Naruto, "and I suspected that the Sitri Clan didn't agree with their heiress' selection in men. My suspicions were only certified when Sigil and Amur Sitri, also the Lord and Lady of the Sitri Clan, literally threatened me to call it quits with their daughter…." locking eyes with the Leviathan, he continued, "…but I was too stubborn to do so because I loved her…"

She deeply exhaled again as her past mistakes continued to flash in her mind, _'I'm not going to cry…but it's hard hearing this all over again…'_ She closed her eyes as she felt a multitude of stares centered directly at her.

"Is that true, Leviathan-sama?" asked the elder Devil.

"...It's true…" she muttered after a few seconds of suspenseful silence, "It was a confusing time for me, back then…with the stress of the war going on, the only thing that made me feel at peace was Naruto." she admitted, "I tried to explain what I saw in Naruto, but they only saw his ranking as a Low-Class Devil."

Nearby, another Devil snorted, "That's surprising coming from the Sitri Clan. They were one of the more 'accepting' of Low-Class Devils compared to the other original 72 Pillars. I guess all their peace-talk wasn't as truthful as they meant."

"It was a troubling time for us…." muttered a dark-haired, middle aged man. He was Tsukirimaru Sitri, representative of the Sitiri Clan and the only member of is clan allowed to join the meeting. Ever since the Sitri Clan was accused of using memory-altering seals on two Satans, the clan had lost respect from other clans that knew of their dirty secret. "I remember specifically of Lord Sitri stressing about what he was going to do about his daughter and Naruto-san. While he cared for his daughter's happiness, the Sitri Clan Council was pressuring him to end their relationship. Leviathan-sama being with Naruto-san was unnatural and many other clans took notice to that. In an effort to keep the Sitri Clan from looking weak, we had to separate the two." he admitted.

"Which lead to the ultimatum my father and mother gave me…with the support from Lord and Lady Bael…" said Serafall with a voice filled with sadness, "…since we were in the middle of war, my mother didn't want me to be ridden with heartbreak if I were to call it off with Naruto…so I was allowed to continue my relationship with him until we won the war…"

"But that didn't happen…" muttered Tsukirimaru with a sigh.

"No…no it didn't." interrupted Naruto, "While I was threatened to break up with her, again, I was stubborn. Leviathan-sama was with me through my darker times in my life. I felt like I owed it to her to stick it out and see what may happen…"

"It wasn't long after our victory against the Old Satan Faction that you disappeared." said the Asmodeus Satan, "Maybe a few months after it, if my memory is correct."

"Two months, to be precise." answered Naruto, "After what was our last date, I was attacked by a group of Devils at my home…using my sensory skills, I could tell that there were Devils hailing from Bael, Gremory, and the Sitri Clan awaiting me."

"Gremory!?" shouted a red-headed man. He was the representative from the Gremory Clan, "We didn't have anything to do with…whatever the hell happened!"

"Calm yourself, councilman." said Sirzechs softly, but it was still a threat that silenced him.

"You yourself probably were not involved, representative of Gremory," said Naruto, "But your leader, Lord Gremory, supported my…disappearance….Apparently, Zeoticus Gremory was trying to improve his image with Lord Beal, since he is married to his sister. To solidify his weak alliance with the Beal Clan, Lord Gremory sided with the Beal and Sitri in my sealing."

"Sealing?" said a few Devils as a light murmur filled the hall. That would explain why Naruto had disappeared for so long. This information, while it answered many questions, was also shocking to know that three Devil Clans would go to such lengths just to end a taboo relationship.

"Yes, I was sealed for over 500 years." said Naruto once the murmurs died out, "I've gotta tell ya', being in a seal for that long really doesn't do good for you back…yikes…still got some pain 'till this day." he joked.

' _You were doing so well, master...'_ sighed Orochimaru through their shared mental link.

"Wait, something about this doesn't make sense…" said Lord Shax, one of the few clan leaders in attendance, "Why would they seal you? I understand why Lord Gremory did so, but the other two? To me, sealing a fellow Devil, even more a war hero, seems too drastic just to end a relationship…"

Naruto shrugged, "I honestly don't understand myself. At first, I thought my clan decided to get rid of me so that they may offer one of their youths to the Sitri to be-wed Leviathan-sama, but I'm not sure if that's the true reason…"

Almost all of the eyes in the room slowly moved to Zekram Bael, who was sitting is throne with his hand rubbing through his chin. While everyone wanted to ask the former Great King why his clan would agree to such a punishment, they didn't want to come off as disrespectful to the powerful man.

However, it was Ajuka who gathered the courage to ask, "Zekram-sama, do you know anything about this?"

The First Bael and former Great King of the Underworld hummed, seemingly in a deep, internal conversation with himself. "No…I never knew about this…punishment of yours, Naruto-san." said Zekram after some time to himself. "However, I very disappointed with my clan members in making such a decision. Turning against a member of the clan, no matter how low he or she may be in society's eyes, isn't moral. It seems like I'll have to investigate this matter myself in order to find out more."

Sirzechs nodded, "I hope you find out more on the reasons of Naruto's cruel and unfair punishment."

Ajuka was next to speak, "So where does the memory seals that were once on Falbium, Sirzechs and I come into play?" he asked.

"Wait…" said one of the councilmen, "Lucifer-sama had a memory seal placed on him as well?"

"Yes," he said, shocking a few Devils, "With help from Orochimaru, Naruto's [Pawn], I was freed from the Sitri's seal before Falbium and Ajuka's seal broke at the sight of Naruto. I didn't tell anyone because I wanted to use the seals as evidence that the Sitri Clan had committed treason."

"And how did Orochimaru-san free you from this seal?" asked the same councilman.

"I believe I am best suited to answer this…" said Orochimaru, garnering everyone's attention, "My master, while inside of his seal, had developed a counterseal to combat and destroy Lucifer-sama's memory seal. Inscribed on a message I was directed to give Lucifer-sama, the instant he touched it, the seal was broken and Lucifer-sama remembered everything about Naruto-sama."

"Which explains why we didn't notice Naruto's disappearance…" muttered Falbium, "All that time, it was as if Naruto was a distant memory…"

"The seal didn't fully suppress all memories of Naruto-sama," explained Orochimaru, "it suppressed the importance of Naruto-sama of you three Satans affected by the seals, which is why you weren't really affected by Naruto-sama's disappearance. Naruto-sama wasn't a priority to you anymore. Even if you were to recognize his name or saw his face in an old picture, you're memories of him were faded and distant, causing you to shrug it off like your lack of memory wasn't anything significant…"

Ajuka's eyes narrowed as he looked over to Serafall, "And what about you, Serafall?" he said accusingly, causing her to flinch somewhat, "You're telling me you knew all about his sealing and didn't tell me?!"

"N-no! It isn't like that!" she defended, "After losing contact with Naruto, I pleaded with my father and mother to tell me what happened to him. The only thing they would tell me was that they 'handled the situation'! I never knew what happened to him and I desperately tried to look for him…but I could never find him…" she said as a wave of guilt coursed through her body, "…..I thought they killed him…"

"You thought?" snarled Ajuka in a rare display of rage, "None of this would have happened if you would have told someone. The moment you found out they were plotting against the two of you, you should have instantly reported to Falbium, Sirzechs or myself so we could offer some form of assistance!"

' _He's not lying…'_ said Orochimaru, _'If she would have told somebody about your predicament, you may have been freed of your seal far earlier.'_

' _True, but it might be better this way….'_ Naruto thought with a snicker as he continued to listen to the argument between the Satan Blue and Satan Pink.

"-the pressure my father exerted on me as clan heiress was something I had to deal with from birth, Ajuka! You may not understand what I mean since you never were the heir to the Astaroth Clan before being crowned as Beelezub!" Serafall countered.

"That may be true, but I also know how to judge any given situation and act logically when given enough time, something you failed to do." he growled, "Because of your selfish actions in hoping things would get better, one of our best friends was locked in a seal for most of his life!"

"It was a treasure box!" Naruto shouting, interrupting the two arguing Devils, "Well…yea, the box acted as the seal, but I was stuck in a smalllllllll treasure box….very small…and it was very cramped inside there…..hehehe!?" he finished with an awkward laugh, causing everyone to sweat drop.

"Yes…thank you, Naruto, for your….detailed description of your seal." Sirzechs said with a cough, "Nevertheless, shouting at each other won't solve anything. Serafall messed up and she admits it, Ajuka. Stop this unnecessary bickering so we can continue the meeting in an orderly fashion."

Ajuka glared at Serafall one last time before sitting back in his seat in silence. Serafall sighed as rubbed a hand through her long hair. She never liked arguing with anyone, especially her close friends. Ever since Falbium and Ajuka's memory seal was exposed, Ajuka gave her the cold-shoulder, not trusting the former Sitri in the slightest. While he had every right in distrusting her, she wished he'd allow her to just talk things out calmly.

"While I don't want to start another ruckus," said the Uvall Clan representative, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, "I really don't understand why he is still." he said while pointing to Tsukirimaru Sitri, the Sitri Clan councilman, "It is clear to all of us that the Sitri Clan has commented a treasonous act by manipulating three Satans with memory seals. They have lost all of my trust knowing that they would go to such lengths in hiding the hand they used to throw stones with."

"No! I will not allow you to blame my clan for this!" shouted Tsukirimaru, slamming his fist down on the table, "This decision was made by a select few of my clan. Not all of us were involved! During the time of Naruto-san's sealing, I was making my way up the ranks of the House of Sitri. This has nothing to do with me or my colleagues!"

"Say what you want, but the actions of the head represent the entire clan." Natalia Berith calmly said with her arms crossed, "Your leader committed an atrocious crime and must be punished for it."

Tsukirimaru tried to come up with a rebuttal, but couldn't as he succumbed to the pressure of the entire council. "Fine." he muttered while holding back his true anger in order to keep a professional appearance.

"Well then," coughed Lord Glasya-Labolas, one of the few Lords attending the meeting, "I guess we should continue questioning Bael-san about his emergence back to the Underworld, no?"

"If that's what you all want." shrugged said blonde Bael, "What's the next question?"

"I'd assume it would be how you freed yourself from your imprisonment." suggested an elder Devil, one of the original members of Sirzechs' council.

"Whelp….that would be the gathering the necessary blood, right?" Naruto said, looking to his [Pawn] for confirmation.

"Gathering the necessary blood?" repeated Lord Glasya-Labolas in confusion, "Were you using it for a ritual, perhaps?" he asked.

"Yes…In order to free my master from his prison, the necessary requirements had to be met." said Orochimaru with his raspy voice, "We had to gather the blood of Devil clans involved with the sealing in order to break the seal."

"Wait, we skipped something important." said Falbium, cutting the snake man off, "First of all, how do you even have a peerage, Naruto-san? I clearly remember that you were offered a promotion to become a High-Class Devil numerous amounts of times, yet denied them all because you wanted to stay as a Low-Class Devil."

"That's true, but after I was threatened by Lord and Lady Sitri…" Naruto glanced over at Serafall again with a dead stare, causing her to instantly look down at floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the room, "…I decided that I needed to become a High-Class Devil as quick as possible just as a form of protection. People wouldn't care as much if something happened to a low-class war hero compared to a high-class war hero. After that confrontation, I quickly found Ajuka and asked him if he could contact the necessary people for my promotion along with arranging a set of Evil Pieces for me."

"I remember that…" muttered Ajuka, "It was at the party the Phenex Clan hosted for our victory against the Old Satan Faction." he looked down at the smiling blonde in awe, "You really knew what you were doing, Naruto…"

"Kinda!" he said with a wide grin, "Even though I was still trapped in a seal in the end, at least I've got a peerage to call my own! Right, Orochimaru?" he said while nudging his [Pawn]'s side. ' _Just follow along, buddy.'_

"…..sure…"muttered a noticeable uncomfortable snake man as he tried to force a smile to the council.

"Hehe! Anyway!" said Naruto, "To make a long story short, the seal I was trapped in was weaker than intended since, during my struggle to stop the sealing process, killed a few of my transgressors. Because of this slightly weaker seal, I was able to create a peerage over the years using this!" Opening his palm, Naruto crafted one of his orange orbs, the same orbs he'd use to communicate with his peerage while trapped in his seal.

"What type of magic spell is that…." muttered a councilman in shock of the advanced spell.

"Isn't that the same orb that would replace the [King] during your peerage's Rating Games before your appearance?" asked Falbium.

"Correct. While my peerage fought against Riser Phenex and Sairaorg Beal in a Rating Game, I was still sealed during this time, so I used my astral projection spell I developed as a form of my own representation in the game."

"That isn't a normal spell…" said another member of the council, this time a woman, "It can only be classified as an enhanced audio-visual communication spell."

"You could say that," Naruto said with a shrug as he recalled his spell, "but it can do even more…." _'Like link with my peerages members so we can talk with our minds!'_

' _Please remain from shouting, Naruto-sama. Your conscious' voice is surprisingly loud.' w_ inced Orochimaru.

"Back to the blood requirements…" said the representative of the Balam Clan, "Based off what you said earlier about needing the blood from the Devil Clans involved with the sealing, I assume you and your peerage required the blood from a Bael, Gremory, and Sitri."

"And how did you come to acquiring the necessary components?" asked Ajuka.

"Rating Games and side deals…." said Naruto with a shit-eating grin that would have made Hao proud.

Ajuka raised an eyebrow at Naruto's words, "So…you wanted blood for your victory in a Rating Game? I understand how that may have worked with Sairaorg since your peerage defeated him but not with your Rating Game against Riser Phenex…."

"I believe this is where our great and powerful Lucifer-sama explains the details to this part of the story of Naruto Bael." said Naruto with a giggle.

Sirzechs gulped as he then became the center of attention in the room. Gathering himself, the Satan Red began his involvement in Naruto's resurrection, "As many of you know, my little sister, Rias Gremory, was in an arranged marriage with Riser Phenex. However, she didn't want to be in this marriage, wanting to marry for love and not just political gain. Because I am a Satan now and not a Gremory, I couldn't directly involve myself with my sister's situation because accusations of me showing favoritism to my former clan would surely arise. When I believed that there was no way for me to free my sister, Orochimaru approached me with an idea that would be my only hope…"

"Have someone else fight for you…." muttered the representative of the Barbatos Clan, one of the higher ranking Devil Clans, "You hired Naruto-san's peerage to combat against Riser Phenex, didn't you."

"No…I didn't hire them…it was more like a trade…" said the redheaded man with a stress-filled sigh, "The plan was that Hao Asakura, Naruto's [Bishop], to fight for the hand of my sister. After defeating him, Hao would denounce anything to do with Rias, freeing her from any unwanted marriage. For their efforts, I gave Orochimaru a pint of my own blood and pardoned Kuroka the Nekomata, Naruto's [Queen], for her past crimes of killing her previous [King], Hun Naberius of the Neberius Clan."

"Tampering is the name of the actions you've described." said an elder Devil, "While this form of tampering is barely legal, this is not a good look, Lucifer-sama. If this information were to become public, I'm not sure how the other clans would feel about you meddling with something that isn't any of your business."

"Dear Lilith, Sirzechs…" said Ajuka with a groan, "This is just like Serafall's situation! If you would have just told someone and not kept any secrets then we may have found a better solution! I thought we were best friends! I would have come to you if something like this happened to me!"

"I know, Ajuka…" whispered Sirzechs, "While what I did wasn't illegal, I knew it would looked down upon if others knew. I apologize to you and everyone here." he said with a bow.

Naruto and Orochimaru watched in fascination as the members of the council also agreed with Ajuka, basically criticizing Sirzechs on how he handled the situation. _'This…is going better than expect…'_ thought Orochimaru.

' _I told you, Orochi…we're getting out of this on the winning side…'_ Naruto replied mentally as he held back a devilish grin.

"This story keeps getting crazier and crazier as it continues…" mumbled Lord Shax with a shake of his head. "I'm sure this more for you two tell us, Naruto-san, so please continue telling us your story."

"Too be honest, there isn't that much left." started Naruto, "While Orochimaru made a deal with Lucifer-sama, my [Bishop] made a deal with Rias Gremory. If he were to defeat Riser Phenex in a Rating Game and nullify their arranged marriage, Rias, along with her best friend Sona Sitri, would surrender a pint of their blood for unspoken reasons. With the blood of Rias Gremory, Sona Sitri, Sirzechs Lucifer, and Sairaorg Beal," _'and that other lady that Kuroka and I stole from, but I won't mention that,'_ "my peerage had all the necessary tools to free me from my prison. They found my seal in the cave of Tannin, the Ultimate-Class Reincarnated Devil/Dragon located in the Dragon Mountains in the Gremory Territory, and conducted the ritual to free me."

"So why did it take so long for you to come forward?" asked Falbium, "If you were revived right after your peerage's victory against Riser Phenex, why wait until your Rating Game against Rai Agares to reveal yourself to the Underworld?"

"Hehe! Call it a fashionable entrance!" he said with a beaming smile, causing the multitude of Devils to either laugh or sweat drop at the giggling Beal.

"This is utterly insane how all of this was going on right under our noses." said a councilwoman, "A forgotten war hero revived from a severe and unnecessary punishment. There must be some consequences delivered for that."

"Absolutely." said Falbium, surprisingly still awake after such a long discussion, "This type of ordeal must not go unpunished."

"I'd like to say that the Gremory and Bael Clan should not be included with these punishments."

Everyone in the room, including Zekram Bael, who was about to defend his clan's name, all looked at Naruto Bael with wide eyes. Said Bael was eye-smiling as if he didn't have a care in the world; his small grin creeping a few of the meeting's attendants out.

"Excuse me?" said Ajuka in astonishment, "You don't want the Gremory or the Bael to be punished for their actions?"

"Exactly." said Naruto, still eye-smiling, "The Gremory had nothing to do with the illegal placing of memory seals on Falbium Asmodeus, Sirzechs Lucifer, or Ajuka Beelzebub. The clan was also following the orders from the Bael Clan with their involvement with my seal- the Sitri as well. The Bael Clan shouldn't see any repercussions for my sealing since I am a member of the clan. Whatever the Bael Council decided to do, for any given reason, they were in their power to do away with me…let it be sealing, killing, banishing me, etc. The only crime committed is the Sitri Clan's manipulating three Satans with their memory seals." he finished with a cross of his arms.

Again, the large meeting room was deathly quiet. One could have heard a pin drop with a silent it was. Everyone was highly shocked and confused at Naruto defending two of the three houses involved with his 500 years of imprisonment. If it were anyone else, they would have surely wanted everyone involved to die a thousand deaths as a form of payment for their sins.

The redheaded Gremory representative was the one to break the cold silence, "Why…..why are you helping my clan when they have done wrong by you? I don't…..I don't understand what you could benefit from defending us?"

Naruto giggled, "Aw, it's nothing! Plus, I like little Rias too much to be at war with her clan! Tell Zeoticus and Venalana I'll see them soon for me, will ya?!"

' _Naruto-sama, you are truly a genius….'_ Orochimaru couldn't help but grin as he burned the image of all the astonished faces of so many High-Class Devils.

Naruto smirked as he glanced at his only [Pawn], _'These ideas of mine just come to me. See, I told you that if we played this by ear we'll be good. Hehehehe! I'm such a Devil…'_

"Uh…well...well than…I thank you, Naruto-sama." said the Gremory representative as he stood from his seat and bowed to the blonde Bael, adding onto the immense shock everyone was going through. They all noticed the added '-sama' to Naruto's name and wasn't expecting the elder Gremory to show such respect for Naruto.

"Well then…let's discuss a proper punishment for the Sitri Cla-

"Actually," Naruto interrupted the Asmodeus Satan, again, shocking much of the congregation, "Can I be the one to decide the punishment for the Sitri Clan?"

Ajuka froze as he couldn't find the words to say. He looked over at his fellow Satans just to see that they were as confused as him, along with the members of the council. "Uhh…why…why would you suggest something like that, Naruto?"

"Well, to be honest, that memory seal didn't really affect you as much as you may believe." started Naruto, "The only thing you forgot was me, Naruto, one of your friends from back in the day. The seal didn't hold you back from restoring the Underworld during these past 500 years nor did it effect you physically. If you ask me, I'm the one that was affected the most by those treacherous seals...plus, you did say earlier that it may have been possible to free me earlier than if you all knew about my disappearance, no? Since I was the only person truly affected by your suppressed memories, I believe it's appropriate that I decide what's to come for the Sitri Clan." said Naruto, finishing with a gasp of air, "…sigh…shit that was a lot of words…" he muttered.

"…."

"…."

"….."

"….."

Again, for the third time, Naruto left everyone in the meeting room (except for the smirking Orochimaru) dumbfounded. Not only did Naruto make sense, but it sounded like a favorable decision to make since Naruto was the only person that was personally affected by the three Satan's lack of memory of the Bael.

Glancing between his colleagues, Sirzechs voiced his thoughts, "Well…while I didn't see this being an actual solution to all of this…I guess it is favorable for the one that suffered the most from the clan's misdeeds to decide their punishment." said the redheaded Satan, "However, it can't be anything to serious that could potentially overthrow or seriously hinder the Sitri Clan. Understood?"

"Oh, absolutely!" said Naruto with a clap, the sudden noise making a few Devils jump somewhat, "I wouldn't sabotage the Sitri! My little friend, Sona, is a member of Sitri. Anything too serious would affect her as well." Glancing over to Tsukirimaru, Naruto continued, "Would it be possible for you to arrange a meeting with Lord and Lady Sitri? I'd like to talk to the two of them personally about what I want."

"Uh..Uh, y-yes! Yes, I can arrange a meeting for you with the Lord and Lady Sitri." shakily said the man.

"Great….and can Leviathan-sama attend as well?"

Serafall, who had entered another spell of silence ever since her argument with Ajuka ceased, panicked as her eyes locked with Naruto's for the second time today. _'A meeting?! I couldn't do that! I don't know if I can survive ten minutes talking to him personally! Especially when the meeting is about how he'll punish mommy and daddy! Why is this happening!?'_

"Yes, Serafall will attend this meeting." Sirzechs stopped any complaint the magical girl had with a solid glare, making her heart skip a beat, "I'm sure she'll be more than happy to help with the process of figuring out an appropriate remission for her former clan."

"Great, great, great!" Naruto said with a smile, ignoring Serafall's noticeable displeasure with an eye smile, "Whelp! I'd say this meeting was a success! Now that you all truly know everything about me, I hope we can become friends!"

"A question, young Bael." said one of the elder Devils, gaining the blonde's attention, "What are your plans now? Your future goals?"

"Well…I really don't have any plans…I guess keep winning Rating Games." he said while scratching his head, "My peerage is getting a little feisty waiting around for a suitable challenge. I really want the next one to be a big one, but I don't know who to fight…" he said as he childishly sulked.

"It has been sometime since I've had a good fight…" said Orochimaru, "I'd wonder if you all knew anyone that was worthy of facing my master's peerage."

"Ho, ho, ho!" laughed a councilman, "Now, while I do believe you to be a powerful Devil, and you certainly have a strong peerage, let's not act as if you could face any of us at a Ra-

"Do you doubt my power?"

The cheerful Naruto was long gone, replaced by a serious Bael as his eyes were narrowed, locking onto the man that had doubted his peerage. Said man instantly started to sweat as an invisible force enveloped him, along with a deadly feeling.

"Wha…" checking his hand, he saw that it was visibly shaking from Naruto's concentrated **KI.** Glancing at the Bael, the once cocky councilman shuddered as Naruto's now red eyes paralyzed him, fear passing through his heart and entering his soul.

"Naruto-sama, magic is prohibited in this room." said Grayfia, speaking for the first time. She was standing next to the door, but once Naruto started to leak his **KI** , she made a beeline to the aggravated Beal until she was next to him. "Please, recall you magic."

With a sigh, Naruto ceased his outpour of **KI** , "Sorry about that, hehe!" he joked.

"Please forgive my master." Orochimaru said with a bow, "He has his moments of pure stupidity."

"Hey!...yeah, he's right…" mumbled Naruto.

Sirzechs only laughed, glad that the atmosphere was more comfortable than it was previously. "If you are looking for an opponent, I believe I do have the right person in mind. He's been retired for a while, but has been searching for an opportunity to battle again."

"Are they strong!?" said Naruto with stars in his eyes, happy at the thought of fighting against someone that Sirzechs considered strong.

"Oh, he is very strong, but I must warn you tha-

"Well then call him up!" shouted Naruto, pumping his fist in the air, "I want to make an official challenge right now!"

Sirzechs smirked before crafting a magic seal next to his ear. After a few words were exchanged with the mysterious caller, Sirzechs ended the call with a smile. "He should be here any second."

Sure enough, a purple magic seal appeared in the middle of the meeting room, increasing Naruto's excitement as three forms grew from the seal. However, Naruto's excitement did a 180 as he blankly looked down at what seemed like three lizards: one a shiny blue; one a dark black; and the last one dark purple with small yellow horns. He sweat dropped as he looked up at the Lucifer Satan, "You called three lizards…"

"LIZARDS!" shouted the chibi purple dragon, taking a few steps until he was in front of Naruto, "I am a dragon, you mutt! I am currently in my miniature form but believe me when I saw that I can take you out with one hit!"

"Oh yea, little lizard!?" countered Naruto, bending down until his forehead butted against the small dragon's horns, "I'd like to see you try." he said with a huff.

"Naruto, that isn't a lizard." Falbium said with a deep chuckle, "That's Tannin, an Ultimate-Class Devil."

"That's right!" shouted the newly revealed Tannin with a small screech, "I am Tannin, one of the two reincarnated in history to achieve the rank of Ultimate-Class Devil! You'd better show some respect, you pipsqueak!"

"Wait…You're Tannin?" said Naruto, "You're the dragon that picked up my seal all those years ago!" he said while pointing an accusing finger at the miniature dragon.

"Wait….You're what was in that damn I tried to open for centuries!?" shouted Tannin, mimicking Naruto's action by pointing an accusing claw at the blonde Bael, "Hmm….I'm highly unimpressed. I thought there was some scared treasure in there….not a blubbering idiot…"

"Idiot! Who are you cal-

"Hello, Tannin-sama." said Orochimaru, pulling his [King] away from the Ultimate-Class Devil, "I'm sure you remember my face from the time we met a few months ago."

"Hmmm…I do…" grumbled the dragon, "So I guess it's true then. He did come from that box…and is my opponent for my returning Rating Game."

"Yes, Tannin-sama. I'm looking forward to see you in combat during our Rating Game." replied the snake man, "I'm sure we'll schedule an official date sometime soon."

"That would be favorable." said Tannin, "I'd like the game to be sometime soon, preferably sometime in the next two weeks."

"The sooner we schedule it, the sooner I get to beat his ass!" shouted Naruto, not caring that he was in a room filled with elite Devils, "All I have to do is throw a couple mothballs at him and his peerage and they'll instantly surrender!" laughed Naruto.

"Quiet, you swine!" Tannin shouted, ramming his head against Naruto's foot, "You shall not disrespect my peerage in such way! We are to be treated with respect, especially since we are one of the most powerful peerages in the Underworld!"

"Oh, like you could hold such a position!" Naruto said as the butted heads again, "I can't wait to knock around!"

' _It's like we're not even here…'_ thought the council with a sweat drop as they watched Tannin and Naruto repeatedly head butt each other.

"Enough with these childish arguments!" said Tannin, using his wings to fly away from Naruto and back to the two dragons that he came with, "Can you believe this weakling?"

"He certain does seem like he's worth the effort." said the blue dragon, expecting its nails for any dirt, "Nothing important to dirty my claws for."

"I'll burn em' to a crisp, Tannin-sama!" shouted the other small, black dragon, "Just give me the say so and it'll be done!"

"And who are those two lizards that came with you?" asked Naruto with a cocky snicker.

"You should be bowing at being in my presence, but since we'll see each other in battle, I shall deliver my punishment during our Rating Game." said the blue dragon, "I am the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon, Tannin-sama's [Bishop]."

"And I'm Red Eyes B. Dragon! Tannin-sama's other [Bishop]!" screamed out the other dragon in excitement, "I can't wait to tear through your flesh like your dinner!"

"We must leave, Lucifer-sama, for I have important business to attend to." Tannin said to the redhead as he created a teleportation seal, "I'll be sure to meet with you soon." he said as he disappeared with his two [Bishop]s.

Naruto grunted as he sat back down, "What a dick. Can't believe we're going against him of all people…"

"I'm sure he'll be worthy opponent, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, reclaim his seat with his master.

"Well, I'm sure that's everything for this meeting." said Sirzechs, "I thank everyone coming today, and I trust that you all will keep what you learned here with your respective clans and no one else. I've put my trust in you all and I don't want to learn that my trust has been taken advantage of."

"Hai, Lucifer-sama!" was the collective in the meeting room.

"Then I guess that conclu-

"Wait…" said Zekram Bael, who was quiet for most of the meeting, "I have something I want to ask my clan member."

"Of course, Zekram-sama." said Sirzechs, "Take your time."

Lacing his fingers together, Zekram eye's lock onto Naruto, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Naruto…I first want to say that I am sorry for what you've gone through. I had no idea of what was going on and everything spoken today is my first time hearing such things. Please forgive me for my lack of awareness and I will be investigating this situation myself."

"Ehh, it's alright." Naruto said with a wave, "You didn't do anything to harm me, so I don't have any ill-will against you, Zekram-sama."

"I'm relieved." said the man with a smile. However, that smile twist into a frown as the man continued, "But, there is something that I do want to question you about….What is your relationship with the Seraph, Gabriel of Heaven?"

"I'm in love with her." Naruto quickly replied with no hesitation.

The hall was filled with gasp at Naruto's revelation. Zekram's violent eyes narrowed as he continued questioning the Bael, "I ask you this because many Devils have noticed your strange relationship with one of the leaders of Heaven, our natural enemies. While we are now in alliance with the Angels, I believe that your taboo relationship with Gabriel defies a Devil's natural being and goes against the status quo of both Heaven and the Underworld."

Naruto smirked at his ancestor, "Are you telling me to break up her, then? Heh, that isn't the first time that's happened."

Violent collided against blue as the two entered a heavy staring contest. Nobody in the room dared try to interrupt the two as the tense atmosphere continued to grow as the two continued their silent but deadly showdown. Naruto's conviction was evident in his eyes as he stared down the First Great King as if he was his equal, internally pissing the elder Bael off. Zekram's eyes flashed with a silent anger but he didn't voice his inner thoughts, instead choosing to see if Naruto's conviction was stronger than his own.

After sometime, Naruto broke the cold silence, "If it lessens your worries, Gabriel and I aren't even an official couple. Heh, we haven't even kissed yet for Lilith's sake." he said with a closed-eye smile and a shrug.

Zekram raised an eyebrow as he continued to stare at his descendent, "Oh? So you aren't in relationship with the Angel."

"No, I'm not." replied Naruto, but the seriousness in Naruto's eyes returned, matching his forefather's as a bloody red overtook his natural blue eye color, "But I won't be controlled by anyone anymore. What Gabriel and I have is none of your business, so I suggest you stay out of it."

Standing from his chair, Naruto decided he had enough. He had gotten what he wanted from this meeting. "I believe it's my time to go. Come, Orochimaru."

Silently, Orochimaru followed his master out of the meeting room, ignoring the heavy pressure from Zekram's continuous glare.

Serafall Leviathan watched as her former lover push through the double doors of the meeting room and started his streak out of the palace. A lone tear slid down her cheek as the doors closed in on each other, blocking any view of the retreating Beal.

' _There really is no hope for us again…Naruto…'_

Once they made it out of the meeting room, Orochimaru wanted to make sure his master was okay. "Are you alright, Naruto-sama."

"No…but I will be." said Naruto as he placed a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. Slowly pulling back, one of Naruto's orange orbs grew from the snake man's shoulder until it was fully in Naruto's hand. Absorbing the orb, Naruto growled as he walked down the long hallway. "Things are getting to be trickier."

"What do we do now, Naruto-sama?" Orochimaru asked while loyally following behind his master.

"We train."

… **..**

… **..**

…

…

…

…

…

 **Wheeeeewwwwwwwww, that was a tough one to type!**

 **Yup, yup, yup! This is probably the earliest update y'all then got in a while, huh!? I told you, I'm trying to get back to the weekly update thing and I feel like I'm starting to get there again.**

 **While this chapter didn't have many scenes, it still had HELLA IMPORTANT SHIT IN IT!**

 **NARUTO OUT HERE MAKING THEM BOSS MOVES, YA DIGGGGGGGG!**

 **Even though he acts like an idiot, we should all know by now that Naruto has a backup plan for the backup plan for the original plan's back up plan. Everything he does is well thought out, which is why I love his character the most out of everyone else in BreakThrough. While Lee and Kisame are a close second and third, Naruto is by far my favorite character and I hope he's yours as well.**

 **As we get deeper and deeper into the political aspects for Naruto's plan, a whole host of new enemies and allies are sure to pop. The question will be is who are these supposed enemies and allies? What about Zekram Beal? Ajuka? Sirzechs even? I left a lot of relationships questionable in this chapter, which I like. I adds to the suspense of the story.**

 **Also, just want everyone to know that about two hours ago the TORONTO RAPTORS BEAT THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS! HELL YEA!**

 **Just because I hate the damn warriors so much (I'm a Cleveland Cavalier fan), joy was washed over my body when I saw Toronto beat the damn warriors. So much joy, in fact, that it fueled me to stay up till 1 am (it's currently 1:05 a.m.) to finish this chapter and update it immediately. I'm sure there's some grammar problems riddled all through this chapter, but I'll deal with that shit tomorrow. I just really wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible, ya diggggg?**

 **Tell me how you felt about the chapter and any predications! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

 **Also, I hope you liked how I brought back Tannin to the story and his peerage. Supposedly, Tannin has a peerage of 10 dragons, so I had the great idea of pulling some dragons from your favorite series to add to his peerage! Y'all, I'm so happy to make it this far in the story because I've been sitting on this idea for months!**

 **NEVER BEFORE SEEN SHIT ON FANFICTION! NARUTOPLUG HITTING YOU WITH ALL THE QUALITY DRAMA, COMEDY, AND CHARACTER SELECTION!**

 **But yea, if you have a request for who you may want to be in Tannin's peerage, review your thoughts. While I think I have a solid line up already, I'm open to suggestions.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

(Damn, it's been a while since I've had a chapter this short…)


	25. PostGameAntics

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, watching Game 2 of the NBA Finals right now, rooting for the Raptors of course.(remember our bet, Hardwin Potter…I'm taking that shit seriously *insert side eye emoji here*)**

 **Really feeling the good feedback I got from the last chapter. Y'all were especially happy that I'm updating sooner. It's Sunday June 2, 2019, and I want to update this Saturday, June 8 (Edit: Whelp, looks like I didn't keep that promise, lol! It's June 13** **th** **now, but hey! At least I updated my story like I said I would).**

 **I want to go back to the weekly updates cuz I know I'm gonna have to finish this story this summer before I go back to college for my sophomore year. The original plan I had for BreakThrough was about 30 chapters, just like The Corrupted Mind, but I think I may go past that as of now. Prolly somewhere around 35 chapters, which is good for y'all. You get more chapters to read and enjoy. I'll just have to work on stop being lazy, one of the goals I have for myself this summer, and get to crackin down on this story.**

 **Also, I'm not sure if I'll start the Tannin fight this chapter…or if I do, it'll probably just be the beginning part of the Rating Game where all of Tannin's peerage members aren't revealed, so if you have a dragon that you want in Tannin's peerage, hit me up in the reviews and I'll take note of em. I check the review list all the time so I'll see it, for sure.**

 **Also, I'm liking the word length of last chapter 14k words is a pretty good amount, huh? I've been working on keeping the chapters shorter, a compliant many of you have informed me about. As this story progresses, so does my writing skills. Thanks for stick with me this far everybody. Got love for all my supporters and haters, ya diggggg?**

 **Let's continue the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **PostGameAntics**

 **Four days later…**

 **Bael Territory – Naruto's House**

"You sure you wanna do this?" said a blue-skinned man with a grin that flashed his shark-like teeth as he grabbed his unnecessarily large sword that was wrapped in bandages. Small protrusions could be seen beneath the bandages as the sword shivered in anticipation for what may possibly happen.

"I told you, Kisame." said the blonde haired man adjacent of Kisame as he crossed his arms over his naked, chiseled chest, "We've gotta make sure we're not rusty…"

Both [King] and [Knight] were floating over the red lake that was behind the house training for the upcoming Rating Game with Tannin. On the beach watching the two was Anna, Yoh, and, surprisingly, the next door neighbor Misla Bael. Anna and Yoh stepped out the house to make sure the two powerhouses didn't hurt each other too much while Misla decided to watch to cure her boredom.

Kisame's shark-like grin only grew as he tightened his grip on Samehada, "You don't know how long I've been waiting for a rematch." he said, barely holding in his excitement.

"Probably ever since I was fully healed!" Naruto said with closed eye grin while scratching the back of his head, "It really has been a while, though. Last time we fought, you were serving the Old Satan Faction and I was a solider of the Anti-Satan Faction."

"I believe that we've fought at least five times before with no victory, right?" said Kisame, "Maybe today we'll get our answer!"

Kicking the training match off, Kisame jetted at Naruto with his Samehada positioned to crash into the Bael's side. The blonde [King] reacted quickly, taking a play out of Lee's book and ducking underneath the low swing in an impressive display of flexibility. Knowing that the shark man was open, Naruto kicked his right leg up, intending on upper cutting Kisame's chin.

Anticipating the move, Kisame opened his mouth as a concentrated jet stream of water crashed into Naruto's foot. Kisame grinned as Naruto's stomach was open for him to crash Samehada into, gaining a power increase as his sword absorbed some of Naruto's energy.

Not even bothered at the Samehada's sharp scales piercing his skin or the force of Kisame's swing, Naruto was knocked into the red water below but quickly answered back with a few shots of pure magical blast at Kisame before he was fully submerged.

"Dumb ass." muttered Kisame as he allowed Samehada to absorb the magical blast with hunger. Samehada quivered in delight at receiving a boost in power, a few of its scales jetting out of its bandaged prison. "Since you're in the water now…" Kisame was about to craft a spell but he suddenly froze, his body not reacting to his mental commands.

"You should know by now, Kisame." said a smiling Naruto as he burst out of the water with his right hand cocked back, "I'm a multi-tasker with my magic spells!" he shouted as he landed a powerful punch to Kisame's face.

Knocked out the sky, Kisame skidded against the surface of the lake before recovering, flying back after Naruto. ' _Fucking smart ass…he must've filled those attacks with magic for a paralysis spell. Can't believe I forgot he could do that…'_ Kisame grinned evilly as he used the water from the lake to make eight sharks. The water-made beings locked onto Naruto and shouted after him with deadly intentions as Kisame followed behind.

' _Diversion.'_ thought Naruto, instantly recognizing Kisame's plan as he countered the eight sharks with his Power of Destruction. The sharks were annihilated into nothingness, revealing Kisame with Samehada ready to steal more of Naruto's magic.

Dodging his first swipe, Naruto grabbed the scruff of Kisame's robe with his left hand, pulling him close and knocking the beastly man away with his right. Using the momentum of the punch, Kisame spun Samehada around, only for Naruto to fly over the living sword while shooting a closing-range blast of magic at Kisame's body.

Swiping through the attack with ease using his free hand, Kisame bum-rushed Naruto, only to be blocked with a defensive magic shield made by Naruto on the other side... However, the shield disappeared instantly as Samehada absorbed it, allowing Kisame to kick his [King] away and conjuring a magic circle behind him.

Small bullets of water in the shape of mini-sharks maneuvered around the blue-skinned man and at Naruto, who responded by destroying any approaching bullet with a wave of hands, releasing his signature Needles of Destruction out and stopping any attempt of harming him.

As he finished destroying all of the shark bullets, a massive water-made shark shot out of the water in front of Naruto with a jaw large enough to devour a house. Under the water, Kisame watched with a smirk as he awaited Naruto's next move.

Naruto looked on at the impending doom without worry as he held out his hand. Suddenly, before it could try to gulp the Bael down in one go, the shark stopped midair seemingly frozen in air. Kisame noticed a blue hue surrounding his creation and instantly knew the cause of his frozen minion, "That damn psychic shit…" he grumped.

"Sorry, Kisame!" Naruto shouted with a laugh as his snapped his fingers. The water shark was instantly disassembled as Naruto manipulated the being with his growing telekinetic powers. Naruto split the water shark into spinning tendrils and shot them at the submerged Kisame. Not giving his [Knight] any room to breathe, Naruto followed the water tendrils with a barrage of magic blast coming from a group of magic circles he summoned.

Flying out of the water, Kisame blocked the water tendrils with Samehada while countering Naruto's continuous magic blast with his own jet streams of concentrated water from a multitude of seals he summoned, proof of his mastery of magic.

Naruto was continuing his assault against Kisame's water attacks when, beneath him, another grinning Kisame jumped out of the water, taking the Bael by surprise. However, instead of attacking him, the other Kisame crashed into Naruto, turning into water. Soon enough, Naruto was entrapped in a sphere of water.

"Gotcha' now, dumb ass!" said Kisame, appearing above Naruto in a burst of speed. Samehada burst out of its bandages, its dangerously sharp scales ready to tear through the flesh of its master's enemies. Raising Samehada above the trapped Naruto, Kisame grinned evilly as he dropped the sword down, easily breaking through the heavy waters of his water prison and headed right for Naruto.

His grin only grew as he felt Samehada make contact with Naruto and watched with glee as Naruto was knocked out of the water sphere and into the bloody river below. Not easing up at the slightest, Kisame dropped to the surface of the lake and slammed his hand against it, "Time for a feast!" he yelled with as the water below his hand was molded into sharks. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of sharks filled the water and were all locked onto the sinking Bael, who was seemingly unresponsive. "You better stop playing dead before you end up as a snack!"

Knowing that he was in water infested with blood hungry sharks, Naruto was still calm as they all closed in on him. _'This is kinda fun…'_ he thought as a red hue slowly encased his body, mixing with the already red waters of the Underworld.

In just a few seconds, Naruto's body was surrounded by sharks, blocking any view of him. Kisame watched from the surface, narrowing his eyes as he didn't sense any attempt to stop his sharks. "What the hell is he doing…" he muttered to himself, "Well, if he dies, at least I can say I won our last match! AHahahaha!" he laughed.

Underwater, Naruto held his breath as he watched shark after shark, in even direction, crash into his aura and were diminished into nothingness, not harming him in the slightest. Using his telekinesis, Naruto started to slowly float up, still being assaulted by Kisame's sharks in all directions but still unable to break through his Power of Destruction shell.

On the surface, Kisame's eyes widened as he fly to his right, dodging a red beam of magic. Naruto's red body slowly resurfaced out of the water with the last of Kisame's sharks killing themselves against Naruto's Power of Destruction. "That was a nice little warm up, huh?" said Naruto, his eyes flashing a dangerous red as more magic poured from out his body.

Kisame grinned as he called upon his magic, matching Naruto's own outpour, "Ho, ho, ho buddy! This is what I live for!" Kisame shouted, gripping the enlarged Samehada as he readied himself for a second round. "You scared me for a couple seconds down there…thought I killed ya'."

"If I scared you, that must mean you care for, Kisame." joked Naruto as he crouched down, flexing his Devil wings out.

Kisame grunted as he prepared to flew at Naruto, his blonde haired [King] doing the same. However, before the two could collided against each other, Goki and Zenki, Anna' guardian spirits, blocked the two off, interrupting their battle.

"That's enough." said Anna, floating over the water with her Devil wings out, "If you two keep going, you'll seriously injure yourself. I don't feel like healing anyone today."

"I don't need your damn healing!" shouted Kisame, his eyes jutting out of his head in anger, "I can fucking heal myself! Now get your ghost thingy out the way so I can kill him!" he said while pointing at Naruto, who was inspecting the small, bloody punctures on his body caused by Samehada's scales.

"No." the girl simply said, denying Kisame's demand without batting an eye at his anger towards her, "This was only a small training spar, but I knew if you two continued, it would be an all-out war."

"Buuutttttt, AAAANNNAAAAAAAAAA!" Naruto groaned childishly. However, a glare from the serious girl shut him up. "Okay. Since boss lady said it…fight's over." he said as he recalled his magic.

"No! No, no, no, no!" complained Kisame, "The fight's not over!" he grinned as he clenched Samehada and flew over to Anna, "Just a change in targets!"

Anna stared blankly at Kisame as he was about to slam the large Samehada onto her small, frail body. However, out of nowhere, Yoh appeared in front of his fiancée, Harusame in hand. Blocking Samehada with his sword, Yoh disappeared, shocking Kisame at his speed. "What the-

After images of Yoh danced all around Kisame as slashes appeared all over his body. The speed the younger Asakura twin was moving at was too much for Naruto's other [Knight] as Kisame was subjected to Harusame's sharp edge. Appearing beside Kisame, Yoh stabbed Harusame through Kisame's hand, forcing him to release Samehada. The shark man reacted quickly to Yoh's appearance with a punch, but Yoh teleported to Kisame's other side and connected an upward swipe to Kisame's underarm, slicing his skin open and causing a shower of blood to pour out.

Appearing next to his fiancée, Yoh created a magic circle over the duo, saving them from any of Kisame's blood. "You okay?" Yoh asked with a sideways glance to his lover.

"Yup." she replied simply.

"Good." Yoh said as he moved his headphones over his ears and continued listening to his favorite artist, Soul Bob, "~Hmmmm…standing under the sunlight…." he muttered along with the song.

"OUUCCHH! That shit hurt!" Kisame shouted as he placed a hand over his large gash, which was oozing massive amounts of blood. "What the fuck, Yoh! I didn't even do shit to you!"

"~Dada-Da!-da dada~…." clearly, Yoh was lost into the music in his headphones, ignoring the outside world in favor of his music.

"Owwie, owwie, owwie…shit, that burns." Kisame glared at the new hole in his hand, "How the hell does he move that damn fast!?"

Naruto shrugged, glad he wasn't at the end of Harusame, "Yoh's strong too, Kisame. There's a reason why he's a member of my peerage."

"Well, tell him not to do that shit again…" he grumbled as the hole on his hand started to sizzle and close, "Ah…that's better." he muttered as he started to heal all of his injuries. Samehada floated over to Kisame and wrapped its handle around his leg, supply its partner with magic to heal his injuries. Soon enough, Kisame was fully healed, but he wasn't going to attack again, "He just got the drop on me…If I would have known he was coming, I could have defended against him. I'm a [Knight] to, ya' know!"

"Sure thing, bud." Naruto said with a laugh as the group made their way back to the sandy beach. Once they made land fall, Misla approached the group with wet towels, "You two are very strong." she said as she held the tray out to Naruto and Kisame, "It was an enjoyable match to watch."

"Thank you very much, Misla." Naruto said, grabbing a wet towel for himself and wiping his face with it, "AHhhh! Refreshing."

"Hmph…appreciate it." Kisame said the woman, taking the other towel to wipe off. The former Lady of Bael smiled at the blue man before reclaiming her beach chair.

While taking a break on the sandy beach, Orochimaru, Naruto's only [Pawn], appeared from a magic seal next to his master. "I assume your training for the day went well?" he asked.

"It's good, but I don't plan on stopping for the day." said Naruto, laying his towel over his shoulder, "Got any news for me?"

"Yes, Naruto-sama. Your press meeting with Tannin is due in two days. It's a public appearance that will be filmed so we must prepare for it. The date of our Rating Game against Tannin will be decided then."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Yes. You have company awaiting you in the living room." answered Orochimaru, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow in interest.

After cleaning himself up a bit, Naruto left the group at the beach and followed Orochimaru back into the house. Entering the living room through the screen door that led to the backyard, Naruto perked up at the sight of two familiar members of the House of Agares. "Ah! Lord Agares and his wonderful daughter, Lady Seekvaira. What a pleasant surprise." said Naruto, taking a seat on the couch across the father/daughter duo. "Sorry for my current attire…or the lack of it. Hehehe! I just got through with a training session with my [Knight]."

"You know, if you were anyone else, I would have banished you from my clan for appearing like the way you are." said the rough Lord with narrowed eyes, "But knowing how utterly insane you are and since I am on your territory, I'll allow it for now."

"Awww…" said Naruto, placing a hand over his heart, "What a nice compliment…"

Seekvaira glanced over to her father, "Are you sure you should be working with someone like him? He doesn't seem to take anything seriously."

Naruto sweat dropped, "You're just going to say that in front me like I'm not even here?"

"Yes." Seekvaira said blankly, causing a black cloud of depression to rain over Naruto, "It's not like you'll take me seriously anyway."

"Your daughter is mean, Agares…" muttered Naruto with a sniff.

Lord Agares grinned, but only somewhat. His natural mean-mugged face returned just as soon as it left, "While you may have your doubts, Naruto is the real deal and the only way we can make some changes."

"That's right, little Agares. I'm smarter than I look!" Naruto said with a childish huff.

Seekvaira rolled her eyes at the Bael, still not taking him seriously. "I came so I can hang out with Lee. Do you know where I can find him?"

A devilish grin grew on Naruto's face as he in acted his counterattack, "Oh yeaaaa, I know where he's at….You know, it's kinda interesting how you've grown to be acquainted with my only [Rook]….maybe you….I don't know…." Naruto somehow teleported in front of the now red-faced Agares heiress, his cocky grin inches away from the astonished girl, "Like-like him?" he said, his eye brows jumping perversely to add emphasize on what he was gunning towards.

"Wh-wha?" stuttered Seekvaira, her blush increasing in color as her embarrassment continued, "That's a prosperous accusation! I could never like someone like him!"

"Oh, okay." said Naruto with a shrug as he walked back to his seat, "I guess you wouldn't care that he's already hanging out with that other girl from the Devil Exams…."

"Other girl?" Seekvaira stood on her feet as an unknown anger flooded throughout her body, "What 'other girl?'" she asked/demanded for an answer.

"You know…that other girl with the sand." said Naruto, enjoying Seekvaira break out of her usual stoic image, "She befriended Anna during the after party of the Devil Exams if I remember what she told me correctly…I think it went a bit like this…"

 _ **Flashback – Two days after the Devil Exams**_

 **Old Royal Capital: Lucifaad Palace Ballroom**

While Yoh was explaining to the group of their confusing love story, Anna decided to take a small break to fetch herself something.

' _I can't sit over there any more…it's too embarrassing…'_ she thought as she approached the bar. From the corner of her eye, she saw Orochimaru and Naruto talking to each, but she didn't approaching, not wanting to disturb the two.

Taking a seat at the bar, Anna waited for one of the bartenders to serve her. She didn't want anything too strong. Being around Hao, she had taken up his adoration for red wine. _'I just wish they would hurry up with the service.'_ she thought in annoyance as she waited her turn.

While she didn't look in their direction, Anna noticed that someone sat next to her. However, she didn't pay them any attention as she was finally served by one of the bartenders. After she ordered, she sat in silence, ignoring all of the loud noise from the party behind her.

While waiting, another bartender approached the person sitting next to Anna, "Hello, madam. What would you like for the night?"

"Water." She didn't show it on the outside, but Anna mentally questioned the woman's choice of drink. _'Who orders water at a bar?...None of my business…'_

"Water? Are you sure, ma'am? We have a variety of choices you can-

"I said I want water. Nothing else." Anna felt a small spike of **KI** leaking from the woman. That put the bartender on edge as he bowed before getting a glass for the woman's water.

It was then that Anna looked at the woman beside her and recognized her as one of the participants from the Devil Exams. It was Gaia, one of the Final Four who fought against Diodora Astaroth. She wasn't dressed up like the other Devils, but she didn't have the large gourd she was known for. "I like your style." Anna muttered, not even sure why she did so.

Receiving her water, Gaia glanced at Anna, studying the shaman. The two were quiet for a while, not breaking eye contact with each other as if they were having a mental conversation with each other.

"…."

"….."

"….."

"…."

"…My name is Gaia."

"Anna."

"You seem like….a reasonable person."

"Same….we should talk more."

"Agreed."

 _ **End Flashback**_

"I'm pretty sure that's how Anna explained it. Lee linked with Gaia again through Anna…" muttered Naruto.

The shell-shocked Agares heiress couldn't believe that Lee chose to go out with someone else without telling her, especially not Gaia. "Gaia! You mean that sand bi-

Seekvaira slapped both of her hands over her mouth when she realized that she was still with her father. Looking back at the elder Devil, her heart dropped when she saw his grin, thoroughly enjoying his daughter's outburst. "Ah….Forgive me, father!" she said with a bow, "I-I…I forgot my manners for a few seconds. It won't happen again!"

Lord Agares chuckled, something Seekvaira can say she's heard only a few times in her 18 years of life. She gulped, hoping that he wasn't disrespected with her outlandish behavior. "Naruto…" her father's deep voice entered her ears and shook her body, fearful as to what he would say, "Do you know where your [Rook] is along with this Gaia girl?"

"They should be somewhere around here on the countryside training." said Naruto, happy he got back at the younger girl, "Fly on, little one. You'll find them around in the nearby area."

After Seekvaira's departure, Naruto, Orochimaru and Lord Agares were finally alone to talk business. "You may want to watch your daughter, Lord Agares…If she continues to be with my [Rook], he may just steal her heart." he said with a chuckle.

"My daughter is smart. She hardly surrounds herself with any younger Devils outside of her peerage because of their stupidity and incompetence. If she decided to associate with your [Rook], then I don't have a problem…especially with how he handled himself in the Devil Exams." said the elder Devil with a grunt.

"Nevertheless, I'm sure you have some information for us, as do we." said Orochimaru, standing behind his [King], "Since you were busy these past few days, we weren't able to tell you about the meeting with the Satans and the council."

Lord Agares hummed in thought before speaking, "I don't know what happened in that meeting of yours, but I believe that you are now in the sights of the Bael Council." he started, gaining the interest of the two other Devils in the room, "Just yesterday, the Bael Council was held a meeting called by Zekram-sama, the former and First Great King of the Underworld, which is highly unusual as he doesn't attend any other meetings. Also another abnormity is that I was denied access to this meeting. As you know, the House of Agares serves as the 'moderator' of the Bael Clan to the Four Satans and the other Devil Clans-which is why I was angered at the fact that not one member of the Agares Clan was invited to the meeting you all had."

Orochimaru nodded, "I was confused as to why there wasn't an Agares member at the meeting, but those of the Sitri and Gremory were allowed….must be nice for a clan to produce a Satan…it has its perks."

"Something I hope you plan on fixing in the future." Lord Agares said, his eyesight centered on Naruto.

"That and many things, Lord Agares." Naruto replied while lacing his fingers together, "You said that Zekram-sama was the one that called for the Bael meeting yesterday. He must have told them about what he learned from the meeting…"

"And what in particular was talked about during the function?" asked the dirty blond Agares leader.

"Basically everything deal with Naruto-sama's past…including his seal, the process of freeing him from his seal, Rating Games, memory seals, and finally his previous relationship with Serafall and current with the Seraph of Heaven, Gabriel."

"Everything I've told you in prior conversations was brought up at the meeting, so you weren't really missing anything important." said Naruto, continuing off of his [Pawn], "If anything, you would have wasted your time being there."

"Negative." Lord Agares said in robotic-fashion, "If Lord Zekram was attending the meeting, then my knowledge of the man tells me that he was the one that brought up your relationship with Gabriel."

Orochimaru and Naruto gave a look at each other, confirming Lord Agares assumption, "That's a problem that I've been meaning to talk to you about. With this plan of yours to become Great King…while it works on paper, there will be a few things that can hinder the success rate…especially your relationship with the Angel."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "What seems to be the problem with it?"

Ignoring the Bael's change in tone, Lord Agares continued, "I know things about Lord Zekram that many do not…for one, his obsession with keeping the natural balance of factions is one of his darker elements. You're relationship with Gabriel goes against everything he believes: Devils and Angels do not mix. While he believes that we can be allies and live peaceful, Zekram firmly stands on the fact that Devils and Angels shouldn't be involved in any type of unhealthy, romantic relationship…and he's not the only one.

"I don't believe the Underworld is ready for one of its leaders to be romantically involved with one of the leaders of our natural enemies. Your association with the Seraph will surely be used against us in our quest in making you Great King."

"You say that Zekram is against any relationship similar to the one my master is in." said Orochimaru, "Has he ever enforced those beliefs."

The Agares leader nodded, "On a few occasions. Devil/Angel relations are very, very rare. Whenever Zekram gets involved, the situation usually ends without violence. However…there has been times when Zekram, partnered with certain churches, would kill both the Devil and Angel/Priest in a relationship to keep the status quo that dictates his every life choice." he finished.

Both Naruto and Orochiamru eyes were slightly wide at the revelation. Who knew that the former Great King known for his positive, peace-loving personality had such a dark side? "This complicates things…" muttered Orochimaru.

"No it doesn't." said Naruto, surprising the other two Devils, "I don't care about what Zekram deems 'right'. With my accession to Great King, traditions will definitely be either challenged or obliterated. My relationship with Gabriel won't stop me." he said with authority, not taking no for an answer.

"I don't care about your relationship with the Angel…even if it is taboo." said Lord Agares, "As long as it doesn't interfere with the plan, then we can proceed without worry. However, I know that won't be the case because of Zekram. When you reveal your plan to everyone and you are still with the Seraph, he will act."

"So you're also telling me to end my relationship with Gabriel?" said Naruto with a knowing smirk.

"I'm telling you to watch your back." replied Lord Agares in his usual rough voice, but with a small amount of **KI** backing his words.

"So be it." muttered Naruto, closing his eyes, almost as a sign that their current conversation topic was over.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Orochimaru decided to continue with a different matter at hand, "Have you heard about our upcoming Rating Game against Tannin?" asked the snake man to the Agares leader, "I for one am looking forward to fighting against one of the most prominent peerages in the Underworld."

"I actually did here murmurs about what happened between you and Tannin during the meeting." said Agares as he glanced over to Naruto, "First of all, you carried yourself in a very unprofessional matter in a room filled with royals."

Naruto sweat dropped, "That's just how I handle myself, Mr. Stick up my ass!" he finished while sticking his tongue out at Lord Agares.

Orochimaru face palmed at his master's actions, "Please forgive my master, Lord Agares. Anna and I have tried to get him to act more professional, but does not listen during our lessons. His attitude is something you'll have to get used to because there is no teaching him." he finished with a sigh.

"Hmm…" hummed Lord Agares, "We'll talk more about that at a later date. What concerns me is the outlandish Rating Game with Tannin." he said, catching the two buy surprise, "I know that you are strong, Naruto, but I am not sure you can defeat Tannin."

Naruto, disappointed, sighed while shaking his head at Lord Agares lack of confidence in him. "Come on, Agares….I thought that I had earned your trust by protecting your daughter in the Devil Exams…"

"You have earned my trust, but all of your advisories in Rating Games were nowhere near the level of skill of Tannin and his peerage of dragons." said the Lord, unsure of the Naruto's chances against the massive dragon, "Tannin is an Ultimate-Class Devil for a reason. Even myself, Lord of Agares, can't defeat Tannin."

Naruto looked back at his [Pawn] with a dumbfounded expression, "Did he just say that we're weak?" he asked Orochimaru.

"He didn't say we were weak in particular, Master. What Lord Agares means is that we're just weaker than Tannin-sama." explained the snake man.

"Well he obviously doesn't know anything about us then." he said with a childish huff, "We can beat that overgrown lizard and his team of pet snakes for sure! I don't know what the hell he's talking about!"

Lord Agares stared blankly at the blonde Bael as if he was crazy, "You honestly believe that you can win against an Ultimate-Class Devil?"

Naruto smirked as he leaned his head into his open palm, "You underestimate us, Agares. I came back from an almost comatose-state that would have likely killed me if I would have stayed in that seal. My peerage members are undeniable some of the most skillful Devils collected into one peerage. We also have an advantage in most of our skills not being known since only Hao and Lee are the only ones that have shown their main abilities during Rating Games. I have the all the confidence in the world that we shall defeat Tannin-Ultimate-Class Devil or not…he's just another opponent."

"Do you have a strategy then?" asked Lord Agares, interested in hearing Naruto's game plan on defeating the reptilian powerhouse.

"Plan?" Naruto coughed on his own spit trying to hold in his laughter, "There is no plan! Just go with the flow! Man, Agares, you really are a funny person…" he said with a giggle.

' _He's hopeless…'_ thought Lord Agares as he watched Naruto enter into a giggle fit. "Just make sure that you win…It would look bad that the person that wants to be the ruler of the Underworld to lose such a major Rating Game."

"Please," said Naruto, waving off the man's warning without worry, "spare me the warnings. Don't worry, Agares. I'm going to win, and I'll look cool while doing it, so just sit back and let me deal with all the other stuff."

Lord Agares sighed, "If that's what you want, Naruto…is there anything else we need to discuss before I take my exit."

"Actually, there is one thing that we need to discuss together." said Orochimaru, "One of goals from the meeting was to find other possible supporters for Naruto's goal of becoming Great King. We've noted a few names that we may be able to sway to our cause."

"And these names are?" asked Lord Agares with a raised eyebrow.

"Falbium and Ajuka." said the snake man, "They were the ones that were more vocal about their displeasures of Naruto's sealing and seemed to take his side throughout many of the topics discussed a few days ago. Plus, having two of the Four Satan's support will be a major bonus for us."

"I guess you want me to handle those two since you have to prepare for you Rating Game." said Lord Agares.

"It would be convenient for us since this will be a big Rating Game. We don't have time to spare." replied Naruto's [Pawn].

The leader of Agares nodded as he stood from his seat, "Then I'll work on it. I wish you well during your match against Tannin. Orochimaru, make sure your [King] doesn't do anything idiotic."

"Hey!" said Naruto with a glare, "I can watch my own back, thank you very much!"

"I shall do so, Lord Agares." said Orochimaru with a bow, ignoring his [King]'s antics, "I also wish you well in your endeavors. If you need anything, we'll be here."

"Yeah…see you later, Agares." Naruto said with a wave as the dirty blonde Agares leader disappeared via teleportation seal. "I like him…he's nice."

"A very powerful ally." said Orochimaru, "I'm glad we share an alliance with him…and hopefully our numbers will increase in the near future."

"Whelp! I guess it's time to get back training!" said Naruto, standing up from his seat and headed outside with Orochimaru following his lead, "I wonder what I should work on next…" the shirtless Bael thought out loud as the duo made their way to the backyard.

"While it is good to practice on your spells and physical body, Naruto-sama, I believe we should practice your illusionary skills as well."

"Ohhh…you are right, Orochimaru." said Naruto, "I do have this illusion that I'm working on…maybe you can be my test subject for it, hehehe!" laughed Naruto, causing his [Pawn] to sigh, not wanting to be his master's training dummy for the next few hours.

 **Timeskip…**

 **Phenex Castle – Indoor Training Facility**

Inside of the massive Phenex Castle was a large training room for the members of the head family of the Phenex Clan to use at their disposal during all hours of the day. Said room was made out of red, stone-like material sturdy enough to be hit by powerful fire spells without being damaged in the slightest. The room was illuminated by columns of fire in each corner, creating a dark atmosphere.

In the middle of the massive room sat Hao Asakura and Riser Phenex, legs crossed and eyes closed. The duo were completely silent as they meditated, listening to the columns of fire flickering quietly in their individual corners. Hao was at peace, taking in deep breaths while letting out satisfying exhales, content with the current mood. Riser however…

"How long are we going to stay here? Riser has better things to do than sit in a dark room." said the arrogant Phenex boy.

The now disrupted Hao growled as he opened his amber eyes to the world. "Why are you talking?" asked the annoyed Asakura.

"You told me that you would be training me. Riser does not consider this to be training." he replied, secretly sick and tired of the rough floor hurting his backside.

Hao rolled his eyes at Riser's arrogant attitude, not that he wasn't use to it. It was just very annoying. "Meditation is a form of training. It allows one to connect with their magical reserves and gain a better understanding of it….this exercise also increases our awareness and other senses…if you would shut up and focus then it would be working for you by now."

"Riser understands the reason of meditating, but this exercise is for baby Devils trying to get in touch with their magic. Powerful adult Devils like us shouldn't waste time with such meaningless charades." replied the blonde Phenex.

"Your annoying banter has me debating on whether I should bite your head off or not…" muttered Hao, causing Riser to tense up. Behind him, the head of the Spirit of Fire appeared, chuckling into the younger Devil's ear.

"You know…it is a very uncomfortable experience being detached from your body…" muttered Riser, glancing from the side of his to see if the fire monstrosity was still behind him.

"And it hurts my ears hearing your wining voice." answered Hao, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, "You need to meditate…your spirit is filled with rage, influencing your decision making during our spars and in your Rating Games. Thinking rationally during tense situations is a mandatory characteristic for a successful [King]."

"Riser means not to offend, but your [King] doesn't portray the type of [King] you describe." said the boy.

Hao actually sweat dropped because he knew he couldn't deny what was true. "My master…is a special case…" answered Hao, trying to think of a logical way of explaining how Naruto acted as a [King], "He….is a wild card…"

"A wild card?" Riser said with a growing smirk, "Hmph…That isn't very [King]-like now, is it?"

Hao shot his pupil a blank stare, "I know what you're doing, but I can't try to defend my master because you're right…Naruto-sama has many unhealthy elements to his personality that isn't very [King]-like…especially when it comes to associating himself in a professional manner."

"Riser senses a 'but' is coming..."

"You'd be right." said Hao, "While he is nothing short of a lunatic, when he needs to be, Naruto-sama is the smartest Devil you can meet. He can be calm and collected one moment and wild and outspoken the next. He adapts to situations the best way he deems fit. While it may tarnish how other's opinion of him, those who know Naruto-sama knows that everything he does has a meaning behind it."

Riser hummed before speaking, "Can you give Riser an example of your [King]'s smart but wild antics?"

Hao smirked, "He was the one that told me to do something crazy during our match against your peerage, leading to me almost devouring your younger sister." Before Riser could voice his own opinion, Hao cut him off, "While he didn't tell me what exactly to do, he wanted me to do something drastic…something that would leave a lasting impression. My actions with your sister were both wild and genius. Wild because killing a child of the prominent Phenex Clan is never a good idea. Genius because of what happened because of Ravel's life on the line. Sirzechs recalled a Devil from death in a Rating Game, an obvious display of favoritism. I'm sure he still hasn't recovered from such an act till this day."

Looking over to Riser, who seemed to be deep in thought, Hao asked, "Do you hate my master for what he told me to do to your sister?"

Again, Riser was silent for a few seconds, debating his answer within his mind. Hao allowed the boy time as he returned to his mediation. It took a few minutes of silence, but Riser finally voiced his answer to Hao's question, "The old Riser would have hated your [King] for his actions against my sister…but now that I know why he did it…and that my sister was never going to hurt in the first place….I say that Riser doesn't hate him but doesn't hold any good feelings for him either."

Hao nodded, "That's a reasonable answer, Riser…taking the time to collect your thoughts to determine how you really feel is a good step.

Riser grunted, as if he didn't care for the Asakura's compliment. Hao smirked, but it wasn't one of his cocky smiles of dominance. It was genuine. "I feel like you're starting to like me, young Riser."

"…..I can tolerate your presence better…that's all….."

Hao chuckled, "Wrong answer." he said as the Spirit of Fire appeared behind the boy and chomped down on the upper half of his body. Hao continued chuckling as Riser's body reformed before he started shouting curses at the older Devil.

After the blonde Phenex finished his cursing spree, Hao slowly stood up, gaining his pupil's attention, "Come on. Let's go somewhere else."

Riser snorted as he followed Hao's actions, "And where are we going?" he asked.

"To my house." he said, surprising Riser, "I'd like to see how you handle yourself around real monsters. They're training for a Rating Game we have coming up…maybe the experience can give you a few tips in how you need to carry yourself. You can bring someone from your peerage if you'd like, but not all. I don't want to be blamed for bringing so many random people to my master's house." he finished as he lead the younger Devil out of the training room.

 **Minutes later…**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Appearing in front of a large, three story house, Hao, Riser, and Yubelluna, Riser's [Queen] that joined her [King] at his request, started to make their way to the front door. Being their first time, Riser and Yubelluna were examining the beach-like environment. "This is nice…" said Yubelluna, her melodic voice cutting the silence, "This is my first time here in the Bael Territory…but it seems were far from any civilization."

"My master likes his privacy, as does the rest of his peerage members." said Hao as they walked up the pathway to the front porch, "Just make sure you two don't do anything stupid, understood?"

Riser snorted arrogantly, "Stupid? Riser Phenex and any member of his peerage is far from stupid."

"Watch your step."

Riser halted his steps while taking a glance beneath. Fear quickly overtook his body as his foot was inches away from a 6ft python coiled around itself. Sweat started to accumulate as the sleeping snake opened its eyes, locking onto Riser's fearful blue. "Rule number one is to always watch your step. Orochimaru has many of his little critters around the house acting as guards. Step on them and you'll receive a dosage of venom that's harmful to even Devils."

Riser silently nodded as he stepped over the snake that hardly cared for the Phenex's presence. If he was with Hao, then the blond boy couldn't be an intruder thought the snake as it uncoiled itself and slithered into the grass, off to find a better spot to rest.

Entering the house, Hao led the duo through the living room and to the backyard where everyone was. Sitting on the porch overlooking the beach was Anna and Yoh, sitting in beach chairs as they watched Kisame training on the beach by himself.

Yoh was the first to notice his brother's presence, along with the two following him, "Oh, Hao. You brought guest?" asked the younger Asakura, pulling his headphones back to better communicate with the newcomers.

"Correct. As you know, I've been with the Phenex's these past couple of days. I brought Riser and his [Queen] over so they can observe our training regime." said Hao, taking one of the free chairs for himself.

"That's nice. Hi, I'm Yoh, Hao's younger twin brother." Yoh said with a wave before pointing to Anna, who didn't care about the newly arrived group's presence as she stared off in the distance, "And this is my fiancée, Anna. I'm sure you remember us during our Rating Games or our other Rating Games against other peerages."

Riser grunted at Yoh while Yubelluna bowed politely. "Hao, what is this?! They aren't training like you said they were! They're lounging about like they don't have a care in the world!" complained Riser, hoping that he would be able to watch the Hao's allies that he gloated about being productive rather than lazy.

"We're not doing anything because we don't want to do anything." muttered Anna, already finding the Phenex's presence annoying, "If you don't like how we do things here, go home."

Before Riser could retort, Hao stopped him, "Calm yourself, boy. I brought you here so you can watch us train, not start a fight. If you want a closer spot, go down to the beach with Kisame, the blue-skinned man." he said while pointing down at the beach where Kisame was seemingly talking to Samehada, "Leave us."

"As we shall." said Yubelluna, grabbing Riser's arm and pulling him down the pathway before he could cause anymore problems, "Let us meet this Kisame, man, Riser-sama."

"….and when ya bit em', ya gotta do it like this!" said Kisame, flashing his fangs to his partner while doing a chomping-like motion, "See? If you would have done that when we were fighting the fucking idiot, we could have drained more of his magic and could've won!" he explained, getting a whimper as a reply from the living sword.

Kisame glanced behind him when he heard someone walking behind him, "Eh, who the fuck are you?" he said while grabbing Samehada just in case things got tricky.

Riser stepped in front of Kisame, arrogance rolling off of him in waves, "I am Riser Phenex, third son in line to be heir of the Phenex Clan. This here behind me his my [Queen], Yubell-

*CHOMP*

Riser froze as he registered the sight of Samehada taking a bite out of his lower arm. "….AAAAAAAAHHHH!" he shouted after a few seconds of disbelief as he tried to free himself, "Get this disgusting thing off of me!" he yelled.

"Alright, Samehada! Good girl!" Kisame said with a thumbs up, his eyes gleaming with happiness.

"Riser-sama!" Yubelluna tried to pry the demonic sword off of her master, but Samehada had a firm grip on Riser's arm while draining his magic. The [Queen] only managed to free her master from Samehada's large maw when the sword suddenly started to cough.

"Eh, what's that?" said Kisame as his partner returned to his side, "His magic taste like dry ash…spicy dry ash?"

"What the hell is that thing!?" shouted Riser as he held his recovering arm, "I demand that you kill it instantly as punishment for disgracing me!"

"Shut the fuck up, you scrawny little brat!" growled Kisame, scaring the two younger Devils, "What the hell are you even doing here, huh? Are you trespassing on my land? I don't fucking like trespassers!"

Yubelluna jumped in front of Riser, protecting him from the quickly approaching Kisame as she shot the explosive magic she was known for at Kisame, causing a large explosion of flames.

She was shocked when Kisame walked out of the explosion with no injuries in sight, "What was that supposed to be? There was hardly any magic in that spell to call a snack." Using his large hands, Kisame grabbed the purple-haired woman's face and forced her to her knees, "You better get to talking if you don't wanna die…"

"Get off of her!" shouted Riser, his flaming wings sprouting out of his back as he charged at the shark man. However, Kisame easily subdued the Phenex with his other palm, eating away with his magic. "Damn, Samehada was right…you're magic does taste like spicy dry ash…disgusting."

"Wha...what's happening…" Riser instantaneously felt weaker as half of his magic reserves disappeared. _'This feel…is worse than when Hao's spirit would bite off half my body…my magic is...almost gone…'_ he thought as fatigue replaced the energy he had seconds ago.

"Release them, Kisame." said Hao, walking down the pathway leading to the beach, "They're my guest. I brought them here to watch how we trained but obviously they always find themselves in some sort of trouble."

"To be fair, Mr. Hao…that man's….thing…attacked my master first…I was o...only doing my job…..as [Queen]…." said a tired Yubelluna as Kisame released the duo. Here magic reserves were nearly depleted, so she was in a worse condition than Riser.

"You need to tell us when you have guest over and control them better, you idiot." said Kisame with a grunt, attaching Samehada to his back, "I could've killed em' if you hadn't said anything sooner."

"Honestly, I thought they would have been able to handle themselves." said Hao, picking up the two by their collars, "You two disappoint me."

"S-shut..up…" muttered Riser as he stood up with Hao's help, "I didn't know his sword had a damn mouth. Nobody would suspect that."

"Which makes my girl all the more special…" said Kisame, receiving a purr from the demon sword in return, "If they came to train, you missed out. I'm finished for the day and I'm sure Orochimaru and the idiot is coming back from their own session."

"Kukuku…" said the familiar voice of Orochimaru as he appeared from a teleportation seal, along with Naruto, "Seems like we're right on time."

"Yo, everybody!" Naruto said with a wave, "Oh, it seems like we have some guest? Who are these two?" he asked no one in particular.

"I brought them here, Naruto-sama. He's the Phenex I'm looking over and this is his [Queen]." said Hao, "I wanted them to see how we trained, but I guess I brought them to late in the day."

"We can still spar!" shouted Naruto excitement, pumping his fist in the air, "Come on, Hao! When was the last time we fought together? Let's test our might against one another!"

"No." Hao plainly stated, "The last time I fought you, I couldn't move my body for days. I'm never fighting you again for the rest of my life."

"You know what…" said Kisame while scratching his chin in thought, "I forgot all about that! Ha! He really did beat the shit outta ya' a couple of months ago! I don't think I made fun of you for getting knocked around like that by a cripple!" he laughed while slapping Hao on the back.

Riser snorted, holding back his usual arrogant chuckle, "You lost to your master while cripple?"

"It's a long story…" muttered Hao, growling at his blue-skinned comrade.

"Well, since we're through training for the day, maybe your two friends can stay over for dinner?" suggested Naruto, "Uhh…what are your names again?"

"I am the all powerful Riser Phenex, third son of Lord Phenex and third in line to become leader of my household! You should respect that I am even here as I am a royal Devil from one of the most prominent Devils Clans in the Underworld!"

"And I'm Riser-sama's [Queen], Yubelluna." said the very mature woman with a bow, "Thank you for opening your home to us."

"No problem. It's the least I could do for the peerage I ordered Hao to wreck." Naruto's shit-eating grin invaded his face as he remembered who Riser was. He couldn't help but take delight to Riser's attitude doing a one-eighty, turning him into a blubbering fool as he tried to explain why his peerage lost. "Let's get in the house…I'm exhausted."

"Does anyone know where Lee and Kuroka are?" asked Yoh who had secretly joined the group down on the beach amidst their conversation.

"Lee is still with Seekvaira and Gaia…He'll be back on his own time. Kuroka is up there…" stated Naruto while pointing up to the roof of the house. Sure enough, the Nekoshou was sitting on the roof, meditating quietly. She seemed to be in a heavy concentration as she practiced gathering Senjutsu at a faster pace. It would be helpful for their coming battle against Tannin.

"Should we leave her up there for now, Master?" Orochimaru asked their blonde-haired [King].

"Yeah, she can take care of herself." said Naruto as the group followed him inside his mansion, "I wouldn't want anyone disturbing me while training, so I'll leave her be for now." Opening the screen door leading to the kitchen, a heavenly smell assaulted Naruto's nostrils, causing him to drool, "Is….is that what I think it is…"

Standing in front of the large stove in the kitchen was Anna, wearing a pink apron and a ladle in her hand, stirring what seemed like soup in a large pot. "Miso…" she whispered, only sparing her [King] a glance before returning to her cooking.

"OOHHHH, AAANNNAAA!" Naruto teleported to the younger girl's side and hugged her, rubbing his check against her's in a loving manner, "That's why you're in my peerage. Such a nice person you are!"

Anna blushed in embarrassment as the group behind her snickered at her uncomfortable predicament. She wasn't going to throw Naruto off of her like how she would do Yoh since he was her [King], so she remained in the uncomfortable position while the others laughed quietly.

"That's what you get you devil bitch…" whispered Kisame, stealing Yoh's phone and taking a picture of the awkward/funny scene, "Make sure you send that to me."

"Absolutely." replied Yoh, sending the photo to everyone in Naruto's peerage that had a phone.

 **Moments later…**

"Itadakimasu!" shouted a happy Naruto as he dived into his first bowl of Anna's ramen.

"Ya know, for a disgusting person, you can really cook some noodles." said Kisame between his slurps, almost matching Naruto's speed of eating.

The newcomers watched the duo in disgust as they ate like animals. Riser had to hold back bile entering his mouth as the horrific scene continued with noodles and soup falling out of Kisame's mouth. What made it even worse was Samehada cleaning up its master's mess by licking up anything that landed on the table with a shriek of happiness as the flavor filled the demonic sword's mouth.

Riser's face was frozen in disgust as he couldn't even eat his own food anymore; Yubelluna in a similar predicament. Noticing that the two weren't eating, Naruto slurped some noodles into his mouth before asking, "You two aren't eating? Do you not like the food?"

"Riser's not hungry anymore." said the Phenex, pushing the bowl away from him.

"I agree with my [King]…thank you for the offer anyway, Ms. Anna…" said Yubelluna, pushing her bowl away from her as well.

Said girl jumped and had to hold back a shriek when Naruto and Kisame climbed on the table to retrieve of the two's bowls. With Kisame taking Riser's and Naruto stealing Yubelluna's, the duo returned to their seats and finished their own bowls and moving on to the next.

"I know you're disgusted…" said Hao, who was sitting next to Riser and eating his food like a regular person would, "You just have to get used to it and ignore them like the rest of us."

"You said your [King] was wild and smart…I see that much, but I don't see much of his smart side." muttered Riser.

"He barely uses his brains for anything." muttered Anna, using a napkin to dab the sides of her mouth with etiquette, "Only when fighting is when he uses his smarts."

"I can hear you…" said Naruto with sweat drop, "I'm literally right here."

"I don't care…..idiot…" Ann muttered, causing Naruto to slump in sadness.

"Why doesn't anyone like me…" he said as a cloud of depression rained over him.

"Let's give Naruto-sama a break, you all." said Yoh, the voice of reason, "He's pretty smart….when he wants to…"

"Not helping, Yoh…" Naruto said with a grown, pushing his depression cloud away so he could focus on eating his ramen.

"Well, I'm sure you have a plan for our Rating Game against Tannin." said Yoh, catching Riser's attention.

"You all have a Rating Game against Tannin, an Ultimate-Class Devil?" he asked with shock.

"Yup! Lookin' forward to it too!" replied Naruto.

"That's impossible! Why would you even agree to such a one-sided battle?" shouted Riser, surprising everyone at his sudden rage, "Even I, the great Riser of the Phenex Clan, couldn't beat Tannin, so why would you even accept such challenge when it will only end in your embarrassment?!"

Naruto simply raised an eyebrow at his guest, "Uhh...first of all, you're not that strong to begin with…I remember clearly that my peerage beat you with ease, so I'm pretty sure that you couldn't beat Tannin, hehehe!"

Riser growled in embarrassment, "Th-that's beyond the point I'm making! Why challenge Tannin if your loss is inevitable?"

"If my loss is 'inevitable', then I never would have challenged him to a Rating Game." Naruto said with a shrug, "I challenged him because I know we'll win. That's that."

"Ya' damn right we're going to win." said Kisame, taking a break from eating to join the conversation, "Fuck him and his team of lizards. I'm expecting their magic to taste pretty good. What'cha say, girl?" he said while rubbing Samehada affectionately, "That's a good girl. That's a good girl~"

"As much as you don't believe we can win, I assure you, Riser Phenex, that we will." said Orochimaru, "I'm just as confident in everyone here that we will win. While I do expect the match to be our most difficult to date, I whole-heartily believe that we will win."

"….how can you saw that so calmly?" asked Riser, still not understanding how they weren't succumbing to the pressure of facing Tannin.

"It's really nothing to worry about when you think about it." said Yoh, setting his chopsticks in his bowl, "We're strong. Everything is gonna work out in the end, so there isn't a reason to get all angsty about it."

"It'll all work out in the end?" Riser muttered, "Is it really that simple to you?"

"Well, maybe you can't relate since you are a part of the royal family of Phenex, "said Naruto, "but don't worry about us, Riser. We'll get through this."

"I-I wasn't worried for you all at all!" he sputtered out, "Hao kept talking about how strong you all were and I was just here to make sure he wasn't lying!" he said with a huff as he sat back down in his chair, "If you all are so calm, then you must have some type of strategy to defeat Tannin and his peerage of dragons."

"Knowing Naruto-sama, he probably doesn't have a strategy at all…just rush at the enemy is what he usually says." said Orochimaru before taking another bite of noodles. _'Hmm…this is very good…Anna should make something with eggs next time…that's my favorite…'_

"Actually, that's not true." said Naruto with a sly chuckle, "I actually thought of a plan this time…my secret weapon!"

"Secret weapon?" said Riser, highly interested in Naruto's plan, "And what would that possibly be?"

Naruto pointed to the ceiling with a smile, "She's sitting on the roof…My protégé will finally get the shine she deserves."

Before he could continue, a magic circle appeared in the middle of the table. From it grew a hologram of a familiar face, _'Hello? Is this working?' s_ aid a feminine voice.

"Hey look. Gabby's in the middle of the table." said Kisame, "What's going on girl?"

' _Hello everyone! I'm so happy to see you all well!'_ she said with her usual excitement at seeing her favorite peerage, _'It's been far too long! I must come and visit you all in the Underworld so time soon!'_

"It hasn't been that long, Gabriel, but it's nice to know that you miss us." Yoh said with a laugh.

"Is something a matter, Gabriel? Why are you calling?" asked Naruto, surprised at Gabriel's random call.

' _Oh! I must tell you, Naru! I have some free time from my priorities from Heaven and was wondering if you wanted to go on a date tonight?'_ the Seraph said with an innocent smile.

"Eh? A date?" replied Naruto.

 **A few minutes later…**

After a long day of mediation and concentrating on absorbing Senjutsu, Kuroka opened the sliding door and entered the living room of the house. She had been working all day on her Senjutsu control, not talking to anyone in favor of working on her control. While she was already a master at Senjutsu, along with the other spells she favored, Kuroka wanted to be ready when going against Tannin's peerage, knowing that this would be her toughest battle yet.

"NYaaaaa~" she yawned before the smell of dinner entered her nostrils. While she did smell from while on the roof, she ignored it so her concentration wouldn't waver. However, her training for the day was over and the Nekoshou was hungry. "I'm sttarrrving…" she said as she slowly walked into the kitchen, only to hear whispers coming from the dining room. Interested in seeing everyone else, she changed directions and walked into the room, "Hello, nya!" she said with a wave.

However, she was greeted with silence. Even the two people she hadn't seen before we're silent, but she summed it up to them being confused just like her. "Uh…is everything alright?"

"Uhh, yup! Everything is quite alright, hehehe…" Yoh said with an awkward laugh.

Raising an eyebrow, Kuroka took notice to the spot that Naruto would take, the head of the table, was empty. She was sure that he was here earlier? "Hey, where did Naruto go, nya?"

 **Hours later…**

 **Tokyo, Japan**

"You should have been there, Gabriel! I acted so official and cool during the meeting! It was like I knew what they were going to say and how I they were going to say it! I answered all their questions with confidence and poise…man, you should have been there…" said a blonde-haired man as walked next to a beautiful platinum blonde-haired woman.

"I'm so glad you handle yourself in such a formal setting, Naruto. I know you don't like that type of crowd at all. I'm sure Orochimaru was proud of you." said Gabriel with a laugh.

"Yeah…but enough of that….what's been going on with you?" asked Naruto as they continued their walk with no set destination in mind.

"Things have been slow up in Heaven." she started while moving a lock of her elegant blonde hair behind her ear, "Since there has been a decrease in Devil/Angel/Fallen Angel disputes, it hasn't been as busy since the Three Factions Meeting. We Angels still have large amounts of work to be done, but it's more on the positive side, which involves less fighting and hurt. I've had more time visiting churches around the world and making sure they are following protocol."

"That's nice. I've got a Rating Game against Tannin soon…"

"Tannin? That seem so dangerous, Naru!" she said while covering her mouth in shock, "W-while I do believe in you, isn't going against Tannin a little extreme? He seems really strong compared to the other peerages I've watch you face on film."

"Don't worry, Gabriel." said Naruto with a wave before setting both of his hands behind his head, "My peerage members and I aren't worried at all on how the conclusion of this Rating Game will be. We'll win a hard-fought victory. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Is there any way I can help?" she asked with worry.

"If you can, will you be able to watch the live stream of the Rating Game. I don't think it will last a long time, but with you watching I feel like I'll fight more efficiently." Naruto said with wide-puppy eye dogs.

Tears filled the Seraph's eyes as she jumped Naruto, hugging him into her heavenly breast, "Of course, I'll watch your Rating Game as soon as it starts, and I won't tear my eyes away from it unless necessary. I'll support you the whole time!" she cried.

The blond male laughed as he freed himself from his companion of the night, "Hehe! Thanks, Gabriel, but you don't have to cry about it. I knew you were going to support me. If you can't watch it live, we'll watch the recording of the game at a later date."

"No, but I will watch it live, Naru! I must pray for you while the game is happening to give you extra strength!" she said with a cute fist pump, "I have to make sure my favorite peerage is in top condition to fight against an opponent like Tannin."

"Oh? So my peerage is your favorite?" said Naruto with a sly grin, "And why is that?"

The Angel blushed as she looked away from the Devil in embarrassment, "Be-because…everyone in your peerage is nice…" she stuttered.

Naruto's grin only grew in size as he continued to push, "And who on my peerage is the nicest, hmmmm?" he asked.

"W-well…..uhm….Yoh is a very nice person…" she muttered, scared she would hurt his feelings.

"Oh, Gabriel! You don't have to lie! You know I'm the nicest person on my peerage! Hahaha!" he laughed.

"Forgive me, for I cannot lie."

"Hahaha-oh yeah…" Naruto slumped sadness as he realized that Gabriel truly meant that Yoh was nicer than him.

The Seraph started to panic as she grabbed onto Naruto's arm, "But that doesn't mean that I you still a very nice person, Naruto! You've helped your peerage members from their past struggles and helped them find their place in the world! You've done so much good and you may not even realize it…"

Naruto hummed as stopped moving, causing Gabriel to do so as well, "I'm guessing there's a reason why you don't consider me to be the nicest person on my peerage, huh?"

The Angel nodded sadly as she stared at Naruto's eyes. Because of their similar height, she matched his intense gaze with her own without having to look up at him, "While you are a nice person, Naru….I sense a lot of darkness within you as well….It's something that you try to hide from everyone but it's blatantly obvious to me…"

"Blatantly obvious?" Naruto smirked, "And what does this 'darkness' of mine look like?"

Gabriel frowned as she poked Naruto in his chest, right where his heart is. "Right here….in the center of heart…it's like a cold…cold dark hole….."

Naruto's smirk disappeared as he registered the woman's words. A sharp pang of guilt pierced his heart as he couldn't deny the truth of Gabriel's revelation. He sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair while doing so. He didn't think that Gabriel could read him so well, revealing even his darker side that he kept hidden. _'I guess there is no hiding from her…which is scary.'_

Naruto's sudden silence worried Gabriel, "Please…tell me how you feel." she said while placing a hand on his cheek, "I feel as if you have so much to say but keep everything locked away. Maybe you will feel better if you just talk to me."

Again, silence blanked the atmosphere as the two entered another staring contest. Gabriel's lower lip shook somewhat as she anticipated Naruto's answer. She didn't want him to be mad at her, but she knew her close friend needed to express himself more if he wanted to manage the dark hole he had in his heart.

"Would you like some ice cream?" he asked suddenly, surprising the Seraph. Pointing behind her, Gabriel turned to see a convenience store on the other side of the street. There was a poster outside on one of the windows advertising the store's icy delight. "Let's talk over some ice cream. There's a park somewhere nearby with benches we can sit and talk this out."

Gabriel nodded and watched Naruto enter the store. After buying the ice cream and leaving the store, he handed Gabriel her treat and led her to the nearby park. After taking a seat on the first park bench they saw, Naruto unraveled his ice cream from its wrapper. "Mmmhmmm…cookies n' cream…." he moaned as he licked the cold sweetness with satisfaction.

"And which flavor did you get me?" Gabriel asked as she examined the ice cream's wrapper, "Butter Pecan? I've never had that flavor before?"

"I think you may like that flavor. It's really good…plus, I wanted to ask you a question that I haven't gotten an answer to."

"Oh really, and what may that be...oh, this is good!"

"When somebody says the word 'pecan'….is it pronounced 'pe-can' or 'puh-con'? Since you've been around for a long time, I thought you may know the answer…"

"Silly, Naru. First of all, never talk or mention my age…secondly, it's pronounced 'pe-can'. If I hear a Christen pronounce it as 'puh-con', nine times out of ten, they're probably going to the Underworld."

"Oh, glad you cleared that up for me."

Another round of silence started as the two ended their interesting conversation in favor of finishing their treats. While the atmosphere between the two wasn't awkward, it wasn't comfortable either. They knew of the approaching topic and how sensitive is would be.

There were few people in the park with them, with the occasional stranger passing by the quiet duo. By now, they had finished their ice cream and were sitting in silence, just waiting on the other to start the needed conversation. However, the two found comfort in listening to the surrounding sounds of the park instead of each other.

It was Naruto that decided to cut the silence between the two, "How long have you sensed this 'coldness' in me?" he asked.

"When I first met you…..and not the you when you communicated through those orbs of yours…when I saw your weak body laying in the bed back in Kuoh. I immediately sensed it but decided not to speak upon it because you were so nice to talk to during our travels with Kuroka. I when I kissed you in order to heal your injuries…I shivered at the coldness of that evil….it's not the evil that every Devil was born with…it's something different…and far scarier…"

Glancing at the silent Bael, Gabriel asked, "Naruto…why were you gone for so long? Why couldn't you talk to me personally instead of using that orb of yours? I need an answer." she almost demanded.

"To make a long short, a group of High-Class Devils didn't agree with a relationship I had with a girl during the Civil War…the girl came from a royal family and I was a simple Low-Class Devil. While I was strong, my social class really put people on edge and didn't want me with her…so they sealed me away…I was stuck in there for over 500 years before my peerage freed me."

Shock was evident on the Seraph's face as her body started to shake. Tears pooled on the edges of her eyes before slowly falling down her soft cheeks. Naruto sighed and scooted closer to Gabriel so that he could hug her, comforting the angel during her small break down. "This is why didn't want to tell you, Gabriel. I knew you wouldn't like it…"

"I…I knew something was wrong…" while she was crying, Gabriel was still able to form clear words. Wiping some of her tears with her sleeve, the Seraph continued, "Only communicating with your orb form…not being able to tell me everything about you…I hypothesized that your real body was stuck somewhere, but it confused be because it was like you weren't doing anything to free yourself, only training Kuroka for the time we were together."

"Ehh…" Naruto shrugged his shoulders awkwardly as he tried to come up with an explanation, "For most of the time I was sealed, I really wasn't trying to get out…well…I kinda was, but it just took a while for everything to be right…I had to wait until it was my time until I ordered my peerage to free me….it was a complicated process, Gabriel…"

Gabriel glanced at Naruto out of the corner of her eye. Her right leg was jumping with impatience as she bit her bottom lip, something that her Devil friend noticed. "Is something wrong, Gabriel? "He asked with concern, "If you have a question, I'll answer it truthfully. I won't hide anything from you."

"The girl from your past….is it Serafall you're alluding too?"

This time, it was Naruto to be shocked as he stared at the Seraph with surprise, "How…how do you know?" he asked, a little tense with Serafall being brought up in their conversation.

"I remember…before you left with your peerage during the night of the Three Factions Meeting and after Vali was revealed to be with the Chaos Brigade...I overheard the short conversation you had with Serafall. She said that she still loved you, but you dismissed her without replying, leaving the scene. She seemed to be saddened as she left…I wanted to ask you about it, but I knew it wasn't any of my business…" said Gabriel.

"Yeah…she's the girl I'm talking about…" Naruto said after a few seconds of thought, "Her family, along with a few others, didn't like our relationship. I was still a Low-Class Devil at the time while Serafall was one of the few Devils suggested to become a new Satan because of her efforts in the Civil War. I could have ended it early and saved myself, but I loved her too much to let her go…guess I paid the consequence then, huh?"

"And they sealed you for that?" she muttered, in shock of what Naruto went through.

"Yup…over 500 years of being in a box…" he replied, "Thankfully, I weakened the seal before it was complete, so I developed my communication orbs to pull my conscious out of the seal and collect my peerage members throughout the years…."

"500 years of solitude and darkness…." she muttered, hugging Naruto closer to her, "It explains why you act the way you do…"

"Hey!" Naruto glanced down at the Seraph with a question-able look, "What does that mean? 'Act the way you do.' What's wrong with the way I act?"

Gabriel instantly waved both in her hands in defense, "N-not that there's anything wro-wrong with how you act now, Naru! I love and enjoy you and everything you stand for! It's just that I've noticed how damaging your experience in that seal had on you!"

Taking a few short breaths to calm herself, Gabriel gripped the sides of her robe as she continued, "I was worried about you, so I started to ask around about you…before you disappeared. Many people told me that they remember you used to act more serious and collected compared to how you act now…along with the random giggles you have…personality switches…and when Orochimaru told me of the times you would sleep in your closet for some reason he couldn't reveal at the time…you telling me about being sealed for so long really answers a lot of questions I had."

"Wow…" Naruto said, blindsided by Gabriel's analytical skills, "Seems you really have me figured out."

"I care for you…" she muttered with a shy smile, "I wanted to make sure you were ok…and it sadness me to find out you weren't all along. You don't have someone to relate to, and you don't want to look weak in the eyes of others so you've created a façade to protect yourself. That isn't healthy, Naruto."

"A façade…" he said, staring up at the starry night sky with an uncomfortable smile, "A façade to hide the black hole in my heart….story of my life…"

"Naruto…." while he didn't have any outside reaction, he was slightly surprised at the serious tone in the usually happy Seraph's voice, "What is this 'plan' of yours that you haven't told me about?"

"I plan on dethroning the Great King of the Underworld." he said without hesitation, staying true to his promise of answering all of Gabriel's questions, "The Bael's are doing a terrible job in their effort to help govern the Devils side of the Underworld. I plan on taking charge, seeing as I'm a Devil that is powerful and has gone through each major stage of social class ranking…the fact that I am a master at using my clan's signature ability, Power of Destruction, if I play my cards right, I'll be able to make my dream reality…"

"…and in the long run, get revenge for all of those that have done wrong by you, correct?" the Angel finished.

Naruto chuckled as he continued to gaze at the night sky, not brave enough to see Gabriel's tear-filled expression. Gripping her side tighter, but not enough to hurt her, Naruto thought of his next words. "Well, your night lying…" he said after a few seconds of silence, "While I don't really care about Serafall anymore, there are those that need to be put in their place. They've not only hurt me, but others less powerful than them. There needs to be a change, something I plan on creating." he said with determination.

"While I do agree that it's unhealthy for a corrupt government to use its power to control its citizens, I don't agree with you overthrowing the Bael's in the name of revenge under the guise of an honorable cause." said Gabriel, "You hold an immense hatred for the Bael's for what they did to you. You feel betrayed that your own clan would seal your for their own selfish desires. If you want to conquer your hatred and continue your journey with good intentions, you must learn how to forgive."

"Forgive? You do realize that I'm a Devil?" the Bael said with a smirk, "That really isn't in my blood."

"Even with that immense darkness in your heart, you are still a good person, Naruto." said Gabriel, "While it may be hard, it isn't impossible. You are different than the rest…I can tell…another reason why I enjoy being with you so much…"

The blonde Bael had to hold back a flinch when Gabriel leaned into Naruto's body, laying her head on his shoulder. While he was still on the outside, his mind was rampant with thoughts as he digested what the Seraph told him. He wasn't one for forgiveness and peace, especially towards those that hurt him. He was at a disadvantage from the beginning, being born into the low-class with his father being a solider for the Anti-Satan Faction and his mother a maid for the royal Bael family. Working from the bottom, he fought his way to the top during the Devil Civil War and made a name for himself. He shouldn't have gone through what he did and just thinking about it made his blood boil.

' _But then she comes around…'_ he thought as he glanced down at the top of Gabriel's blonde hair.

Other than his peerage members, Naruto considered Gabriel to be one of the best things to happen to him since being sealed all those years ago. She was honest, caring and pretty fun to have around. He smiled at the times he shared with Gabriel while he was training Kuroka. Even though he wasn't physically there, he thoroughly enjoyed the Seraph's presence. Her innocent nature and heavenly laugh was something that he needed…something that fueled his drive to free himself so that he could meet her without the need of his communication orb. Seeing her for the first time through his own eyes, a feeling inside of the Bael appeared, one that he hadn't felt for someone in a long time.

' _I'm a bad person….'_

"Alright…" Naruto said, catching the Seraph's attention, "While it won't be an immediate process, I'll work on letting go of my hatred…if that makes you happy."

For a second, his body was overrun with guilt for lying to the Angel, but all of that guilt washed away when Gabriel's smiling face registered in his ocean blue eyes. "Really!" she said in happiness as jumped him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, "Oh, God bless you, Naru! I'm so proud of you!"

Naruto chuckled as he hugged the beautiful woman, "Hehe, alright now, Gabriel. I'm glad that you-OW! Dang it, that hurts!" he yelled as he hissed in pain, Gabriel's prayer coming back to bite him.

After numerous pleads of forgiveness and making sure that he was okay, Gabriel and Naruto returned to their original position with the Angel laying on the Devil's shoulder while he had his arm wrapped around her. The two entered a comfortable silence, finding tranquility in one another's body heat. There weren't any other people in the park, so the duo was able to enjoy their moment in solitude.

"Gabriel…" the Angel perked up at the sound of Naruto's voice, "Earlier you said that you love me and everything I stand for…did you mean that?"

That Seraph's face lit up with a heavy blush, understanding the implications of what she said earlier. She hadn't even realized what she said before because she was so caught up defending herself. "Uh..Uh...well….y-yes, I did mean that, Naruto."

"In what way?" he asked immediately.

The color of Gabriel's blush now rivaled that of tomato as she stuttered, "R..roman-man..tically…"

"Romantically?"

The Angel nodded into his shoulder, hiding her red faced, "Yes, that would be the correct way to describe my fe-feelings of you."

"Hmm…me too."

Naruto smirked when he felt Gabriel's shaking body suddenly freeze at his words. Slowly, the Seraph pulled herself from his shoulder and moved to position her face over Naruto's. Her eyes were wide as she slowly digested what the blonde Devil said. Her lips were moving as if she tried to talk, but she couldn't form words due to the shock of Naruto's revelation.

The Devil chuckled as he pushed a lock of the Angel's long, platinum blonde hair behind her ear, "I've been feeling this way for you for a while now. Sorry if I'm late to admitting it to you."

"F-for...for how long h-have you felt this way…..about me?" she muttered, locking her eyes onto his.

"The moment I first saw you with my own eyes." he admitted, "When you came to heal my weak, broken body. I don't know why these feelings for you developed the moment I saw you, but it hit me hard the first time I saw you."

"I…grew feelings for you while traveling with you and Kuroka." she started, her blush calming somewhat, "You were so exciting to be around and I hadn't had so much fun before. It was during a time I had a break from my duties in Heaven and you and Kuroka really helped me relax. Your attitude and jokes…everything about you was amazing to me, regardless that our only form of communication was through a spell. Those feelings only grew over time when I finally got to officially meet you a few months ago."

The Angel placed her soft hands on the Devil's whiskered cheeks, not breaking their intense eye contact. "I really do love you, Naruto Bael."

Closing the distance between them, Naruto muttered before their lips connected, "I love you too."

Their second kiss, while short, was filled emotion. The world was drowned out to the duo as they packed everything they had into their connection. Their eyes were closed as the feeling of pure love washed throughout their bodies along with a pleasure knowing that the two had finally admitted themselves to each other. The quietness of the park acted as a blanket, comforting the two as their lip lock grew in intensity.

Just as quick as it started, it ended as Gabriel slowly pulled away. Her heart was thumping in joy now that she had finally admitted her love to her blonde friend and knowing that he felt the same way only made things better. However, she was shocked as she looked at the blonde's dazed face.

"Naruto…..you're crying…"

Pulled out of his love-induced daze, Naruto was surprised at Gabriel's accusation. However, after reaching up this face, his astonishment only grew when he felt a lone tear falling down his right eye and water accumulating in his left. "Oh….I am…."

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" she asked with worry evident in her voice, wiping some of the tears away with her sleeve.

"No…" Naruto's grin was brighter than ever before as he started to cry for the first time in centuries, "You just don't know how happy you've made me, hehe!"

 **One week later…**

 **Underworld: Capital City of Lilith**

"Hello, Underworld! This is URGA (Underworld Rating Game Association) on NTN! I'm your host, Ernie Johnson, and I'm sitting here with some legends in the game: Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith! Today is the day that we've all been waiting for! In just a few minutes, we'll get to witness the Rating Game of Naruto Bael, the 'Compass Needle of Victory' and newly nicknamed 'Low-Class [King]], face off against the Ultimate-Class Devil coming out of retirement, the all-powerful Tannin!" exclaimed the older gentleman wearing a black suit and fashionable bow tie. "Kenny, we'll start with you…who wins this Rating Game tonight?"

"Tannin. That's it." said Kenny without hesitation, "I don't know why Naruto Bael accepted this challenge. We saw what you did against Rai Agares a few months ago….We've watched you defeat other notable peerages. Hell, we saw him outsmart and defeat Loki, a God of Norse mythology…Even with all that, this is Tannin we're talking about. The only advantage Naruto has in this fight is youth. Tannin hasn't fought in a Rating Game in two-three hundred years. Naruto's peerage has only been in about 7. This was a dumb, arrogant-filled decision made by Naruto and I don't expect this match to last long."

"I agree with Kenny." said Shaq with an insanely deep voice, "This is the first move Naruto has made since his re-emergence that I don't support. Tannin is simply too strong for him and he'll be embarrassed with how this Rating Game follows through."

"You know what…" said Charles, the last commentator at the table, "I've got Naruto with this one…"

Charles was met with a collection of groans of disapproval from his fellow sport casters, "Now, hold on! What do we know about Naruto? He doesn't accept challenges he knows he can't win. While Tannin's peerage is one of the most powerful peerages in the Underworld….this is Naruto Bael we're talking about…"

"Charles, don't make me flip this god-damn table over so I can slap some sense into you." replied Shaq, "Tannin vs. Naruto Bael…..and you're picking Naruto…the guy that's only been in seven Rating Games, compared to Tannin's dozens of victories…"

"You damn right I'm picking Naruto and he's gonna make all of y'all look like some fools!" said Charles, expressing himself by slamming his fist into the table, cracking the surface.

"Well, then, let's show some video of the Naruto Bael and Tannin's press conference from a few days ago." said Ernie as Shaq and Charles started to argue in the background.

…

…

The camera cut to a different setting with Naruto and Tannin (in his chibi form) sitting behind a long black table with microphones set in front of them. Between them was reporter asking questions about the duo and the Rating Game.

" _Tannin, we'll start with you. What do you expect out of this Rating Game?"_ said Doris Bourke, moderator of the press conference, _"What are you looking for from this Rating Game against Naruto Bael?"_

" _To start, I was honestly getting bored sitting in my cave for a so long with no action."_ said the chibi dragon, getting a few laughs from the audience watching, _"My entire reason in becoming a Devil and living here in the Underworld was for the resources here necessary for my species survival. Now that we've made some advances in restoring the multitude of Dragon Apples trees in Dragon Mountain located in the Gremory Territory, I've decided to return to the Rating Game scene…and what way to make my grand entrance is by defeating one of the most popular peerages of today."_

" _Wow, what a great way to compliment and diss me in the same sentence, lizard."_ said Naruto with an eye roll.

" _For the fifteenth time, you stupid delinquent! . !"_ shouted Tannin in a fit of anger.

" _The only thing about you that resembles a dragon is your attitude problem."_ said Naruto nonchalantly, angering the Ultimate-Devil even further.

" _And what about you, Naruto Bael?"_ asked Doris, turning towards the blonde-haired Devil, _"Why challenge Tannin-sama in a Rating Game?"_

" _Well Doris, apparently there are Devils and lizards…"_

" _Hey!"_

"… _out there that doubts me and my peerage's capabilities. Going off of the fact that I've fought my Rating Games in the name of all the Low-Class Devil who don't have many opportunities, I do this to show them that it is possible to grow higher in social ranking without joining a peerage. Through hard work, dedication, and diet filled with pickles, anything is possible."_ he finished with a strong nod.

" _Excuse me if I didn't hear your right…did you just say a 'diet filled with pickles?'"_ asked Doris.

" _That's right, Doris."_ Naruto pointed at the camera and gave it an intense glare, _"And remember kids…eat your pickles, hehehhaahahahHAHAHAHAH!"_

…

…

The camera then flips back to Ernie and the URGA on NTN. Charles and Shaq finally calmed down during the break but the studio was a mess because of their outburst. "This Rating Game will really be something special everyone! Thanks for watching URGA on NTN and you'll see us again after the Rating Game is finished."

"Go Team Pickle Rick!" shouted Charles.

"Do they still call themselves that?" Kenny asked as the show slowly faded away.

 **Rating Game Dimension: Dragon Mountain**

" **Good evening, participants. My name is Jeagu and I shall be the announcer for this Rating Game. The rules for this Rating Game will be the standard: the [King] that retires first losses! The environment for the game will be the Dragon Mountain, home of all Dragons here in the Underworld. Promotions are allowed once a [Pawn] has entered enemy territory. Good luck to both peerages. You may now begin."**

"While I understand they gave Tannin an advantage by having the dimension modeled after his home…couldn't they have given us a better base?" said Yoh as he inspected the cave they were in that acted as their base.

"YOSH! I believe that this is an excellent hiding spot for us, Yoh!" shouted the ever energetic Lee as he did a few push-ups, "I am ready to get back in action and show the Underworld my YOUTH!"

"While I understand that our usual style is coming into a battle with no plan….but do you really not have a plan, Naruto-sama?" Hao asked his [King], who found a comfortable plot of dirt to sit on.

"Uhh…plan? Do you know who you're talking to?" said Naruto with a sarcastic tone, "Of course I have a fucking plan!"

"And what plan is that, Master?" asked Orochimaru.

"Simple…attack!" replied Naruto as if It was the most well-thought plan.

"Sounds like a good fucking plan to me!" said Kisame with a thumbs up, Samehada shrieking in agreement.

"That isn't a plan at all." muttered Anna, disappointed but not surprised at her master's planning ability.

"You all really expected there to be a plan? They're lizards! We don't need a plan to beat some stupid little bugs." said Kuroka, taking a seat next to her [King].

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Kuroka. You'll be the main one leading the peerage." said Naruto with an eye smile.

"Nyahhh! Why do I have to do it?" shouted the Nekoshou.

"Because when was the last time you really got the chance to go out there and show everyone just how powerful you are?" said Naruto, "Take this opportunity to face off against as many little lizards as possible! Show them why I made you my [Queen]!"

"But I wanted to be lazy while everyone else did the fighting!" she cried out.

"Whoops, not gonna happen! Now get up girl and go kick some ass!" he said with a clap.

Kuroka grumbled as she stood back up, patting her kimono clean of any dirt on her ass. "This is stupid, nya. I wanna go home."

"The sooner you beat their ass, the sooner we can go home." said Naruto with an eye smile.

"Something is nearby." alerted Anna, causing everyone to look outside, awaiting their guest.

Landing a few feet outside the mouth of the cave was one of Tannin's peerage members. It was an orange dragon with a cream yellow underbelly. The dragon, who seemed to be almost two meters in height (6 ft), had a set of large wings with a blue-green underside. Two, small horn-like protrusions jutted out the back of its head and the tip of its tail had a small flame, completing the dragon's biology.

The small dragon growled at the group as it blew out black smoke, a sign of its eagerness to fight. "Hoho! This one seems like a real hottie!" said Kisame, gripping Samehada's handle, "Let me at this one." he said with a wicked smile.

"Actually, Kisame, let me have this one." said Orochimaru, surprising the blue-skinned man, "This one seems to be one of the weaker members of Tannin's peerage of dragons. While my poisons are strong, dragons have a naturally strong resistance to toxins. I believe I'll be more effective picking off the weaker members while everyone else goes after the stronger members."

"That's actually a good plan now…" muttered Yoh, with Lee nodding his head in agreement.

"Alright, Orochimaru. He's yours." said Naruto, "Move him away from the entrance of our base, though. When you do, we'll move out! Let's go Team Pickle Rick!"

"Why is that still our official peerage name, nya?" asked Kuroka, "Why can't it be something better, like Team Kuroka or Team Milk and Cookies? Milk and Cookies taste good together, nya?"

"Team Funbari Onsen?" suggested Anna.

"No, because all of those names are stupid. Let's ride out, Team Pickle Rick!" shouted Naruto as they advanced.

…

…

…

…

 **Wheeww…finally got that one done.**

 **Sorry for the late update everybody! Got caught up with my sleep and shit. Still a recovering college student, ya diggggg?**

 **This was more of a chill chapter with not that much happening. However, next chapter we get into all of the violence and amazing fighting again! Yaaaaa! Something I'm good at typing! Fight scenes!**

 **Anyway, I'm still taking suggestions for Tannin's peerage. There are still five possible peerage members for Tannin to have if you all have any suggestions. I got a couple good ones last chapter but I'm still looking out for any other interesting ideas I can play with.**

 **NARUTOXGABRIEL! Congratulations to all of the NaruxGabby shippers out there (cuz I know it's a lot of yall). I really do like those two as a couple and I've been dying to type up with their little moment! I hope you guys are happy!**

 **Heheh….ah, I'm such an evil little guy….all the NaruxKuroka and NaruxSerafall people probably hate me right now…**

 **Next chapters gonna be filled with all types of awesomeness, including beam struggles, hand-to-claw combat, and all the other good shit! So stay tuned!**

 **REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! NarutoPlug likes seeing his supports thoughts!**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

 **Tannin's Peerage!**

 **King: Tannin**

 **Queen: ?**

 **Rook: ?**

 **Bishop: Red Eyes B. Dragon (Yu-Gi-Oh)**

 **Bishop: Blue Eyes White Dragon (Yu-Gi-Oh)**

 **Knight: ?**

 **Pawn: Charizard (Pokémon)**


	26. NarutoVsTannin

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, still living off the fact that the RAPTORS ARE THE NBA 2019 WORLD CHAMPIONS! WHEEEEWWWWWWWWWW, them stupid Warriors thought they was actually gonna win!**

 ***cough* with all due respect, I hope Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant get's better…and I hope Ayesha Curry can find more appreciation from her husband rather than looking for it from other men *cough***

 **Shout out to Hardwin Potter, who THOUGHT the Warriors was going to win, and THOUGHT that my prediction of the Raptors winning in six games was stupid…**

 **BUT GUESS WHO GET'S THE LAST LAUGH? ME! NARUTOPLUG!AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH (Don't take this seriously, Hardwin is a good person)HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!**

 **Alright, enough of that. Glad that mostly all of my reviewers enjoyed the last chapter. A lot of you feel sad for Kuroka, but, ya know, that's how the world works. It wouldn't be realistic story if everybody in the story got a happy ending. Apologies to all of those who really wanted them to be together, but keep reading the story anyway. I've still got some exciting things planned out so just stick with a youngin, ya digggg?**

 **Also, as I type this, I only have about 6 confirmed members of Tannin's peerage. I'm still looking up dragons as I type this chapter up, I just gotta make sure my character selection on point. Thanks for all the recommendations for Tannin's peerage, everyone. You all have been a big help. Thanks for all the continued support as well.**

 **Let's continue the story…**

 **[Hey guys. I'm adding this extra AN to tell you in advance that this chapter is insanely long. Like, 25k words long. I'm sorry for the length of the chapter, I just got caught up with the battle scene, hehe! Anyway, if you skim through the battle scenes – MAKE SURE YOU READ THE LAST PART OF THE CHAPTER! Enjoy.]**

 **BreakThrough**

 **NarutoVsTannin**

 **Rating Game Dimension – Dragon Mountains**

 **Naruto's Base**

Naruto and his group proceeded to walk towards the exit of their cave, not caring about the orange dragon standing guard at the front. Said dragon growled at the approaching group, flexing its claws in anticipation for the violence that was soon to happen.

Stopping only a few meters away from the dragon, Naruto waved at the dragon without fear, "Hey there, little fella…what'cha doing here, huh? Wanted to come over and play with the Devils?" mocked the Bael.

Coughing out a black plume of smoke, the dragon (Charizard) roared in anger as it suddenly attacked with a blast of fire that shift-shaped into a five pointed star. The dangerously hot flames carved through the solid stone ground as it shot towards the group.

Reacting instantly, Naruto summoned a magic circle and countered with multiple beams of regular magic. Piercing through the flaming attack, the beams made contact with Charizard, blowing him away while causing a minor explosion.

"Seems like this place is done for…" said Anna, watching their base cave in from the explosion.

"We'll leave the small lizard to you, Orochi." said Naruto as he called forth his Devil wings, everyone excluding Orochimaru following suit. With a collective flap of wings, the peerage flew off, escaping the collapsing cave and leaving the snake man to deal with Charizard, who was pulling itself out of a wall of mountain rock.

 **Orochimaru, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Pawn]**

 **vs.**

 **Charizard, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [?]**

"This environment isn't really the best for poor me…" Orochimaru said as he looked down at the recovering dragon. Their former base cave was set at a higher elevation, so Orochimaru was staring down at the dragon as it took a few steps away from the wall, looking up to his prey. ' _These rocks are to sturdy for me and my snakes to burrow through…but these mountains do provide more than enough hiding spots for me to take advantage of…'_ thought the pale man, analyzing his surroundings for any advantage.

However, Charizard didn't give the only [Pawn] of Naruto any more time to think of a strategy as it flew at Orochimaru, coating its claws in green draconic energy, making them more powerful and dangerous. Roaring at Orochimaru, Charizard closed in with a double-clawed swipe, but Orochimaru ducked underneath the larger Devil-hybrid. Snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeve as they wrapped themselves around the dragon, providing enough time for Orochimaru to put distance between the two before Charizard sliced through them all and charged at Orochimaru again.

"Persistent…" muttered Orochimaru as he safely landed on the ground. Crafting a magic barrier, Orochimaru defended himself just in time as Charizard crashed into the dense shield. Jumping over the shield, the snake summoner withdrew a scalpel from his waist and sliced downwards. Landing on the ground, he glanced behind him to see the damage; he was disappointed to see his scalpel's blade mangled, hardly scratching the orange dragon. _'Tough scales…'_

Orochimaru jumped over Charizard's strong tail once the dragon tried to strike him and shot a rapid-fire of close range beams of dark magic at the dragon's back. Flying away, his attack only gave him a few seconds before the dragon burst through the smokescreen caused by the explosion and shot a stream of hot flames at Orochimaru.

Blocking the heat with another shield, snakes erupted from the sides of the barrier and intercepted Charizard with venom dripping from their fangs. However, they were incinerated by Charizard's hot flames as it conjured green energy around its claws again. This time, when he connected with Orochimaru's barrier, it broke through and almost injured the [Pawn] if it wasn't for his instinct to avoid danger.

Orochimaru laughed menacingly as he kicked Charizard away with strength that would make Lee proud. "Kukuku…silly little dragon…"

Charizard crashed into the ground again, but shook off any pain it felt. Opening its eyes, the dragon was welcomed the sight of a huge anaconda, summoned by Orochimaru, with its fangs aimed for the dragon's yellow belly. Charizard countered with a slash of its claws, but was surprised as his claws slashed through the snake as if it were smoke.

The dragon's eyes widened when it heard Orochimaru's laughter from behind, "…you can't even recognize a simple illusion…"

This time, an actual anaconda wrapped itself around Charizard's body, entangling it with pure muscle. Charizard struggled for any way of freedom, but the grip of the anaconda was too great. "So then, little dragon…is this all you have to offer?" asked Orochimaru with a sick pleasure seeing the dragon struggle, "I need to re-group with my peerage members, so let's make this short, hmmm?"

From Orochimaru's sleeve came another hidden snake. However, instead of attacking the trapped dragon, it opened its mouth, revealing the sharp edge of Orochimaru's sword, Kusanagi. "Hopefully, your scales aren't sturdy enough for my sword. That way, it'll make things quicker, kukuku…"

Growling in anger at the snake man, Charizard slammed its foot on the ground, surprising Orochimaru by summoning a red magic circle. Flames grew from the seal and enveloped both Charizard and the anaconda. The large snake hissed as it tried to unravel itself so it could get away from the insanely hot flames, but said flames were too much as it burnt through the snake like paper.

With a new vigor, Charizard grinned as white energy grew around its claws. With a flap of its wings, Charizard was suddenly on top of Orochimaru with its claws aimed at his throat.

Countering with Kusanagi, Orochimaru matched Charizard's grin with one of his own. "Interesting." he muttered as he withdrew for his sword for another swipe. Suddenly, Charizard countered with a new move, spinning his body around to slam his tail, which was covered in the same draconic energy as before, into Orochimaru's sword. Following up his tail swipe, Charizard bent his head back, facing Orochimaru upside down. In a fit of genius, Charizard opened its mouth a fired a blast of fire similar to before.

"Gahh!" grunted Orochimaru as he jumped away from the searing flames. Glancing at his right arm, he saw his flesh burnt from Charizard's sneak attack. _'Seems I've underestimated it…'_ thought the snake man.

Landing a few meters away, Orochimaru's battle instincts screamed for him to defend. Using Kusanagi, he slashed upwards, blocking Charizard's flesh-opening claws. Charizard slashed downwards at Orochimaru using his other arm, but Orochimaru got away by quickly slithering away, his legs morphed for him to move like a snake.

Circling around, Orochimaru opened his mouth and released a cloud of purple gas. Smirking, Orochimaru used his formidable speed to enter the smoke cloud, smashed his fist into Charizard's stomach, and exit from the other side in only a second.

The dragon roared out in pain, inhaling some of the gas. With a strong flap of its wings, the gas dispersed in an instant as Charizard chased after the snake man. Multiple magic circles followed Charizard as they released a barrage of star-shaped projectiles.

Orochimaru snickered as he slammed his palms into the ground, conjuring a magic circle. A wall of earth blocked all of the stars, momentarily protecting the pale man. "This dragon really is interesting, kukuku…" he laughed as he awaited the oversized lizard.

Sure enough, Charizard burst through Orochimaru's stone barrier which was weakened by its previous attack. Kusanagi in hand, Orochimaru charged at Charizard without hesitation, aiming to slice off one of the dragon's wings.

Charizard roared out as its wings glowed white and slammed them into Orochimaru's sword, surprising the snake man at their density. The dragon spun around, wanting to knock Orochimaru away before blasting him with another one of its Flamethrowers, but it wasn't expecting Orochimaru to flip over it with snakes dropping from his sleeve.

The snakes hissed, showing off their dark mouths, before biting down into Charizard. Before the dragon could try to slash at all the snakes on his body, Orochimaru blitzed him with pure speed and kicked Charizard in his back, sending the orange lizard flying.

Crashing into the mountain wall and still being bitten by a plethora of black mambas, Charizard wanted to free himself from its crater first, but was suddenly hit with a powerful gale of wind, forcing the dragon back into its personal crater.

"You are resilient, I'll give you that…" said Orochimaru, a few meters away from the trapped dragon. Behind him were two large magic circles which was making the powerful winds trapping Charizard, "…but still no match for me."

Gripping his sword, Orochimaru took aiming, wanting this attack to finish their match. "Few have ever injured me. Be proud that you are one of the names on that list." he finished as he threw his sword.

The sword moved in slow motion to Charizard as his approaching death was only feet away. Deciding on going all out, Charizard's eyes narrowed as a white light flashed over its body. Suddenly, its muscle bulged as Charizard roared with power.

To Orochimaru's surprise, his Kusanagi bounced off of Charizard's scales once it made contact. The snake man was confused for a few seconds before it hit him like a ton of bricks. _'Of course! It must have promoted itself into a [Rook]! This peerage member was a [Pawn] all along?'_

He growled under his breath as he recalled his wind magic circles. Looking behind him, he saw how close they were to his peerage's base, which was now destroyed. _'[Pawn]s can only promote by being on an enemy's territory…and he's very well is on our territory that we abandoned recklessly._

Tearing off the last of Orochimaru's snakes, Charizard inspected his body for any punctures. He huffed in pride as the orange dragon didn't see any punctures, probably from its strong scales protecting him. The dragon glared at Orochimaru with hatred evident in its eyes as the newly promoted [Rook] took a few steps until it was only a few feet away from the snake man.

Without fear, Orochimaru stared into the eyes of the beast, taking notice for the hatred in them. "Kukuku…" snickered the snake man, pissing Charizard off even more, "You have impressed me today, dragon. I've underestimated you countless times and you've taken advantage of that countless times. However, the longer this battle continues, the more time the poison you inhaled earlier has of spreading throughout your body and disrupting your regular bodily functions. So if you have a trump card, now is the time to play it."

Blue eyes glared at set of calm, golden orbs. Hating the fact that it sensed no fear from the snake man, Charizard blew a cloud of smoke into Orochimaru's face.

"Petty…" muttered Orochimaru as he waved the disgusting gas away with his hand.

Grinning with a lust of battle, Charizard flapped its wings and soared into the air, looking down upon the pale man. Again, another wave of white energy washed over Charizard as it promoted itself to [Queen]. More and more energy swelled out Charizard, now rainbow in color, as it encased the dragon into a shell, confusing Orochimaru.

However, just as quick as the energy encased the dragon, Charizard burst through the energy shield, now donning a new look. Its skin was all black with a blue underside, along with two spikes curving upwards from the front and back of each of Charizard's shoulders. A dark-blue fire trailed the sides of it face and burned from the tip of its tail. Its body grew more bulky, screaming pure muscle as the dragon flexed its arms and whisked its longer, more powerful-looking tail around in the air. Opening its now red eyes, Charizard roared out, signaling the completion of its transformation.

Orochimaru 'tsked' in annoyance, "Well, I really wasn't expecting you to have something like this as a trump card, but nevertheless, the outcome of this battle will still end with me the victor…" Gripping Kusanagi in his palm, Orochimaru licked his lips with his insanely long tongue as he summoned his Devil wings.

"So, shall win finish this?"

With a loud roar, the promoted [Queen] rocketed downwards towards the pale man. Orochimaru smirked in anticipation as he engaged the newly transformed Dragon, Kusanagi in hand.

 **With Team Pickle Rick**

The group, which now lacked their only [Pawn], was marching their way through the harsh Dragon Mountains, led by Naruto and Kuroka. Naruto was walking with pep in his step, excited for the battles ahead, while Kuroka lazily followed her master by his side, yawning into her palm every now and then.

"Can't we just get them all together and blow them up, nya…" muttered Kuroka as pulled at her kimono, loosening it around her large breast to give them some air.

"While that sounds like a good plan, this peerage isn't one we can play with." said Naruto, "I wouldn't be surprised if a few of us are retired during this match. Tannin is that good."

"Well, we're better!" shouted Kisame, "Fuck him and his team of oversized Geico lizards! I promise you, the next one that we see, I'm taking em' down!" he finished with his head held high and arms crossed over his chest.

Anna, who was latched onto Yoh's arm as the group made their way through the tough terrain, rolled her eyes at the blue-skinned man, "Those dragons wouldn't want to touch you…the moment they see you, they'll think your infected with a disease even they couldn't resist."

"Shut the fuck up!" he yelled comically, pointing at the monotone shaman with an accusing finger, "You know I'm sensitive about my skin color!"

"…which is why I decided to use it against you…" she said with a small, hardly noticeable smirk.

"Now Anna, we shouldn't make fun of Kisame's skin color. Nothing wrong with being blue." said Yoh.

"I wouldn't care if anyone else is blue…it's just funny that he's blue." she said, her evil smirk growing in size.

"You fucking bitch!" he yelled, having enough with Anna's smart mouth. Grabbing Samehada, Kisame marched over to Anna to knock some sense into her, but was suddenly paralyzed from the waist down. "What the hell? Why can't I move?!"

"Nya, can you all do this some other day…" Kuroka said with a yawn. There was a yellow magic circle under Kisame's feet with yellow strings wrapped around his legs, "Save your energy against the dragons we have to face…"

Kisame's body hovered next to Kuroka as the circle moved. Recalling her spell, Kisame was freed from Kuroka's grasp. Kisame muttered some curses under his breath while looking at the cat girl in suspicion, wondering how he didn't absorb all of the magic out of her spell. "Fuck all of you…" he said, attaching Samehada to his back and continuing to walk.

"YOSH! Kuroka-sama is super cool!" shouted Lee, "Being able to handle Mr. Kisame like that must really take a lot of power!"

"Which is why she is my [Queen]!" said Naruto with a grin, placing his arm on her shoulders and giving her a shake, "Just you all wait until it's her turn to fight! Kuroka's a real beast with her spells!"

"Which is why I want to finish this Rating Game as quick as possible, nya." said the Nekoshou, "I want to get some sleep tonight before I go visit Shirone on the Human Realm…haven't seen her in the while, nya…"

"I may actually join you, Kuroka." said Hao, speaking for the first time, "I have some business in need to attend to in Kuoh that I have been putting off for a while."

Kuroka's playful orbs locked onto the older Asakura, "Oh…Does this business have anything to do with a certain Sitri heiress, nya~" she said.

"My business is my own." he said, closing his eyes so that Kuroka wouldn't see his fear of being founded out.

"Nyayayaya! Don't worry, little Asakura! I won't play with your love life!" she laughed.

"Ohhhhohohoh! The Sitri girl? You mean that little rat that couldn't improve that simple water dragon spell?" said Kisame, "You like her? GGGAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! That's fucking hilarious!"

"I think they make a great couple. They both like to read books all the time. Maybe they can read to each other!" suggested the blonde Bael.

"Can we please change the topic…." Hao said with a groan, hating that he was the center of attention.

Anna hummed as she turned her head, narrowing her eyes at a certain pillar of rock, "We may just have to do so…we have company."

Suddenly, the pillar Anna was glaring suspiciously at melted as a blast of fire incinerated it along with anything in the fire's way. Hao stepped up, immediately summoning Spirit of Fire to block the approaching flames. Using its oversized palms, the spirit blocked the incoming firestorm, saving the group from a fiery death.

The spirit groaned in pain once the flamethrower ceased, revealing that its palms were melted. Hao narrowed his eyes at his partner's injuries as he supplied the spirit with the necessary magic to recover. "That wasn't fire…if it was; Spirit of Fire would have been able to block that."

The group turned towards the sound of a crackling laughter. Standing behind what was once a rock pillar was a large, but skinny, purple dragon with its rib cage exposed. Its menacing yellow eyes looked at the group of Devils with hunger, like a wolf watching a pack of sheep. On its back were a set of strong wings ready to take flight at a moment's notice. Sharp, blade like claws scratch through the touch terrain like paper as the dragon scratched at the grounds. Waving behind the dragon was a long tail protected by tough scales with a dangerous needle-like tail that was made to skewer through its enemies.

The dragon screeched inhumanly before starting to make its way to the group, dragging its long claws into the rocky ground. The Spirit of Fire screeched back in anger as its palms were fully restored thanks to its partner, Hao, supplying the necessary magic for it to reform. Waving its palms in front of the approaching dragon, Spirit of Fire flooded the surrounding area with an intense fire, stopping the purple dragon in its tracks.

"Seems like I've got my opponent." said Hao, stepping in front of his partner, facing the boney dragon without fear.

"I wouldn't underestimate Ridley." said a deep voice in the air, catching everyone's attention, "He's one of the crazier members of our peerage."

Landing next to the newly named Ridley, was another member of Tannin's peerage. This dragon was more sleek-like in appearance, with its scales resembling gold and red armor. In the middle of its chest was a greenish-blue diamond which gleamed with pure power. The dragon's set one set of wings were split, giving off the appearance of another seat of wings under the first pair. Lastly, a long, golden horn rested on the middle of its head, shining in the dark light of the Underworld.

"And you are…" said Hao, uninterested in the new dragon's appearance.

"My official name is Neo Dragonoid, but you can call me Drago." answered the newly named dragon, "This is Ridlely, my partner in Tannin-sama's peerage. We're both [Knights]."

Ridley screeched again, flapping his wings in a display of dominance. Drago sighed at his partner, "He's also very arrogant and prideful…the exact opposite traits of any honorable [Knight]." said the dragon in disappointment.

"I don't care what Evil Piece he has." said Hao, "Get out of my way or suffer the wrath of my flames." he demanded, Spirit of Fire backing its partner with a screeching of its own. Ridley and Spirit of Fire entered an intense glaring match, watching each other's movements like hawks.

"It seems you're a rowdy Devil. You'll make a good opponent for my friend." said Drago, "But who shall face me in bat-

"Me bitch!" shouted Kisame, jumping next to Hao with Samehada in hand, "I've been itching for a good fight and you look a feast for me. The smell of your magic has both Samehada and I riled up!" he yelled, getting a shriek of agreement from the demonic sword.

"Is that so…" muttered Drago. Glancing over to the other Devils not participating in their match, Drago counted how many members were left. "There are only five of you? How do you plan on defeating 7 other dragons with such small numbers?"

"Don't worry about us…" Naruto stated confidently, "Just worry about staying alive during your battles against my [Knight] and [Bishop].

' _Arrogant Devils…'_ Drago mentally sighed as he prepared himself for the violence that would surely happen in just a few moments, "Well, we have orders to stop all of you right here. Ridley and I will take on as many of you as possible in order to carry out our leader's wish."

"Hmmm…I don't know about that…what about you, Anna?" Naruto asked his second [Bishop].

Understanding what he wanted, Anna summoned a massive magic circle over the landscape, surprising the two dragons. From it came a flood of pink dust, covering the entire landscape and limiting vision.

"Resourceful…" muttered Drago, "But not enough to stop us!" he yelled before flapping his strong wings, wanting to disperse the thick pink dust.

While he didn't clear the surrounding environment of the invasive dust, it did clear the air he was at, along with the area where Naruto's peerage once was. _'They're gone? Just that fast?'_ thought the majestic dragon.

"Eyes up here, lizard!" shouted Kisame, who had used the diversion Anna created to his advantage, his insane [Knight] speed allowing him to blitz towards Drago and slam into his midsection.

Drago's eyes widened at the strength of Kisame, who was vastly smaller than Drago but still strong enough to knock him into the rocky terrain behind him. "I'm gonna need some space to beat my lizard, Hao! Take your fight somewhere else!" Drago heard Kisame shouted before he reappeared over him, dropping Samehada into his stomach.

"Your first attack was only successful because you caught me off guard," said Drago, using his arm to block Samehada, "something like that won't happen again."

Jumping off of Drago's stomach to avoid the scorching fires he blew out, Kisame summoned his wings and up in the air, slapping any other fireballs Drago launched at him. "Woah!" he said as he suddenly dropped to avoid being cleaved in half by Ridley's claws. "What the fuck, Hoe! Get your guy!" he yelled out in anger.

"Not as easy as you think, dumbass…" Hao muttered as he flew into the air. Spirit of Fire was trying to keep up with the smaller monster, but Ridley was entirely too fast. What he lacked in size, he had in speed as he zoomed past any of the spirit's attacks and countered by slashing at its body, unharmed by the spirit's heat.

"Fuck! Send him over here!" shouted Kisame as he countered all of Drago's incoming fireballs with flying water sharks.

Hao flew after Ridley, just barely being able to keep up with the speed demon in the air. Dodging his tails as Ridley tried to stab him, Hao created multiple behind him to shoot out geysers of flames, all targeted at Ridley.

Spinning around mid-air, Ridley opened his mouth and launched a massive blast of concentrated energy, equaling the amount of power behind all of Hao's flamethrowers and entering a beam struggle.

However, what Ridley wasn't suspecting was the much larger Spirit of Fire to appear behind him. With a roar, Spirit of Fire knocked the unsuspecting Ridley out of the air with a double-handed sledgehammer.

Dodging another fire ball, Kisame flew over to the descending Ridley. Crafting a magic circle, a large, blue shark made purely from water came from seal. Opening its maw, the shark swallowed Ridley, was just a little bit smaller than shark, and then took off, the magic seal it came from acting as a platform for the shark to hover in the sky.

"You're welcome!" shouted Kisame as he blocked another fireball from Drago with a magic shield. He grinned at the power behind the oversized fireball as the flames came from the sides of the shield.

Watching the shark fly over the mountains with Ridley inside of it, Hao took this time to recall Spirit of Fire behind him. "He's too fast for us. We'll need to take counter measures."

With a roar, Spirit of fire glowed before its entire body shrunk into a glowing ball of orange. Merging with Hao's body, a mechanical, jet armor gear suited itself around Hao. Two large energy cannons formed on its back along with two long claws that were similar to the Spirit of Fire's. On Hao's chest was a smaller version of the Spirit of Fire's head, but was grey in color instead of its usual fiery red.

' _ **Done…'**_ Spirit of Fire muttered to Hao mentally, signaling the completion of their armor, Over Soul Armor Style: Black Fowl.

"Good luck." Hao said to Kisame as he took off after the shark. It wouldn't hold Ridley for long so he had to catch up to it. Taking off at insane speeds, Hao flew off like a jet, leaving Kisame and Drago to themselves.

"That was impressive…" said Drago with a flap of his wings, "You were able to fight off my attacks while sending Ridley off somewhere else to clear up the surrounding area. You Devils are really interesting."

"Yeah, well I hope you keep that same interest when I'm bashing your face into the side of a mountain!" grinned Kisame.

 **Drago, Half-Blooded High-Class Devil, [Knight]**

 **vs.**

 **Kisame, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Knight]**

With a piercing roar, Drago flew at the patiently waiting Kisame. Before reaching Kisame, Drago let out a few fireballs that were regular to the Drago, but were double Kisame's size.

Kisame defended himself by slicing all of the approaching fireballs in half with Samehada, absorbing the magic packed into the massive fireballs. _'It's always harder for me to absorb elemental attacks, especially lightning and fire spells…but since there's so much magic in each of his attacks, I can't help but try my hand at devouring everything he throws at me!'_ thought the shark demon as he charged after Drago with an insane grin.

Summoning a multitude of magic circles, small shark bullets riddled the air, targeting the approaching dragon. However, the bullets only bounced off of Drago's tough exterior, effectively useless against the defense. The two [Knight]s clashed, with Kisame swinging Samehada into Drago's large horn.

Reeling back, Drago twisted his body to hit Kisame with his tail. Kisame comforted the blow with Samehada, but the monstrous force of the blow sent him flying. Drago followed up his attack with another barrage of fireballs all centered at Kisame.

Shaking off the last attack, Kisame used his wings as an air-break, stopping himself mid-air. Summoning a barrage of sharks to counter Drago's fireballs, he flew back at the Drago with bad intentions, wanting to slam Samehada into Drago's gem on his chest and absorb a shit-ton of magic.

However, Drago proved to be faster than he looked, appearing in front of Kisame in pure speed and shooting a vortex of flames from his massive mouth at Kisame. The blue-skinned [Knight] didn't have any other option but to defend with a multi-layered barrier, protecting him from utter annihilation.

Knowing that he was defending his flames with a shield, Drago suddenly switched gears, flying at Kisame with his horn aimed to pierce through Kisame and his barriers. He was moving so fast thanks to his natural speed and with him being a [Knight], Drago caught up to his flamethrower and flew through it like it was nothing.

"Damn!" Kisame only realized at the last second that Drago was meters away and tried to avoid being impaled by Drago's sharp horn. Said horn destroyed the multi-layered shield with no effort and cut through his side, opening his stomach. While the injury was brutal, it was nothing compared to being impaled by the long blade.

Avoiding all of the spikes sticking out of Drago's body, Kisame quickly concentrated on healing his wound that would have been fatal for most Devils. "You're fucking annoying!" Kisame yelled out, angered at the fact that Drago was the first one to land a significant blow.

"And you're easy to read." replied Drago, dashing at Kisame.

Two massive sharks flew out of two magic circles made by Kisame that matched Drago in size met the dragon half-way, crashing into Drago's open body and forcing the dragon out of the air and into the rugged terrain below.

"GArHh!" cried out Drago the moment his back connected to the tough ground. Both sharks were still biting down onto the red dragon, with one latched onto Drago's midsection and the other trying to pierce through Drago's left wing.

Kisame dive-bombed at Drago, aiming for the gem on the upper-half of his chest. "You thought you had me, huh? That's what makes you stupid, you oversized lizard!" shouted Kisame, his feet connecting to Drago's gem. The force of the blow crushed the ground underneath the dragon, forcing him deeper into the once solid mountain.

Drago struggled to free himself from his new entrapment. Rocks were falling on his injured body and for some reason; his magic was leaving his body. Noticing that Kisame had Samehada placed on top of his gem, he realized that this was the source of his magic being stolen from him. _'His sword steals magic?'_

The [Knight] of Tannin groaned as he forced himself out of his trap and shook Kisame off his body. With a huff, Drago spoke, "You are very powerful, shark Devil, but don't think that you've won just because you've absorbed my magic. My reserves are immensely large, an amount that you can't handle."

"No…" muttered Kisame with a devilish grin. Samehada shrieked in happiness at its meal as it burst out of its ribbon cage, revealing it dangerously sharp scales and massive mouth. "You underestimate our hunger, dragon. All you are to me is a feast of magic just waiting to be devoured."

Drago narrowed his eyes and Kisame, who only licked his lips in anticipation. _'His injury is fully healed…'_ Drago thought, scanning Kisme's side. The left side of Kismae's rob was ripped because of Drago's horn slashing through it, revealing Kisame's toned stomach area. Sure enough, Kisame's side seemed perfectly healthy, as if he was never hurt to begin with. _'An incredible healing factor…and a hunger for magic…a fearsome foe indeed…however…'_

A red aura washed over Drago's body as he stood tall, "You shall not win this battle, Devil, for I have a reason I must fight for. Tannin-sama's spotless record is on the line, so I must fulfill my duties in defeating you to help him!"

With a flap of his wings, Drago engaged Kisame, hovering right over the ground with his mouth wide open. Gathering his magic, Drago released a close-concentrated beam of fire, washing both Samehada and Kisame in flames that ate away at the ground beneath them.

The duo was safe, though, as Kisame defended himself with a strong barrier capable of staying intact of such a powerful attack. _'While I want to absorb the magic from this, the actual heat of these flames is real. I'd be cooked to the bone before I could absorb anything of this magnitude.'_ Kisame thought strategically.

Stomping on the vanishing ground beneath him, Kisame created a large, blue magic circle that was double his size. Water gushed out of the seal and circled around Kisame, enveloping him and Samehada in a water bubble. Recalling his barrier, Kisame escaped by swimming away, the water bubble acting as a personal pool for Kisame as it continued to cover Kisame as he continue to move over the hard ground.

Noticing a blue blob of water escaping, Drago turned his attack to the moving water bubble, following its every move as his fire scorched through the ground with ease. "You can't escape forever!" shouted Drago as he continued to rain fire on Kisame.

 **With the remaining members of Team Pickle Rick**

"Why is this place so big…." grumbled Naruto as he kicked a nearby pebble, "All of these rocks…I haven't seen a tree in an hour."

"I don't know how the dragons do it." said Kuroka, walking next to Naruto, "This place is so bare. Why would they want to live in such a boring place, nya?"

"Apparently, the Dragon Mountains is the only place left that grows a specific fruit that certain dragons live off of." said Yoh, "That's the main reason why Tannin became a Devil in the first place; to move here and find away to increase the number of dragon fruit so his species can live."

"Oh yea! I do remember him saying something about that…but I just didn't care about it at the time." mumbled Naruto.

"YOSH! Naruto-sama! I see someone!" shouted Lee, pointing towards the top of a pillar of rock.

Following Lee's finger, the group saw what seemed like a regular Devil boy. Said boy was had a brown skin tone, tall with a slim build but had noticeable muscle on his exposed arms. His spiky hair was all white with a unique red highlight. His had sharp eyes, similar to a dragon, along with a dragon crown on his forehead. He was wearing a black and gold tank top underneath a white lab coat which was hooked across the top of his chest, the sleeves of the coat flowing freely behind the boy. On his right arm was what looked like a golden gauntlet but it didn't cover his hand? Completing his look was a pair of black pants that matched his tank top tucked into his brown boots.

The boy grinned at the group with a certain evil in his eye. "Well look what we have here! A bunch of losers waiting to be destroyed by me! AHahahahaha!" he laughed.

"I thought all of Tannin's peerage members were dragons?" Naruto asked his peerage members, not caring for the boy's insult, "He's just a teenager.

"Ah-What! I am a dragon, you idiot! This is just my human form!" shouted the boy, his head comically doubling in size as he yelled at the clueless Bael, "You want to see a dragon! I'll show you a fucking dragon!"

"For some reason, I feel like he would get along with Kisame." said Yoh, ignoring the shouting boy.

Said boy blew smoke from the sides of his mouth. His anger increased as he saw the group talking amongst themselves, ignoring him as if he wasn't even there. _'How dare these buffoons ignore me, the great Ryuga, as I stand right in front of them! I'll show them why Tannin's peerage is considered to be one of the most powerful in the Underworld!'_

However, the boy (Ryuga) gripped his fist together, trying to calm himself. ' _Wait…I was ordered to report if I saw them…I'll just contact the others and wait for them to come…then the carnage can commence!'_ thought Ryuga with a sick grin.

Stretching his hand upward, Ryuga summoned a magic circle. A blast of red light shot into the sky, lighting up the surrounding area with a strong glow.

"AAHAHAHAH! You all just sit tight! The others are coming and we'll take you all down!" shouted Ryuga with an insane laugh.

"Alright then." said Naruto with clap, "Kuroka, would you be a dear and make some chairs for us so that we can rest our legs until the rest arrive?"

Ryuga face faulted when he saw Kuroka use her Senjutsu to manipulate the ground underneath her, creating a few chairs for the peerage to sit in. "What the fuck! You're just gonna sit around and wait for your doom like its nothing?!" he yelled.

"We've been walking through this shithole of a place for an hour. I want to get off my feet for a while, so shut up." demanded Anna with an intense glare centered at Ryuga.

"Who the hell do you think you are…." Ryuga said with a deep growl, his amber eyes glowing in response to his anger. A dark aura swept over Ryuga's body and suddenly glimpse of lightning danced around him, giving him a dangerous look.

"Hey, chill out." said Naruto, noticing Ryuga power-up, "Listen, let's just wait until your friend arrive. Plus, a 1 vs. 5 battle isn't fair, so take a breather for a while." he said before leaning back into his chair, "Damn…these things don't have any cushion at all…"

Ryuga's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at Naruto's lazy attitude. However, he did recall his power. "Fine…" he muttered, taking a seat on his rock pillar and watching over the group from up high. _'Have it your way, Naruto Bael, but when the others come…you'll regret this moment…'_

 **Near Team Pickle Rick's destroyed base…**

The black Charizard erupted from a pile of rocks that trapped it underground. Ever since the small dragon transformed (Mega-Evolution), Charizard and Orochimaru continued to battle against each other in an impressive display of magic and power. Orochimaru's last attack knocked the dragon into the side of a rock column, causing it to tip over and land on top of Charizrd.

"Kukuku…you really don't know when to stop, dragon." Charizard glared at his opponent, who was standing a few meters away from the transformed dragon. Charizard body was littered with injuries. During their battle, Orochimaru's constant attacks were slowly overcoming Charizard's sturdy scales, chipping them off and exposing the dragon's softer insides. Also, the poison that Charizard inhaled earlier was starting to take effect, weakening Charizard's movements and attacks, making it harder to keep up with Orochimaru, who was relatively unharmed.

While Orochimaru's right arm was burnt in multiple areas from Charizard's previous sneak attack, the only notable injuries Orochimaru had were a few scratches and patches of burnt skin. His robe ripped in multiple places as well, but Orochimaru was seemingly still functional.

"It won't be long until you succumb to your injuries, dragon." said Orochimaru with arrogance, "Are you sure you want to continue this one-sided battle of ours?

Charizard saw red as he flew at Orochimaru with the same green energy coating his claws. Dragging them onto the rocky ground below, Charizard swiped upwards once he was close enough to the snake man, knocking up a cloud of grinded rock at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru protected himself with a barrier and quickly jumped away, saving himself from Charizard's claws slicing through his barrier like paper. His sandals slide against the ground once he landed back down and quickly summoned a mass array of magic circles around the duo. Coming from the magic circles were multiple beams of magic, all of them attack Charizard from every direction.

The black dragon roared out in pain as he swiped through one beam, only to be attacked by four others in his back. The assault continued with Orochimaru's evil smirk growing as Charizard's pain-filled howls.

After a while, Charizard got tired of all the annoying beams. A large blue stream of fire erupted out of his mouth as he threw his head around, washing the area in dark-blue fire and destroying all of Orochimaru's attack. The ground around him melted from the intense heat as Charizard set his sights on Orochimaru once he cleared the area of his magic circles. With a flap of his wings, Charizard flew after Orochimaru, still releasing his powerful Flamethrower at the snake man.

Summoning his wings, Orochimaru charged at the incoming firestorm without fear. Creating a cone-shaped barrier, Orochimaru pierced through the fire and planned on running his shield through Charizard. However, the dragon surprised Orochimaru as Charizard quickly switched attacks, ceasing his Flamethrower and flipping mid-flight, slamming his glowing, green tail into Orochimaru's shield.

Charizard immediately tried to claw Orochimaru's face off with one of his claws, but Orochimaru ducked under the attack while releasing some of his snakes from another magic circle he created above the duo. He knocked away with a kick as his snakes bit into Charizard's neck as they flew with him. The snake summoner didn't let up as he followed after Charizard, his legs morphing into the body of his snake as he rushed after Charizard. Slithering underneath Charizard's body with speeds that would make Lee jealous, Orochimaru crafted a brown magic circle before taking a sharp turn, avoiding the earthen spike coming out of the magic circle and roughly jabbing at Charizard's back.

A black liquid gushed out of Charizard's mouth as pain was the only feeling Charizard had at the moment. Its eyes were widen in shock as the dragon didn't move for a while, too overrun with pain to do so.

A fair distance away from the paralyzed dragon was Orochimaru, whose legs had returned to their usual state. He watched as he his spell vanished, along with the earthen spear that was holding Charizard in the air. "I believe that did it." said Orochimaru as he watched Charizard's body crash into the ground with a thump.

Charizard hadn't move since the attack, but Orochimaru knew the dragon was still conscious since it hadn't been recalled from the Rating Game. Unsurprisingly to the snake man, Charizard's body started to twitch as the dragon began to gain its bearings. Slowly pushing itself on its feet, Charizard growled as it flexed its wings and claws, its eyes glaring holes into Orochimaru.

"Still have some fight in you, even with your injuries and my poison. My, my, you really are a resilient foe." chuckled Orochimaru, "You'd make a great play date for Lee. He annoys me with his pestering for training…maybe I should send him to you once this battle is over."

Charizard didn't respond to Orochimaru, still staring at the pale man while huffing out air from its nostrils. The dragon didn't make any sudden movements, just staring at Orochimaru, analyzing his body and all of his injuries.

Orochimaru caught Charizard glancing at his right arm in particular. "Oh? Does this injury fancy you?" he asked, raising his right arm. There were multiple burn marks on his arm, but it didn't hinder any of the snake man's movements. "A lot of this skin is cooked to the bone. It will be hell trying to replace all of that skin later on, but it's nothing significant to me. Kukuku…I guess that leaves you with little to take advantage of."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at Charizard. Again, the dragon didn't respond to his taught, which Orochimaru deemed unusual behavior for such a feisty dragon. _'He's planning something…'_ he thought.

Finally, after a long wait, Charizard flapped his wings, causing him to hover over the ground by a few inches. "Oh hoh? Are finally ready to fight?" asked Orochimaru, preparing his magic to combat against whatever Charizard had planned.

Blue flames surrounded the flying dragon as its magic began to grow immensely, surprising Orochimaru that Charizard still had this much magic left over. Ignoring the pain that coursed through its body Charizard slammed its fist into the ground with a massive war cry.

The ground shook as geysers of fire erupted out of the landscape, filling the sky with blue fire. The number geysers continued to increase in number as they made a beeline for the awaiting Orochimaru.

' _So this must be it!'_ thought Orochimaru as he prepared to counter. However, he was surprised when the geysers suddenly changed direction, not growing in his direction anymore. Instead, blue fire erupted around him, encircling and trapping him in the middle of a shower of fire.

The ground beneath Orochimaru started to bulge, alerting Orochimaru of the incoming attack. Jumping off the ground while creating a multi-layered shield to protect himself from the massive, volcanic eruption of blue fire breaking through the ground and rocketed in the air, slowly melting through Orochimaru's enhanced barriers.

Thinking on his feet, Orochimaru created another magic circle under him. A gale of wind burst out of the seal, continuingly pushing him upwards and safely avoiding the hellish blue fire. Looking down at the scene, their battlefield was utterly destroyed, melted by the intense heat and was now a pool of lava. "That was unnecessarily powerful…" he muttered as he summoned his wings while recalling his magic circle. "Even with all of those injuries, he still had enough stamina to-

Suddenly, a blue rocket shot out of the flames and blitzed at Orochimaru. Orochimaru couldn't react fast enough as the blazing Charizard crashed into him, causing a massive explosion to occur in the air, knocking both Orochimaru and Charizard out of the air.

Before the black dragon crashed into the ground, Charizard flexed its wings outwards, using them as a wind brake and stopping his decent, only feet away from the ground. Landing on its two massive feet, Charizard sighed as he sat down, glad that the fight was over. The dragon strategically used its Blast Burn as a diversion while also absorbing the strength of the move to power-up his last attack, Flare Blitz.

Charizard could feel the poison really disturb his organs regular flow and knew he wouldn't last long.

"Stupid…human…" Charizard grunted with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest arrogantly, "I win and he lost. That's all that matters."

"Hohoho, so you can talk?"

Looking down at his chest, Charizard saw the sharp edge of Kusanagi sticking out, soaked in his black blood. Behind Charizard was Orochimaru's head coming out of a hole from the ground with Kusangi growing out of his mouth.

Orochimaru laughed menacing as he pulled Kusanagi out of Charizard's stomach, "You were entertaining for a while, dragon, but nevertheless, I am the victor."

Orochimaru watched as Charizard fell to his side, succumbing to his injuries. "You last move created a lot of caverns underground. While it was hot down there, I was able to navigate through it…and with that last attack of yours…"

Orochimaru's body slowly came out of the hole he dug out. Charizard's eyes widened in shock when he saw that only Orochimaru's top half of his body was intact, with snakes slithering out of his open stomach, "You could say that you've forced me to waste a lot of my magic…"

Kusanagi retreated into Orochimaru's mouth before two hands came from the inside of Orochimaru's mouth and gripped his lips. Pulling the skin back, a new Orochimaru grew out from the old, perfectly healthy. "Kukuku…" he laughed as he stepped out of his shed skin, "Thanks for the fight, dragon. I enjoyed myself." he said as he watched Charizard's body be enveloped by a blue light before disappearing.

" **One [Pawn] of Tannin-sama has retired."** said the announcer, his voice echoing throughout the dimension.

The [Pawn] of Orochimaru stretched his arms out, "You know what…I think I'll take my time regrouping with the others. This is a large dimension anyway, so I have an excuse." said Orochimaru, beginning his long stretch through the Dragon Mountains.

 **With the remaining members of Team Pickle Rick**

" **One [Pawn] of Tannin-sama has retired."**

"What!" shouted Ryuga, jumping to his feet in shock, "How in the hell did we already lose someone?"

"Ah, it seems like Kisame, Orochimaru, or Hao won their battle." said Yoh, "Good for them…"

' _The announcement said that it was a [Pawn] that retired…'_ thought Ryuga as he gritted his teeth, _'The only [Pawn] that left before anyone was Charizard! That idiot rushed out of base when the Rating Game started so he could take down as many opponents as possible first! That fuckin' dumbass!'_

Ryuga's pointed ears twitched when it picked up the distant sound of wings flapping. Looking behind him, a large, shit-eating grin grew on his face as he watched four massive dragons flying towards him. "Hahaha!" Ryuga laughed, catching the attention of Naruto and his peerage members, "They're here! OOHOhhohoho! Now the action can start!"

A few seconds later, the dragons made landfall with two on Ryuga's right and the other two on his left. "About damn time, you imbeciles! What the hell took you so long?" questioned the white-haired boy.

"I was hoping they'd take care of you while we flew over." said a shining blue dragon. It was one of the two dragons that accompanied Tannin during Naruto's meeting with the Devil Council, Blue Eyes White Dragon; "You and Ridley are the most annoying dragons I've met in my life" said the dragon with an eye-roll.

"Shut the hell up!" shouted Ryuga with an animated large head, "I am the great Ryuga! I demand respect!"

"While you are strong, Ryuga, that doesn't make you the boss of us. Tannin is…it would be for your own good if your remember that." said a dragon Naruto was unfamiliar with. Said dragon's immensely muscular body was dark blue in color. It had a large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, blood red eyes, and two large horns with golden rings. Around its wrist were also golden rings.

"You can shut hell up too, Blue Dragon!" Ryuga yelled with no remorse, "I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"Wait." said Naruto, interrupting the arguing dragons. Naruto covered his mouth, trying to hide his grin as he asked, "Your name is Blue Dragon?"

"Yes?" answered the large reptile, "What about it?"

"Pfft…..That's so lame…"

"What? There is nothing wrong with my name!" shouted Blue Dragon.

"Your name is literally what you are!" laughed Naruto, "That's like if my name was Blonde Devil! Hahhahaa!"

"It is kinda stupid…" Kuroka said, not as interested with the dragon's names like Naruto, but he did have a point.

"And you!" Naruto pointed to Blue Eyes White Dragon next. "Blue eyes…white dragon….Did your mothers not have any creativity when she was giving you names!" said Naruto, continuing his bit of laughter.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother! She loved me very much!" Blue Eyes White Dragon shouted.

"Heheh…." Blue Eyes glared at the dragon laughing next to him. It was the other dragon that accompanied Tannin during the meeting, Red Eyes B. Dragon. "That's kinda funny…"

"What are you laughing at, huh?" said Naruto, turning his attention to the laughing dragon, "Your name, if I remember correctly, is Red Eyes B. Dragon, right?"

"….Maybe…." muttered Red Eyes B. Dragon, not liking the fact that the joke circled around to him.

"And I bet you all the money in my pocket that the 'B' in your name stands for black!"

"…."

"…."

"…."

"…"

"….maybe…." Red Eyes B. Dragon said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"YOSH! Naruto-sama, you really showed them whose boss! said Lee, high-fiving his master.

"They really did it to themselves." said Naruto with a shrug, "I guess their mother's didn't love them enough to come up with better names…"

"Hey! You leave my mother outta this!" Red Eyes said with a snarl.

Ryuga snickered at Naruto, "That guy is pretty funny! I don't see how I haven't made fun of you three for your names."

"Now that I'm thinking about it….Blue Dragon isn't that original at all…." said Blue, "He didn't have to smoke us like that."

"Well, what about Giratina!" shouted Red Eyes, pointing to the only dragon that hadn't spoken yet. Said dragon was the biggest member of the group and gave off an evil, creepy vibe. Giratina was a unique dragon that was mainly gray with gold half rings circling the back of its long neck. Down its neck and stomach ran a vertical black stripe with red horizontal stripes. Its wings were what made Giratina stand out from the other dragons, which were pitch-black like shadows with red tips that looked like claws.

"I think Giratina is a cool name." said Yoh, getting a nod of agreement from both Yoh and Kuroka.

"Enough with this childish banter of names!" shouted Blue Eyes, "We came here to defeat you!"

"I guess are break is over…" Naruto said with a sigh as he stood from his stone chair, "Alright, how are we gonna go about this."

"Let me, Yoh, and Lee deal with these guys." said Anna, "You two still need to face Tannin himself and his unknown [Queen]." she said while pointing at both Kuroka and Naruto, "Wasting your stamina here will only put you at a disadvantage."

"It seems like I'll have to show them the power of my YOUTH!" yelled Lee, a fire of determination flashing in his eyes.

"Lee," Anna chopped the top of the Green Beast's head, causing him to cry out in pain, "These dragons aren't like the others. We'll have to take them seriously. As you are now, you won't be able to beat just one of them. While you fight, I'll watch your back."

"Uhh..sure….." said Lee, rubbing the bump on his head.

"And what about Yoh, nya? Kuroka asked, hiding her astonishment that Anna was actually talking. ' _This is the most she's ever talked before, nya…Good for her…'_

Anna glanced over to her husband. Feeling awkward at Anna's bland stare, Yoh started to sweat, "You want me to do something?"

"Me and you are lead. You support me. I support you."

Yoh raised an eyebrow at Anna's words, "Now that I'm thinking about it, we haven't fought together in a long time, huh?"

"So now is the time to show them what we've got." said Anna.

"While I do like this commanding side of yours, Anna," said Naruto, "Going up against 5 dragons is too risky, even for you three. Me and Kuroka will play it safe, shooting projectiles from afar…just wanna make sure everything is cool."

"We'll make sure those dragons don't hurt you guys, nya!" said the Nekoshou.

"No…go." said Anna, surprising everyone. The shaman had a determined look in her eye as she stared at her opponents that awaited them. "This is our fight…trust in your peerage members that they'll get the job done…and we shall…."

Naruto and Kuroka glanced at each other, not sure of what to say. After a while, the two said their goodbyes and summoned their wings, flying in the sky and distancing themselves from the soon to be war zone. On the ground, standing against 4 dragons and one smirking Ryuga, stood Anna, crossed arm with Yoh and Lee at her side. Her red bandana held down her hair as a small gust of wind blew through the open valley.

"Get ready, dwebs." said Ryuga with his cocky grin, "You all won't last against the likes of us."

"I'd say otherwise," Anna calmly stated, "and I'll use opportunity to defeat anyone not of member of my master's peerage."

A red bulge started to grow from Anna's forehead until it formed into a curved red horn. Behind Anna appeared a massive magic circle, surprising all of the dragons at its size. The seal slowly hovered from the ground into the sky, with the body structure of a large being come out of the seal. Once finished, the seal disappeared revealing a massive monster that was taller than even the dragons. Donned in his white shirt that had a menacing, glowing green face, and two iron cuffs on each wrist was Oh-Oni, Anna's third guardian spirit.

Looking up at the behemoth, Yoh's eyes widened in realization as he waved at the large ogre, "Yo, Oh-Oni! It's been a while!"

" **Hello, Papa. It has been a while."** turning his attention back to his summoner, Oh-Oni's green eyes locked onto Anna's form, **"Hi, Mama."**

"Hello, Oh-Oni. I have a mission for you. I will assist you to make sure our mission is successful." said Anna, not even turning around to look at her spirit.

" **What mission?"** he asked.

Anna pointed at the dragons standing on the other side of the valley, "Defeat them."

 **Team Anna (Anna [Bishop], Yoh [Knight], Lee [Rook])**

 **vs.**

 **Team Ryuga (Ryuga [Pawn], Blue Eyes White Dragon [Bishop], Red Eyes B. Dragon [Bishop], Blue Dragon [Rook], Giratina [Rook])**

"It seems like they had some type of trump card amidst them." said Blue Eyes, staring daggers at the newly summoned Oh-Oni.

"Who cares!" shouted Red Eyes as a pool of dark red energy gathered at the center of his mouth, "I'd like to see if they can stop this! Inferno Fire Blast!" Red Eyes released a large, powerful orb of dark fire magic that radiated intense heat.

Withdrawing Harusame, Yoh usual lazy stature morphed, his eyes locking onto the approaching death orb with a seriousness he wasn't known for. A large amount of blue magic surrounded both Yoh's right arm and Harusame's entirety. Even with Red Eyes B. Dragon's attack only dozen of meters away and quickly approaching, Yoh remained calm, gathering energy until the time was right.

"Have at it, Yoh."Anna muttered to her fiancé.

Pulling back his headphones, the younger Asakura twin whispered, "Chou Senji Ryakuketsu –Mikazuki no Futsu…"

From the other side of the valley, Ryuga and the dragons were shocked to see Red Eyes large fire blast suddenly shrink. By the time the attack would have hit the group, the fireball had disappeared, and not a trace of its presence was detectable.

"What! What the hell was that?!" shouted Ryuga.

"Was that a spell…that nullifies magic? Blue Dragon asked.

Entering a run stance, Yoh looked over to Lee, "Let's go, Lee!" and disappeared in a burst of speed.

"YOUTH!" Lee shouted, his skin color turning red after immediately opening the third gate, Gate of Life, and following Yoh's lead.

Reacting to his battle instincts screaming for him to counter, Ryuga swiftly twisted his body and blocked Yoh's swing with the gauntlet on his hand. _'How the hell did he get behind me so quickly? He was just across the valley!'_ he though in shock, also noticing the strength in Yoh's swing.

He couldn't even counter Yoh because of the Green Beast flying right at him. "Dynamic Entry!" he shouted, kicking the unsuspecting Ryuga in his back, sending him flying.

"You go after him." Yoh muttered. Lee nodded and the two disappeared, avoiding a beam of blue light coming from Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"Damn…they're quick." he muttered, trying to locate where the two went.

Blue Dragon was the first to spot Yoh, landing back on the ground not too far away. "Got you." he said with a flap of his wings, speeding his way towards the Asakura.

However, he was met with a face full of fist as Oh-Oni, knocking Blue Dragon into the side of the wide valley. **"Don't touch Papa."** the behemoth said with a snarl.

Red Eyes and Blue Eyes entered the air, flying over Yoh and Oh-Oni and rained two powerful shots of fire and light magic at the duo. Oh-Oni blocked the approaching beams with his huge palms, saving Yoh from utter destruction.

"That blue one uses light magic!" Yoh shouted to Lee and Anna. Anna nodded, making sure to prioritize targeting Blue Eyes White Dragon the most. Light magic was bane of all Devils. One clear shot from Blue Eyes could spell the end for them.

"Yosh! I understand!" Lee shouted, dodging a punch from Ryuga and replying with one of his own. However, Ryuga was surprisingly strong; able to catch Lee's punch was ease. "Pathetic." he said with a wicked grin. The fingerless-gauntlet on Ryuga's arm charged to life with purple lightning dance around his arm. Releasing Lee's fist, a charge shot of lightning burst from the gauntlet and hit Lee square in his chest, lighting his body up with electricity.

"You aren't ready to face an opponent of my level!" Ryuga yelled with arrogance as he kicked Lee away, knocking him into the middle of the battlefield.

Landing on the ground, Lee tried to recover, the powerful shock left the young [Rook] disoriented, making him available for Red Eyes B. Dragon to swoop down and try to bite Lee in half with his sharp teeth.

He was saved by Goki, one of Anna's main shikigami guards. The red shikigami had his axe's handle in his mouth as he used his hands to pry Red Eyes' mouth open. "Thanks, Goki." said Lee, slowly regaining feeling in his body.

An increase of heat in Red Eyes B. Dragon's mouth alerted Goki that the dragon was about to launch another fire attack. Pushing Red Eyes away, Goki created some distance for Zenki, Anna's other shikigami guard, to jump in with his shield, blocking the close-range fire blast, which exploded around the trio.

Jumping out of the smoke, Goki grabbed his axe and planned on slicing Red Eyes B. Dragon's chest open with one swing. Red Eyes read his opponent, catching the blade between both of clawed palms. "Thought ya' had me?"

"Please…" Yoh suddenly appeared underneath the black dragon and finishing what Goki started by slashing at him with Harusame and disappearing again, leaving Red Eyes shocked that Yoh actually cut through his tough scales.

' _I'm not heavily injured, but that was too close.'_ he thought as he flew away, dodging Zenki, who tried to follow up Yoh's attack with a powerful punch to his damaged stomach. While it wasn't much, Red Eyes B. Dragon's stomach was bleeding slightly, proving that Harusame sliced through his tough armor. _'He's dangerous…'_

Dodging the rain fire of yellow-laser bullets coming from one airborne Blue Dragon, Yoh blitzed his way back over to Oh-Oni, who was fighting Blue Eyes White Dragon. While Oh-Oni was a physical behemoth, he didn't have any long range attacks to hit Blue Eyes, who was a fair distance away from the oni. The only thing Oh-Oni could do was block and slap away all of Blue Eyes' sky attacks, an unfavorable position for the ogre.

Jumping on Oh-Oni, Yoh ran up his body, jumping from limb to limb until he was on top of his head. **"Papa?"** said the giant, confused by Yoh's action.

"Just gonna use your head as a foot stool for a second." Yoh said as he summoned his wings and jumped off Oh-Oni's head with all his strength, soaring through the air like a rocket. Using Harusame, Yoh slashed at Blue Eyes, shooting sharp blade projectile at the light blue dragon.

Blue Dragon came for his peerage member's aid, flying in front of the slash and taking it head on, his [Rook] capabilities allowing the dragon to receive the hit with no backlash. Blue Eyes flew underneath his partner and shoot a beam of blue light energy at Yoh, knowing that he had a good chance at hitting the boy.

However, the dragon was shocked when Yoh suddenly changed direction, as if he pushed off the air, and shot to the right, the blue stream of destruction missing him by a mile. _'How can he change his trajectory mid-air like that? Even with wings, a sharp turn like that is impossible."_

The two airborne dragons received the shock of a lifetime when two large magic circles appeared over the duo and dropped two powerful lightning bolts on top of them. Both blue dragons roared in excruciating pain as they descended down to the ground.

From the ground, Anna watched as the two began their drop back to the ground, internally smirking that her attack went unnoticed.

The pain for the two dragons didn't stop there as Oh-Oni caught both dragons by their necks and slammed them into ground with monstrous strength. Oh-Oni proceeded to apply pressure, wanting to crush the dragon's throats or chock them until they retired.

His plan was working, but the sudden presence of Giratina, who hadn't done anything since the beginning of the battle, grew out of the ground between the trapped dragons and slammed into Oh-Oni's midsection. The unbearable pressure of Giratina's heavy body forced the ogre to release Blue Dragon and Blue Eyes White Dragon as he slammed into the ground behind him.

Giratina let out an ungodly shriek at Oh-Oni before gathering a ball of orange energy and then releasing it all at Oh-Oni's head.

It was Lee that speed towards Giratina and jumped at the dragon with a powerful kick that was strong enough to knock its head to the left, obliterating the ground next to Oh-Oni instead.

Giratina, not that fazed by Lee's kick, screeching again as it flew off Oh-Oni and merged with the ground again, appearing at the same spot he was watching the battle from.

" **Thank you, annoying Lee."** said Oh-Oni as he stood back up, facing the two blue dragons before him.

"Annoying?!" shouted Lee, "Why am I annoying to you!? This is the first time I've met you!"

" **Mama's main thoughts about you are annoying and stupid. I'm just using what I've learned about you from her."** he replied.

"Oh…" Lee slumped for a few seconds, but regained his posture, knowing this wasn't the time for games.

Red Eyes B. Dragon landed next to Blue Dragon and Blue Eyes, who had recovered from Oh-Oni and Anna's combined assault. "These guys are better than I thought." said Red Eyes, glaring daggers at their opponents. Goki, Zenki, and Yoh regrouped with the other two, so both teams were now at a standoff, waiting for a signal to resume. "That little one with the sword is a problem."

"Let me handle him." Blue Dragon said, "His sword attacks are something I can handle. You two focus on the big guy and the other bugs while Giratina continues with his surprise attacks."

Both Red Eyes and Blue Eyes agreed with Blue Dragon, "Then let's apply even more pressure!" Red Eyes shouted wickedly as he and Blue Eyes White Dragon both released to massive beams of fire and blue light energy at the Devils.

Goki and Zenki crafted a conjoined super shield to block the massive combination attack from the two dragons. Their shield cracked against the strength of the two blasts, but was able to withhold and protect the group from forced retirement.

So it was a surprise to see Blue Dragon fly out of the two conjoined beams and smash through the shield with ease, knocking Goki and Zenki into the ground. In his mouth was a growing ball of blue light that was ready to be released. "Fire Crisis!" he said while releasing the orb and shooting into at the group.

While they weren't directly hit since they tried to avoid the attack, Yoh and Lee got hit by the powerful explosion following Blue Dragon's attack, sending them flying in the process. Oh-Oni withstood the explosion and tried to attack Blue Dragon with brute strength, but was held back by Giratina, who snuck up behind him again and used its wings, which had transformed into shadow streams with red tips, and wrapped them around Oh-Oni's midsection. Slowly, Giratina tried to pull the struggling oni into the ground with him, pulling him away from the main battle.

' _It moves using shadows!'_ Anna realized. She had been watching Giratina ever since it attacked Oh-Oni before, wondering how the phantom dragon appeared out of the ground without anyone noticing. _'Oh-Oni is in trouble.'_

Now entering the battle herself, Anna walked towards her massive ogre summon with multiple magic circles behind her, releasing multiple magical beams at Giratina. The dragon shriek as it released Oh-Oni and retreated back into the shadows that covered the valley.

"Get back witch!" yelled Blue Eyes Dragon, his blue eyes glowing with power as he activated a spell.

Three light swords suddenly dropped out of the sky and impaled the ground around Anna, trapping her. She hissed as her skin was burnt from the angelic-like light coming from the swords. "My Swords of Revealing Light Spell will hold you there for a while. No need for you to get involved and causing more trouble."

" **Let her go!"** Oh-Oni shouted, his red skin and greed demon face on his shirt glowed in response to his anger and he ran at Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"Anna!" Yoh saw his fiancée' hurt look and his protective side instantly kicked in as he dashed towards her. However, it was Blue Dragon that dropped in front of him, cutting him off.

"Where do you think you're going?!" he said. Coating his claws with blue energy, Blue Dragon now had two swords replacing both hands, "While I am a [Rook], I still have the sword prowess of a [Knight]!" he said as he clashed against Yoh's Harusame.

"I don't have time for this!" he said jumped back from his clash with the dragon and used his insane speed to get to his fiancée. However, Blue Dragon surprised Yoh when he slammed his tail into Yoh's stomach, forcing a glob of blood out of Yoh's mouth and sending him flying, right into the valley.

"Yoh!" Anna shouted. She couldn't free herself from the light swords because the light was like acid to her Devil-skin.

Oh-Oni was a few meters away from the trapped Shaman, but Giratina's head popped out of the shadows in front of him with a fully charged Hyper Beam. With no restraint, Giratina released the powerful beam, easily blowing off Oh-Oni's right shoulder. With its work done, Giratina retreated back into the shadows and back to his original spot away from the fighting.

"No…" Anna said between gritted teeth as she watched her inner demon fall to the ground. Magic was escaping the massive ogre's open shoulder, so the giant covered the hole in his body with his other hand. _'Damn it, I can't send my magic to Oh-Oni to heal him because of these damn swords.'_

"It's like your gift wrapped for me." said a voice behind Anna. The shaman's heart skipped a beat when Ryuga stepped to her right with a evil grin, "It would be very easy to retire you right now."

Anna balled her fist in anger at her uselessness, which only filled Ryuga with a sick glee. "Awwwww! Is the little girl mad that she can't do anything? Too bad!" he laughed, "I told you all that you'd regret waiting for my team members and now look at you…"

Ryuga's gauntlet brimmed with energy as lightning danced around his arm. Pointing it at Anna, Ryuga eyes gleamed with glee as he prepared to finish her off, "Seems like all that talk was for nothing! Be gone!"

In a split second, Yoh appeared in front of Ryuga, his face filled anger as he slammed his fist into Ryuga's face, "Get the hell away from her…." he growled.

Ryuga groaned as he rubbed his cheek, "What the fuck…I thought Blue was gonna take care of him…." Ryuga searched for Blue Dragon, wanting to know what went wrong. What he didn't expect to see was Blue Dragon on his knees, a river of blue blood flooding from all of Harusame-induced cuts.

"Too….fast….." the dragon muttered as he was engulfed in a blue light, his body disappearing.

" **One [Rook] of Tannin-sama's peerage has retired."** said the announcer.

"Wha…y-you…" Ryuga stuttered over his words as he studied Yoh's new look. A purple and white armor floated around the Asakura's shoulders, with his right arm encased in a gauntlet-styled arm. A giant three-fingered arm on his right held Harusame for him, increasing his range and length of attacks. In his left hand, Yoh held a new, small stone carved into the shape of a sword. Two hexagonal breastplates covered Yoh's left shoulder along with an apparatus armor panel with two spike panels on his back.

Ryuga stood on his feet, still holding his injured. He growled at Yoh, knowing that things just got harder for him. "So you get a little power up and now you think you will win? AAAHahahahah! You've gotta 'nother thing coming for ya, dumbass!"

Giratina upper body grew out of the shadows behind the smirking Ryuga and released a devastating Hyper Beam at Yoh. However, the younger Asakura brother disappeared without a trace.

Appearing behind the shadow dragon, Yoh slashed Giratina's back before disappearing again by pure speed, now underneath the dragon that suddenly felt a slight pain in its back. Slashing at the dragon's neck his time, Yoh reared Harusame back and suddenly knocked Ryuga away again with a strong kick.

"GArhHH!" he yelled as he bounced off of the ground a few times, "That damn swordsman!" he shouted

While Giratina wasn't hurt much by Yoh's slashes, he flinched somewhat, tilting his head back which changed the direction of his Hyper Beam. "Hey!" shouted Red Eyes, who was fight Lee, Zenki, and Goki alongside Blue Eyes, "We're doing something over here! Don't get in our way!"

Jumping next to Anna, Yoh's new armor slashed through the light swords, freeing his fiancée from the annoying prison. "Anna, are you alright?!" he asked with worry.

"No… but I'll be fine…" muttered the shaman. She winced as she expected her body, which was littered with burn marks from the heavenly light. "Damn, that light did a number on me."

"Shit…" Yoh muttered, a rare curse escape his lips. Giratina had vanished again, leaving the couple with a furious Ryuga.

"Stop fucking kicking me, you idiot!" said the teenager, "That shit hurts! Get 'em, Giratina!"

Suddenly, red eyes flashed from the shadows in front of Anna and Yoh. The shadows morphed into thick vines as they tried to catch the duo in their grasp.

Reacting instantly, Yoh picked up Anna and escaped with a burst of speed, appearing atop of the mountain on the right side of the valley. "Eh?" said Ryuga, trying to find where the two ran off to.

Yoh gently sat Anna on the ground while inspecting her injuries, "You're hurt…"

"I am." she replied, "But this is nothing. I have to continue."

"Are you sure? You can retire while we handle things here." suggested Yoh, "You don't need force yourself to fight, Anna."

"If I retire, you and Lee will get washed." she said with no remorse, not caring for her fiancé's feelings.

"Oh…" Yoh said with a deadpan stare, "Makes sense…"

"So I have to stay….I need to do more to win this fight." she said, slowly standing with her husband, looking down at the valley below. Her two shikigami along with Lee were getting pushed back by the combined efforts of Blue Eyes and Red Eyes while Ryuga watched in laughter at their suffering. "They need our help…"

As their backs were turned, the shadows behind them started to silently bulge from the ground, a pair of red eyes flashed dangerously at the two as the shadow morphed into Giratina's full body. His eyes gleamed with evil as he slowly manipulated the shadows around Yoh and Anna's ankles, holding them hostage…

"But first, let's deal with him…" said Anna plainly, alerting Giratina that she knew he was behind her. Suddenly, Oh-Oni, healed from his past injuries, reformed behind the phantom dragon and wrapped his massive arms around Giratina, trapping him in his powerful grip.

Giratina shrieked as he tried to escape into the shadows, but Oh-Oni's grip was something not even he could escape. "I'll deal with this thing. You go help Lee finish off the other two. I'm recalling Zenki and Goki to reserve my energy." she said as she summoned a magic circle. Reaching in it, Anna retrieved what looked like a few slips of paper, "Go." she said as she threw them in the air.

"GAAhh!" shouted Lee as his body roughly landed on the ground. He was just fighting against Red Eyes B. Dragon with Goki while Zenki held Blue Eyes White Dragon back, but the two shikigami's sudden disappearance allowed Blue Eyes to land a clean hit on the young [Rook], slamming him into the ground.

"Seems like your friends bailed on ya!" laughed Red Eyes as he released a fire blast at the downed Lee.

Lee pushed off the ground and prepared to dodge, but was surprised when Yoh appeared in front of him with an armor he hadn't known the [Knight] to have. "Chou Senji Ryakuketsu –Mikazuki no Futsu!" shouted Yoh.

Just as before, Red Eyes' massive fire ball of destruction disappeared into nothingness thanks to Yoh's spell. "Sorry about that, Lee." Yoh said as he prepared to fight the two dragons with his friends.

Blue Eyes and Red Eyes were about to engage the two dragons when, suddenly an explosion occurred atop of the mountain to their left. "What! What happened up there?!" shouted Red Eyes in confusion.

Anna stepped towards the edge of the drop off, looking down at the dragons below. "You're friend thought he could sneak up on me. Bad idea." she said as she waved a few pieces of paper in her hand, "I call them paper bombs….something I learned from my [King]."

Hearing groaning behind her, Anna checked to check just how much damage her paper bombs dealt to the defensive dragon. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, she noticed that while her bombs did hurt Giratina, the damage was hardly noticeable as the phantom dragon continued to struggle against Oh-Oni, who was hurt more from the explosion of the paper bombs than the intended target. "Throw him." she demanded.

Using his insane strength, Oh-Oni threw the heavy dragon in the air. Summoning multiple magic circles, Anna let loose a barrage of magical blast all centered at the phantom.

Giratina was prepared, however, as he countered them all with a wave of his powerful Hyper Beam, annihilating anything close to massive dragon.

"Woah!" Lee said as he watched the intense battle up above.

"Focus, Lee." said Yoh, snapping Lee out of his awe, "Our battle is here."

"Right!" he said, entering his usual battle stance as the two Devils faced off against the two dragons.

"You think you can beat us!" shouted Blue Eyes, arrogance evident in his tone. "You two are just third-rate Devil on a fourth-rate peerage! You should count yourselves lucky you've made it this far!" A green magic spell appeared in front of Blue Eyes as he shouted, "Mystical Space Typhoon!"

A strong wind filled the valley as a large, blue tornado came from sealing. The wicked storm travel towards the two Devils, destroying everything in its path.

Yoh and Lee disappeared in the blink of an eye, using pure speed to avoid being sucked into the dangerous storm. Red Eyes caught Lee running up to his side and slashed at the approaching boy with his needle like claws. Lee was quick enough to dodge the blow and move into Red Eyes' midsection, kicking him with an immense amount of strength.

Meanwhile, Blue Eyes was washing the area with his Burst Stream of Destruction, trying to Yoh, who was moving as fast as a missile, seemingly running in the air. Pushing off the air, Yoh changed trajectory and now dropped to the ground while Blue Eyes' was still shooting his energy in the air. Seeing the opening, Yoh teleported at Blue Eyes with the intent of slashing it open with Harusame, but a multitude of shining swords dropped from the ground, blocking Yoh's way of attacking the dragon.

Switching tactics, Blue Eyes White Dragon's claws were coated with lightning as he pointed them at Yoh, "Raigeki Break!" he shouted as whips of lightning shot after the retreating Yoh.

Summoning his wings, Yoh darted off in the air, changing direction ever few seconds to avoid being shocked with the dragon's powerful lightning. Kicking off of the air, Yoh avoided another stream of lightning while blocking another with a magical shield. Flipping his body and kicking the air above him, Yoh abandoned his shield when all the streams of lightning targeted and destroyed his shield. Yoh slashed at the air with Harusame, shooting multiple magic blade projectiles at Blue Eyes.

The dragon's eyes narrowed at Yoh as he blocked all of the projectiles with a large shield he made. Watching Yoh's unusual movements in the air, it slowly made sense to the dragon as to how Yoh was moving such a way. _'I see…He's not pushing off of the air to change trajectory at impossible angles…he's creating platforms underneath his feet with earth elemental magic to jump off of! That's how he can pull of the illusion of being able to walk on air!'_

He was knocked out of his thoughts when Red Eyes B. Dragon suddenly crashed into Blue Eyes, the two tumbling to the ground beneath them. "What are you doing, Red Eyes!" shouted Blue Eyes as he winced at the weight of his partner.

Lee appeared over the black dragon, now in the fourth gate, Gate of Pain. "Reverse Lotus!" the red-skinned [Rook] shouted as he smashed his right foot into Red Eyes stomach.

Black blood escaped out of the dragon's mouth as his bones cracked under the pressure of Lee's physical strength. "ARRgGGHHH!" roared Red Eyes. Even with all the pain racking through his body, the black dragon locked onto Lee, whose foot was still implanted into his chest. With a slash of his long claws, Red Eyes cut open Lee's body, blood flying everywhere as he knocked the [Rook] of him.

Lee yelled out in pain as he hit the ground. His stomach was sliced open along with his upper chest. "This…..hurts….." he said between gritted teeth as he tried to hold back his howls of pain.

"Lee!" Yoh jumped in front of Lee's downed body and slashed through another one of Blue Eyes White Dragon's Burst Stream of Destruction, which would have surely forced Lee's retirement. Blue Eyes, while still underneath his partner's body, had a good look of Lee and decided to act upon it. _'This guy's speed is incredible!'_

Looking back at the Green Beast, Yoh winced at Lee's injuries, knowing he would need immediate medical attention. "This isn't good…" Yoh muttered as he glared at the dragon that did this to his friend.

However, another surprise greeted Yoh's eyes as Giratina dropped down into the valley and landed onto the other two dragons. The phantom dragon, his body lathered with injuries, roared as he dropped on top of the other two dragons.

Standing atop of the valley was Oh-Oni, who had recovered from Anna's explosion and was the one that threw Giratina down into the valley below. **"Good riddance."** said Oh-Oni with one final glare as he disappeared, his work now done.

"Gahh! Why the hell am I at the bottom!?" Blue Eyes yelled in anger as Giratina's extra didn't help his predicament.

"Yoh!" Looking up in the sky, Yoh saw his wife high the air with a massive green ball of magic hovering over her, "Get Lee and get out of there now!"

Taking heed to his wife's warning, Yoh grabbed Lee and summoned his wings, flying out of the valley with haste. _'She's about to do something big…'_ thought Yoh as he made sure to fly out of the soon to be destroyed valley.

Anna glared at the three fallen dragons with unprecedented hatred. "You three have annoyed me to my limits. This ends now…." she muttered, her red horn glowing with power as she sent the massive power ball of energy down to the ground.

Groaning, Giratina rolled off of Red Eyes, which allowed him to get off of Blue Eyes. "Finally…" muttered Blue Eyes as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Hey, what's that thingy up there?" asked Red Eyes, pointing to the glowing green ball of energy that illuminated the entire valley.

Giratina released a panicked screech at the sight of Anna's incoming death ball. Analyzing the surrounding area, Giratina couldn't find any shadows to escape in because of the massive orb lighting up the valley. Giratina groaned as the light blinded the phantom dragon.

"Ohh…shit…" muttered Red Eyes B. Dragon and Blue Eyes White Dragon as the orb made contact with the valley walls, exploding on contact.

Yoh flew over to Anna with Lee in his hands as he watched what could only be considered carnage as the entire valley, along with the two mountains that formed the valley were destroyed, erased from the landscape as the explosion ate through everything in range. Yoh stared at the ruined terrain with wide eyes as what was once a valley-turned battlefield was now what looked like the landing zone of a giant crater.

" **Two [Bishop]s and one [Rook] of Tannin-sama's peerage has retired."** said the announcer, his voice stretching throughout the dimension.

' _Even though they were injured, Anna just forced the retirement of three dragons!'_ he thought in both fear and astonishment. Glancing at his wife, who was checking her nails as if nothing had happened, Yoh's heart dropped to his ass as a sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks. _'Holy shit! I have to marry this woman!'_

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Anna, back to her usual monotone self.

Yoh jumped, not realizing that he was staring at Anna, "Uhhh…no-nothing, Anna! You did a great job!" he said.

"Of course, I did." she said. Yoh's eyes widened in astonishment when Anna looked at him, revealing her smiling face, "As the strongest member of Naruto-sama's peerage, why would you expect less of me?"

Yoh returned Anna's smile with his own, "Right…" he replied.

"How's Lee?" she asked, glancing at the young Devil in Yoh's arms.

"uHhhhhhh…." Lee's eyes were swirled as he tried to visualize what was going on around him, only to see a blur, "Did we…..win?" he asked drunkenly.

Yoh grimaced, taking in the sight of the large amount of blood leaking out of Lee. "This isn't good. He hasn't acted like this since the time he drank to many protein shakes. You can heal him though, right?" he asked his fiancé with hope.

"I can heal him, but he's lost too much blood." Anna said, studying Lee's gruesome injuries, "He's in no condition to fight any longer."

"Nnooo…..I can figghhhhhhhhhtttttttttttttttttttttt…" Lee slurred out, clearly not at the right state of mind because of his blood lost.

Deciding to end the [Rook]'s misery, Anna chopped Lee at the back of his neck, effectively sending the boy to dreamland. Lee's body glowed blue before disappearing, recalled back to the Underworld to be healed.

" **One [Rook] of Naruto-sama's peerage has retired."** said the announcer.

"Whelp, I guess we should go see if Naruto-sama and Kuroka need any help." said Yoh.

"No." she said as she stared at the ground, noticing a certain white haired boy on his knees in the middle of the crater she created, "We still have one person we need to get rid of."

Descending to the ground, the couple landed softly as they took in the sight of Ryuga slamming his fist into the dirt, whispering curse. Anna crossed her arms, clearly annoyed that Ryuga hadn't got caught by her attack and retired him. "Give up. You're team is gone. It won't be long until the others we left come here regroup. You should retire now to avoid being slaughtered by my hand."

Ryuga's body shook as he slowly rose from the ground. "You bitch…" he said, facing the duo. His eyes glowed purple as his anger continued to increase, "You think…..you think you've won?"

"I know we have won." Anna answered without hesitation, "I have more than enough energy to fight you. Along with my husband relatively unharmed, you have no chance in defeating us both, idiot. Retire now."

Purple energy slowly swirled around the tan-skinned boy, his hair rising as a ominous wind suddenly swirled around his body. His oversized white-shirt flapped behind him as the wind speeds increased. Small sparks of lightning danced around his body as his power kept increasing. Clenching his fist, Ryuga shot the shaman the deadliest glare he could muster, his eyes flashing purple. "You really….think…that you've won…" he said between gritted teeth.

"Yes." Anna answered, annoyed that he asked the same question again.

"Heh…..hehehe….." Ryuga chuckled, "Hehehehe…hehehheh! HEEHhaaahahah! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!" he laughed as his power swirled around him. The sky darkened as clouds formed over them, blanketing in darkness. However, Ryuga acted as at light source as his purple energy shot into the air, piercing through the clouds. "YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME! HAHAHAHAHA! HILAROUS!"

Ryuga's shit-eating grin grew as he stared at the calm couple, "You defeated them….those fucking imbeciles!...but you didn't defeat me…Do you know who I am? I am-

"The great Ryuga…" said Yoh, rolling his eyes, "We've heard you say it before and, honestly, it's starting to get old. Listen, can't we just do this some other day? The new season of Black Mirror is out and I haven't watched the first episode is out. I heard that it's crazy."

Suddenly, all of Ryuga's power vanished as he stared at the lazy Asakura in shock. "Wha...what did you just ask me?"

"I asked if we can do this some other day." Yoh said, cleaning out his ear with his finger, "You'd understand if you've watched Black Mirror before. Really, some crazy shit goes on in that show. That one guy put his girl's conscious in a teddy bear…." he said as he flicked his finger of any gunk and rubbed it on his pants, "Ew…"

"…." Ryuga was speechless as he stared he turned his sights to Anna, who only shrugged.

"It is a good series." she answered with her same monotone voice.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…sooooooooo, can I go home now-

"OF COURSE YOU CAN'T LEAVE!" Ryuga shouted, his power output returning in full force as his purple aura shot into the sky. Multiple lightening strikes shot down to the ground as Ryuga's eyes were enveloped as his rage only increased by Yoh's lazy attitude, "HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE ME, THE GREAT RYUGA, AS TO SKIPPING OUR FIGHT JUST SO YOU CAN WATCH TELEVISION?! I DON'T CONDONE OF SUCH STUPIDITY!" he shouted as his power spiked again. The grounded beneath him peeled away as he was overcome with his purple aura and lightning. As his power increase, Ryuga's purple aura was starting to mix with a new aura, which red like fire.

The wasteland was overrun with random lightning strikes and strong winds, all resulting in Ryuga's power. "TO THINK THAT YOU WOULD ANGER ME TO THE POINT OF REVEALING MY TRUE POWER! YOU THINK YOU CAN DISRESPECT ME WITH SUFFERING THE CONSEQUENCES!"

' _Maybe…'_ Yoh thought with a sweat drop.

"ah-YOU IDIOT! I BET YOU THINKING YOU WERE!" the teenager with an obvious anger problems as he saw Yoh's face, "I SHALL DESTROY ALL OF YOU, INCLUDING THE REST OF YOUR PEERAGE MEMBERS ONCE I'M FINISHED WITH YOU! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"

Ryuga's body was enveloped with purple and red light as the sky continued to rain down lightning strikes. Anna eyes widened as she jumped in front of Yoh, creating a magic shield around them as the power centered at where Ryuga previously was exploded, steadily increasing the damage done to the fake Dragon Mountains.

' _Shit….'_ Anna thought as she recalled her magic once things had calmed down. Dust was everywhere, limiting her field of vision. "Are you alright, Yoh?" she asked, wanting to make sure her fiancée was safe.

"Yup." he said as he looked around, "Wow. Seems like he really got angry."

"You really had to ask him if we could fight some other time?" she said with an accusing deadpan stare.

"H-hey! You kinda agreed when you said that Black Mirror was a good series!" he countered.

Anna sighed at her lover's antics as she summoned a basic magic circle. A cyclone of wind blew out of the seal, clearing the area of the dust limiting their vision. "There he is…" she muttered as she looked up at their transformed opponent.

High in sky was Ryuga, who had transformed into a three-headed dragon. Each dragon's serpentine body was attached towards the bottom of their body, allowing them to move without the need of the other two complying. Each dragon was red in color with a fire sprouting out of their yellow eyes and from the shoulders of their small, clawed arms. An orange mane sat atop each dragon's head and continued down their backs. In the middle of their forehead was a glowing white gem, leaking with power. Even with their obvious affinity of fire because of their appearance, purple lightning danced around their bodies, just waiting to be released and fry their opponents.

The trio growled before releasing a powerful roar that could be heard throughout the dimension, **"I AM THE GREAT METEO L-DRAGO DESTROYER, PROTÉGÉ OF TANNIN AND SUPREME RULER OF EVERYTHING!"** the newly named L-Drago shouted as lightning from the skies striked behind him, adding to his already menacing appearance.

Anna groaned as she looked at Yoh, "This is all your fault. Now we have to deal with a three-headed fire/lightning dragon." she muttered with a face palm.

"Hehehe….whoops?" he laughed awkwardly with a head scratch.

Anna rolled her eyes at her husband before focusing on the task at hand. "You do have enough energy to fight, right?"

Yoh smirked as his armor appeared around him, "Sure do."

Anna raised an eyebrow at Yoh's armor, "I haven't seen that in a while. What did you call it again?"

"I wanted to have something like Hao's armor, so I created my own." Yoh said with a grin, "I call it 'Over Soul – Spirit of Sword: White Swan'. Sounds nice, huh?"

"Sure, copycat." she said as she readied her magic to face off against L-Drago.

The two turned to left when they heard a small thud. "Kukuku…seems like you two could use my assistance." said the newly arrived Orochimaru, recalling his wings while walking over to the two, "I felt a power spike and quickly made my way over. I didn't know what happened when I heard Lee's retirement."

"Glad to have you with us." Anna said with a nod, "How much magic do you have left?"

"About half." he answered, staring up at L-Drago, "My opponent was smarter than he looked. I underestimated him. However, with you two here, I supposed half is still a good amount to defeat….whatever that is."

"Looks like he's sick of waiting." Yoh said as L-Drago flew down at the group, "Let's go."

 **With Kisame and Drago**

Drago roared in pain as he was slammed into the side of a small mountain, knocked back by three massive shark bullets created by Kisame, his opponent.

"Urh…..what power…" Drago couched out as he pulled himself out of the rocky wall. Ever since the start of the fight, the half shark demon had the upper hand as he absorbed all of Drago's attacks like they were nothing and countered with his water spells, Drago's main weakness. ' _I underestimated him at the start of the battle, believing because of his size that I'd be able to overpower him, but this man is clearly overpowering me!'_

"Looks like your hurt." said Kisame, exiting the smoke cloud his large-scale attacks made, "Good. That means you can't run away from me anymore….time for dinner…"

Drago's eyes widened as Kisame dragged Samehada, who was now three times bigger than Kisame because of all the magic the demonic sword absorbed from Drago. "Time to finish things up."

Drago eyes flashed with determination as he slammed his foot into the ground, summoning multiple magic circles on the ground, "I won't give up! I must protect Tannin-sama's legacy!" he roared as the magic circles erupted with hot fires.

Kisame walked through the fire pit, protecting himself and Samehada from the firestorm outside of the shield. "This idiot really thinks he can win…" Kisame chuckled evil as he continued to walk through the fire.

Believing that he was close enough, Kisame spun Samehada around, the sword's mouth now facing Kisame. "Good girl. Have you had your fill?"

The sword shrieked. Because of his long time relationship with Samehada, Kisame understood that the sword was still hungry. "Good. Let's finish this up so I can continue to look cool by defeating Tannin before that blonde idiot does. Now cough it up!"

Drago was confused as to what Kisame was talking about, and wasn't prepared when the sound of a cannon flooded through the mountains. From its mouth, Samehada spit out a small, black missile of concentrated energy. The missile tore through the ground with no mercy, the energy alone paving a way through the fire as it connected into the dragon's stomach.

Kisame watched as the massive explosion consumed Drago's body. His roars of pain couldn't be heard because of the thunderous sound of Kisame's attack exploding, permanently scaring the environment. "I'd say that would do it. Time to eat." Kisame said as he slammed his hands together. His mouth bulged before releasing large amounts of water. Crushing waves flooded the mountains, washing through the flames Drago's spell produced.

Drago, who was thoroughly weakened by Kisame's last attack, was surprised as half of his body was enveloped a mass of water, which was steadily increasing in size. "What is going on?" were the last words the dragon could muster as his body was fully submerged under the newly made body of water.

Being a dragon, Drago's would be able to hold his breath while under water thanks to his massive lungs. However, he could hardly move because of Kisame's last attack, weakening him immensely. _'How can I escape this blasphemous water?'_ he thought as he tried to swim through the water. Sadly, Drago's body wasn't meant for swimming, meaning he was stuck in what seemed like an endless body of water.

"Thanks for offering yourself for me…" said the familiar voice of Kisame. To his left, Drago saw the shark demon, now literally looking like a demonic shark. Gone was Samehada as the sword merged with its master. Kisame's cloak was gone, allowing his fin like arms free mobility in the water. His hands were now webbed, and a long tail swishing behind the shark. "This is my true form. With it, I'll shave you of all your magic and then go off to defeat Tannin! Hahah!" he laughed as he engaged the weak dragon with a hunger, sharp scales growing out of Kisame's fins.

Kisame shredded through Drago's armor-like scales like they were nothing as he started his deadly dance within the water, slicing Drago in one area and swimming away before coming back to repeat. Because of his morphed body, Kisame was able to move faster than ever before in the dense water, leaving Drago a dying mess as his magic continued to be devoured by the hungry shark demon effortlessly. _'Forgive me, Tannin-sama…for I have failed you…'_ were Drago's last thoughts as he lost consciousness, Kisame draining him of all his magic.

" **One [Knight] of Tannin-sama's peerage has retired."** said the announcer as Drago's body disappeared from the Rating Game dimension.

Kisame's grin was at is maximum potential as he adjusted to all of the magic he stole from Drago. "This is fucking amazing! I've never been this full before!"

In his head, Kisame could hear Samehada shrieking in agreement. "Heheh! Because ate so much magic, I may have to release some of it just as a precaution!"

As he said this, he heard a massive explosion coming from the north, the same direction the others flew off to find Tannin's other peerage members. "Whelp, looks like I know where I'm going."

The gigantic water bubble Kisame created lost its shape, flooding the rocky terrain. Kisame, still in his shark mode, used some of the water to create a water shark, in which he entered. "I can't let them have all the fun without me!" he shouted as he swam off, his water bubble following his every movement.

 **With Naruto and Kuroka**

Descending to the ground, the [Queen] and [King] duo retracted their wings as they made land fall. "Seems like we've made it." said Naruto, staring up at their opponents.

Standing at the edge of a cliff side was Tannin, the Ultimate-Devil/Dragon hybrid himself, in all his glory. No longer was he in his miniature form, Tannin stood tall like a tower, his reptilian-body packed with muscle under his armor-like scales.

"From where I'm standing," said Tannin, his deep voice reverberating through the mountains, "I'd say you're the lizard now, Naruto Bael."

Naruto chuckled, "Yea, yea…You've got me in the size department, but don't think that because you're bigger than me that this will be an easy fight."

"I'd never underestimated an opponent." Tannin said, jumping off of his perched landing on equal ground with Naruto, his feet smashing through the sturdy ground with ease. "To think after all of those years trying to open that damned chest, it was an blonde idiot trapped in it this whole time."

"I'd like to thank you for keeping me safe all those years, even though you didn't know it at the time." said Naruto, "I guess now is the time to repay you with the fight of your life."

Tannin smirked, crossing his arms over his massive chest. "Have you met my [Queen]? He's been waiting for you to come here."

A screech came from out of Tannin's cave, causing both Naruto and Kuroka to stare at its entrance. Out of the dark cave flew out a long, green, serpentine-like creature. The dragon had red-tipped, rudder-like wings on its shoulders and down its body, and similarly patterned finds on the tip of its tail. It had two limbs with three-clawed hands, and two long, flat horn-like structures on its head, with two shorter horns along its jawline. Finishing the dragons physical appearance were its small, yellow eyes with black pupils, prominent pink gums, and two discernible fangs in its upper jaw.

Naruto and Kuroka covered their ears as the dragon roared at an ungodly volume. Finishing its display of pure dominance and intimidation, the dragon landed next to Tannin, sitting up with a height greater than Tannin. "This is Rayquaza, one of my closest friends. He was the first dragon to follow me into the Underworld for our species survival."

"Awww, how nice." said Naruto. He then pointed to Kuroka, "And this is my [Queen], Kuroka, one of the most important people to me….she joined me because she didn't have anything better to do."

' _Wow…what a great introduction…'_ thought the Nekoshou with a sweat drop. "Uh..Hiya!" Kuroka said to the two dragons with a wave.

Tannin hummed in thought, staring at Kuroka suspiciously before glancing at Naruto. "Wait a second…" he said, confusing to [Queen]/[King] duo. Tannin glanced back at Kuroka before saying, "Didn't you say when I first met you that what was in that box was your future husba-

"NYAYAYAYA! Let's just start the fight! No need to keep waiting, nyayaya!" Kuroka laughed awkwardly, silently cursing her past self.

"I do want to get this started with! I've been itching to fight someone like Tannin." said Naruto with a devilish grin.

"Then let us start, Naruto Bael!" shouted Tannin, "Show me why you had the confidence challenging an Ultimate-Class Devil and a Top 10 peerage!"

 **Naruto Bael, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King] and Kuroka, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Queen]**

 **vs.**

 **Tannin, Half-Blooded Ultimate-Class Devil, [King], and Rayquaza, Half-Blooded High-Class Devil, [Queen]**

The sky above their battleground was riddled by magic circles, all made by the purple dragon [King]. From the circles came forth massive, flaming meteors, threatening to smash anything under them. Rayquaza quickly took flight as well, flying above the battlefield and releasing a large ball of blue light, static jumping around the massive orb as it descended towards the Devils.

"Kuroka, deal with Rayquaza." ordered Naruto, calling forth his legendary Power of Destruction. Focusing his energy into his hand, a small orb of destruction pulsed with power as he shot it at one of the approaching meteors.

Making contact with the massive rock, the explosion inhaled the giant rock, erasing its existence as if it was never made. Naruto continued his assault, shooting multiple orbs of destruction at Tannin's meteors, effortless destroying them with minimum effort.

A dark aura appeared underneath Kuroka as she started a spell with her Youjutsu. Dark kanji appeared in front of her as she chanted a powerful spell. A large magic circle grew behind her and Naruto and released an orange ball of energy, crashing into Rayquaza's attacked and piercing through it, headed straight for the airborne dragon.

Using his agility, Rayquaza easily dodged the orange ball, but had to continuing moving as the orange ball of power continued following him.

Tannin, taking the offensive released a flood of angry flames, bathing the area with no place to dodge. "Counter this, Bael!" he shouted as he amped up his power, increasing the amount and intensity of his flames.

Kuroka calmly stepped in front of Naruto, creating a blue shield that encircled them. Green magic circles circled around the shield's exterior as the flames crashed into her shield, protecting the duo from a fiery death. "So do we have a plan or are we just attacking head on, nya?" she asked her longtime friend.

"There's no point trying to attack Tannin with brute strength." said Naruto, watching the deadly flames outside of Kuroka's barrier circle around them, "His scales are like armor. Any type of kick or punch wouldn't even tickle him. It's best to stick with magical attacks. That other dragon, however, doesn't seem to have as thick of skin like Tannin. I could knock it around for sure. I'll move in when the opportunity presents itself. For now, let's just have some fun."

Nodding in agreement, Kuroka recalled her barrier once Tannin's flames ceased. The duo was greeted to the sight of a quickly approaching Rayquaza, still running away from Kuroka's previous attack.

"This seems like an opportunity of you ask me!" Naruto shouted, jumping at Rayquaza. His hand was quickly enveloped in red aura and formed into the arm of his Golem of Destruction. With a battle cry, Naruto smashed his enlarged fist into Rayquaza's snout, forcing his head into the ground below.

The Bael immediately switched from offense to defense as he summoned a magic shield at his right, blocking Tannin's monstrous kick. While his shield held sturdy, the force exerted upon it kicked Naruto in the air, sending him flying.

' _Woah…'_ thought Kuroka as she blocked Tannin's fire breath with another magic circle as she watched Naruto's flying body, _'That's a lot of strength…one hit by that and we wouldn't survive.'_

Focusing back on the battle, Kuroka glared at Tannin as she gained control on the stray ball of energy that was closing in on Rayquaza. Mentally changing its direction, the orange ball curved upwards and hit Tannin's face, exploded on contact.

"Gah!" Tannin said as the force knocked him back a few steps. Kuroka didn't stop there, using her mastery of Senjutsu to manipulate the landscape, raising the ground at the same spot where Tannin would step.

Surprised by the change in elevation, Tannin tripped on the raised platform and fell on his back, leaving his chest open to a barrage of icy magical streams of energy.

Far in the air was Naruto with a blue magic circle hovering over his hand, "That's what you get, lizard." he muttered as he flew back to the battle, shooting bolts of destruction at the two dragons.

Rayquaza, to Kuroka's surprise, slithered into the ground, escaping Naruto's firestorm of destruction bolts while Tannin blocked them all with his armor-like exterior. Rayquaze burst out of the ground behind Kuroka with a fully charged Hyper Beam, ready to plow through any defense the cat girl was sure to conjure.

Not even turning around, Kuroka created a magic circle behind her and matched the powerful beam with one of her own. The two beams clashed, one not easing up on the other. Kuroka's magic circle suddenly produced two new magical beams, one striking underneath the dragon's chin and the other in his midsection.

Rayquaza cried out in pain before swiveling away, spinning around the large beams and descending into the ground. Naruto landed next to Rayquaza's hole. "Catch him!" he ordered his [Queen] before shooting a red blast of destruction down into the whole.

The serpentine dragon was slithering through the ground with no problems until the ground tightened around him, exerting pressure around Rayquaza to the point of immobilizing him. Behind him, the dark cavern was illuminated as Naruto's Power of Destruction filled the hole.

The ground beneath Kuroka and Naruto bulged because of the explosion happening a few meters below. "He won't be coming back outta there for a while." said Naruto, now able to focus his full attention on Tannin, who was right on top of them with a fist aimed at the smaller Devils.

Both [Queen] and [King] defended with a combined magic barrier, but it still cracked under the raw force of the Ultimate-Class Devil. With another punch of his massive fist, their barrier was destroyed, leaving them wide open to Tannin's fire breath.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted as he countered with a continuous blast of his PoD, Kuroka backing him with a torrent of black flames.

Their feet cracked the grounds below them as they continued their power struggle against Tannin's Dragon Flames. Naruto grunted as Tannin began to push them back. ' _We need another way to fight back…'_

"I need to attack his back." Naruto suggested as Tannin continued his display of dominance, "You focus on his front. He's too slow to fight us both off at the same time."

Kuroka hissed as the heat started to become unbearable. Tannin's flames were slowly getting closer and scorched the ground around them. "How do you plan on getting there? We're literally about to be fried, nya. I can't strengthen my attacks with Senjutsu because this heat is making it impossible to concentrate."

Naruto sighed, "Fuck it…" he muttered as he summoned a blue magic circle under his feet. Ice danced along the ground, growing at a quick rate as it made its way towards the unsuspecting Tannin. The ice was when he noticed a cold feeling around his bottom half did he notice half of his body was covered in a layer of ice.

"What's this?" Tannin said as the nice was now up to his neck. It couldn't grow any further because of the intense heat of the flames coming from his mouth, but it was still any annoyance to the dragon.

The small distraction was all Naruto needed as he coated himself in red. His Power of Destruction sounded him, changing shape until he was now fully consumed in his Golem of Destruction. Continuing his outpour of magic, Naruto forced his way off the ground and through the river of fire, his protective armor annihilating any flame hitting against it.

Shooting out of the torrent of flames, Naruto flew at Tannin face and slammed his fist into the dragon's face, forcing him back. "Let's go, Tannin!" shouted Naruto, circling around to Tannin's back and firing a barrage of red rockets of destruction.

Kuroka, now able to concentrate without worry, summoned a massive array of magic circles, stretching dozens of meters on either side of the cat girl. "Stupid dragon, nYaA!" she shouted hundreds of magical blast shot from all of the magic circles, connecting to Tannin's front.

Breaking through the ice that covered his body, the purple dragon crossed his arms over his chest to block the incoming blast. Tannin grunted as the massive outpour of magic pushed him back, along with explosions following. The power of Kuroka's magic knocked Tannin off his feet, throwing him into the air.

"Whoa!" shouted Naruto as he dodged the flying dragon "Maybe that's too much power, Kuroka?" he said as he watched Tannin crash into the ground.

"No such thing, nya!" she said as dark kanji formed in front of her. A black magic circle with blue flames grew behind her as she targeted a specific spot at the ground.

Suddenly, Rayquaza burst out of the rocky earth, only to be met with a blast of blue flames. Rayquaza screeched as he ignored the pain and flew out of the ground. He was about to attack Kuroka with another powerful Dragon Pulse, but Naruto appeared behind Rayquaza, grabbing the back of his head with his golem's hand. "Let's go on a trip, huh?" said Naruto and he brought the dragon back down and slamming his head into the ground. With a strong grip, Naruto continued his flight, sliding Rayquaza's head through the rough ground.

"You pesky little shits!" said Tannin, forcing himself back on his feet and running through Kuroka's magic blast. Rearing his fist back, Tannin tried to smash the cat girl under his gigantic knuckles, but Kuroka escape, flying away from the massive dragon while continuing to blast the dragon with her powerful magic.

Sick and tired of all the annoying blast, Tannin roared out flames, burning through all of the incoming attacks and destroying the wall of magic circles with their intense heat. Kuroka blocked a column of fire with a magic shield as she created some distance between the two.

' _He doesn't know how to stay down!'_ she though in anger as she snapped her fingers. 5 large scaled magic circles grew behind her, all colored differently. From them grew massive elemental dragons. Each dragon roared at Tannin down below before blitzing towards him with insane speeds.

"These are nothing!" Tannin said, awaiting the dragons the approaching beast. Taking the earth dragon head first, Tannin slammed his fist into its head. The earth dragon's body cracked until it was utterly obliterated by Tannin's strength, rocks flying everywhere as a result.

Switching gears, the wind and fire dragon didn't attack Tannin, confusing the Ultimate-Class Devil. Instead, the two circled around Tannin, combining together and doubling in size. Tannin was trapped inside of a tornado of fire as the last two dragons, which were lightning and water based, entered the eye of the storm and slammed on the top of Tannin's head, the water from aqua dragon on adding onto the damage from the lightning dragon as the following explosion devouring Tannin's body.

"Time to put the cherry on top, nya!" Kuroka said with an evil glint in her golden orbs. Commanding the ground to do her biddings, two large walls of earth grew on both sides of Tannin's body. With a snap of her fingers, the walls closed in on each other, smashing Tannin and the explosion in the middle.

Kuroka continued this process three more times, effectively burying the Ultimate-Class Devil under layers of rock. "Oh, Naruto!" she called out to her [King] who was battling Rayquaza in the air.

"I've gotcha." said Naruto, palming Rayquaza under his chin with the added force of a sphere of Power of Destruction, heavily injuring the serpentine dragon while sending him flying. Recalling his Golem of Destruction, the blonde Bael created a red ball of energy in his right hand, concentrating on adding more power to the growing ball of energy. "This is gonna be a big one, Kuroka!" he shouted at his [Queen] before throwing the small orb at the buried Tannin.

Erecting a multi-layered barrier, Kuroka watched as the small ball exploded on contact, mimicking a nuclear bomb making landfall as everything was obliterated by the blast. The height of the explosion rivaled that of some of the neighboring mountains. The powerful shockwave alone ripped through the ground where Kuroka safe watched inside of her barrier, even though all of the dirt and flying rocks blocked all possible visibility.

Rayquaza roared at the scene below, mad at himself that he couldn't save Tannin. Moving his sights on the Bael that caused the destruction, Rayaqaza saw red as he flew at Naruto, his long tail glowing shining silver. Nearing the blonde Bael, Rayquaza spun around and slammed his tail into Naruto's side, hoping knock the Devil out of the air.

While the force of the strong blow did push Naruto, back, he was unharmed, summoning a strong barrier between him and Rayquaza's tail at the last second. "It's time I deal with you now." Naruto said, his happy-go-lucky attitude abandoned as he engaged the green dragon.

The green dragon shot the approaching Devil with a powerful Dragon Pulse, but it was in vain as Naruto destroyed the ball of blue energy with a swipe of his Power of Destruction, exploded on either side of the blonde Devil as he flew between the open space of the attack.

With another swipe of his hand, a line of blue magic circles rained sharp icicles, ready to pierce through anything. Rayquaza's thin-body allowed the dragon to swivel through the barrage of ice spears, but the few that made contact chip his already damaged armor-like exterior.

Naruto caught the dragon by surprise when the magic circles switched from icicles to dropping an avalanche of snow down onto the [Queen] of Tannin. The snow crashed into Rayquaza, knocking him out of the air and into the side of a mountain, burying him in a hill of white.

Suddenly, back on the ground, earth was thrown everywhere as Tannin burst free from his rocky tomb, flexing his arms and wings while doing so. His armored skin was heavily damaged from Kuroka and Naruto's attacks, but it didn't stop him from trying to go help his friend. "I'm coming, Rayquaza!" he shouted as he prepared to take off.

"Not so fast, nya!" said Kuroka, surrounding Tannin's form with magic circles. Golden chains wrapped themselves around the escaping dragon. Tannin struggled against the chains, using his brute force to break through some of them, only to be replaced seconds later.

Kuroka gritted her teeth as she supplied her spell with magic, trying to hold back the massive dragon from interfering with Naruto's match against Rayquaza. "Uh, Naruto!? Can you finish things up with that thing!" she said as she strained against Tannin's strength. Coating herself in white aura, Kuroka activated Touki to help fight back against Tannin, but even then, she was struggling to subdue the Ultimate-Class Devil.

Naruto laughed at his [Queen] before regaining his serious stature as Rayquaza flew out of its snowy tomb and into the air with Naruto, clearly hurt. "Don't worry, Kuroka…this will end soon."

Rayquaza screeched at Naruto before continuing to ascend in the sky, leaving Naruto to question what Rayquaza was doing. "Is he running away?" Naruto asked himself.

Breaking the cloud barrier and not too far from the edge of the dimension, Rayquaza concentrated, calling forth a mystic energy. The clouds swirled around the long dragon as the sky darkened. Massive amounts of magic circled around the green dragon, incasing him in a shell of pure draconic energy.

However, a red beam broke through the shell and hit Rayquaza head on, interrupting his transformation process. The [Queen] of Tannin cried out in pain as he was shot out of the sky, falling through the cloud barrier and back down towards the Dragon Mountains.

A red arm caught Rayquaza by his head, halting his decent. It was Naruto, with his right arm covered in the armor of his Golemn of Destruction. The blonde Bael smirked at the weak dragon, noticing how it hardly had the energy to try to break out of his grip. "You should have known that I wasn't gonna let you power up. I may be stupid, but I'm not an idiot."

A red hue made from pure Power of Destruction lit around Rayquaza's body like a flame. Because of Naruto's enlarged hand covering the dragon's face, Rayquaza's screams were muffled as the deadly aura slowly ate his body. His armor-like skin slowly deteriorated, eaten by Naruto's invasive aura.

"Rayquaza! No!" yelled Tannin as he tried but failed to free himself from Kuroka's chains.

"Give up." Naruto said, throwing the dragon away like trash. The [Queen] of Tannin quickly fell back down to the ground, hitting the side of a mountain and rolling down its slope. Tannin watched in anger and sadness as his long-time friend rolled down the mountain side, disfiguring it and creating a large scale, rocky avalanche that slowly buried Rayquaza just as he made it to the base of the mountain.

Blue streams of light illuminated through the cracks of the boulders until Rayquaza's presences disappeared from the Rating Game dimension. **"Tannin-sama's [Queen] has retired."** said the announcer.

"And then there was one." said Naruto, not affected by Tannin's death stare. Slowly descending back to the ground, the blonde Bael landed next to his [Queen]. "Thanks for holding the big guy back for me. Now we can take him on together with no interruptions."

"About time…" said Kuroka as she released Tannin from her golden binds. The Nekoshou sighed in satisfaction now that she didn't have to strain herself to keep the massive dragon trapped. "He was a pain to keep still, nya."

Naruto grinned as Tannin set his sights at the duo, "You two have really angered me…." he growled deeply, glaring at the two with an intense ferocity.

Kuroka rolled her eyes at the oversized dragon, "Please...You're just not used to being on the losing side. If the roles were reversed, you'd probably be gloating of your peerage's strength, nya. Stop being a sore loser."

Tannin hummed in thought, internally brewing over Kuroka's words. "I believe…that you are right, Ms. Cat-Devil. I am not used to being on the losing side….in fact…If this continues on, I will lose this fight."

Tannin surprised the Devil duo by taking a seat on the ground, leaving him open for any possible attack. "Whew…I've really gotten rusty…" he muttered as he sighed, releasing a black smoke cloud in the process.

Naruto looked on at the laid back dragon in confusion. "What are you doing? We still have to fight."

Tannin shook his head, "No. There is no reason. Even if my other peerage members defeat your remaining members, which I highly doubting seeing I only have two members left in this game, you two will surely defeat me, and when the King pieces is captured, so is the rest of the squadron."

Kuroka's cat ears perked at Tannin's words, "So you're giving up, nya?" she asked, hopeful that she won't have to dirty herself anymore in a fight against the former Dragon King.

"Yes." he answered truthfully, "The main reason why I even chose to proceed with your challenge is to test the grounds a bit…see what's changed over the past 200 years. I was sick of retirement and wanted a challenge and I'm glad to say that I got that challenge. Even more so, it seems like I took a bite I couldn't swallow! It is clear to me that you two are the clear wins of this fight along with this game…."

"Oh…..Thanks!" Naruto said with a cheeky grin.

"…and that you two are more than ready to be promoted as Ultimate-Class Devil." Tannin said, dropping a bomb on the smaller Devils.

Both Kuroka and Naruto's eyes widened in shock at Tannin's words, not fully grasping what he said until they had a few moments to clear their heads. "What are you talking about, nya?! I'm a Low-Class Devil, so I can't possible just jump to being an Ultimate-Class Devil! And while Naruto is a High-Class Devil, doesn't he have to go through some type of test in order to become an Ultimate-Class Devil?" she asked.

"This was the test." Tannin admitted, adding on to the duo's shock, "While you maybe a Low-Class Devil, Kuroka the Cat, you are clearly strong enough to become an Ultimate-Class Devil. I highly believe that if we were to face off against each other uninterrupted, you would win. Now that I'm cornered by your and Naruto Bael, I know I have no chance of winning so it'd be best to end it here…plus, I'm tired. I haven't received a work out like this in ages!" Tannin said with a hearty laugh.

Naruto's shock slowly turned in to realization as he connected the dots together. "Sirzechs planned this, didn't he?" he asked with a well-known smirk.

"Indeed." confirmed the dragon, "It was a few days ago when he approached me with the task of testing you. I know of you situation as to why you accepted this challenge: there are Devils still unsure of just how strong you are. My job was to gauge your skill level to see if you were ready to become an Ultimate-Class Devil."

"And if you deemed me unworthy?" asked the blonde Bael.

"Then I would have smushed you under my feet and kept my polished record clean…..this will be my first loss ever in a Rating Game."

Tannin then stood up on his large, clawed feet. "Wheww! You've really done a number on me. That Power of Destruction along with your [Queen]'s Youjutsu and Senjutsu is no joke. That last time I've been hurt like this is when I stole that gold from Tiamet…."

Tannin shook his head, wanting to stay on the task at hand, "Nevertheless…Naruto Bael and Kuroka the Cat, I give you my blessing to become Ultimate-Class Devil. The decision is yours on whether you wish to accept your promotion."

"Wow…" muttered Naruto, astonished by the turn of events, "Thanks, Lizard Guy…it really means a lot."

' _He's just like Azazel…'_ Tannin thought with a sweat drop, an image of a laughing Fallen Angel leader appearing in his mind, "Also know that I support what you plan to do in the future. I hope that today's battle shows everyone that you are serious about your goals."

Tannin's words caused Naruto's eyebrows to rise, "You mean…you know?"

"Your 'friend' has been active in gathering supporters." Tannin said with an underlining meaning.

Naruto chuckled at Tannin's words. _'Agares…you slimy dog.'_

"Well then, I believe that it is all. It was a good fight." the former Dragon King said to the two Devils, "Let's do battle again one day."

"Sure thing, Tannin." Naruto said with a thumbs up.

Tannin nodded before turning his sights up to the sky, "You can bring me back now. I retire."

 **With Anna, Yoh, and Orochimaru**

In the red skies of the Rating Game Dimension, L-Drago roared as he slammed his head into Oh-Oni's fist. A strong shockwave filled the sky from the force of the blows clashing against each other. The second [Pawn] of Tannin growled dangerously at Oh-Oni, his yellow eyes staring daggers at the massive ogre, who matched L-Drago's glare with his own. **"Fuck you!"** L-Drago shouted, pushing back against Oh-Oni's fist.

L-Drago's other two heads released two flaming blast at Oh-Oni, but Orochimaru saved Anna's guardian by flying in front of the oni and blocking the flames with a large magic barrier. Orochimaru grunted as he poured his magic into the shield, fighting back L-Drago's great power. "Yoh! Take care of it!" he shouted as he started to sweat profusely from L-Drago's fire.

Appearing behind the red dragon, Yoh used Harusame to slash at L-Drago's body multiple times, creating platforms fueled by earth magic under his feet, which allowed him to jump around as if he was kicking the air.

L-Drago howled in pain as Yoh's sword swings slashed through his scales and cut his body open. **"You damn brutes!"** he shouted as he winced in pain.

Yoh created a magic circle to land on while in the air. Expecting his blade, Yoh frowned as he was greeted to the sight of a molten Harusame, parts of its sharp edge melted because of L-Drago's fiery body. "Shit…" he muttered.

The opposing [Pawn] drew back away from Oh-Oni before purple lightning danced around his body. **"Have it, you fiend!"** L-Drago shouted as his he shoot out his lightning in all directions.

Orochimaru flew behind Oh-Oni, using him as a meat shield from all of the stray lightning bolts. "Damn it…it's getting harder and harder to hit him…"

Oh-Oni, in a fit of anger and display of resilience, ignored the electricity coursing through is body and charged at L-Drago, shoulder bashing his body and then grabbing one of his three heads. He flexed his massive muscles as he swung L-Drago around multiple times before throwing him down into the ground. **"Stupid dragon!"** Oh-Oni yelled as he followed the falling dragon, slamming into his body and crushing him between his weight and the solid ground beneath them.

Even with the large Oni on top of him, L-Drago moved as quick as lightning with, two of his heads wrapping their long, snake-like bodies around Oh-Oni. **"You think that's all it takes to defeat me!? THINK AGAIN!"** said L-Drago's third head, whose head was poking from under Oh-Oni's butt.

Oh-Oni gritted his teeth as L-Drago's flaming skin started to burn through Oh-Oni's body. **"Mama…"** he said as he tried, and failed, at freeing himself, **"I think I need to do it…"**

From far away, Anna watched the battle scene, taking slow, heavy breaths every few seconds. Ever since Ryuga's transformation, she had to reform Oh-Oni's body multiple times, vastly reducing her magic reserves. Fatigue was steadily creeping up on the girl and she feared that if this fight continued, she would pass out in exhaustion.

"Fine…" she muttered between her breaths, "You've done an amazing job, Oh-Oni. Thank you."

Anna's creation smiled at her, satisfied by his mother's compliment. Focusing back to his opponent, Oh-Oni called upon all of the magic he had, even the magic that was necessary to sustain his physical form. **"You are going down with me, dragon!"** he shouted as his skin cracked.

Orange light escaped the growing cracks on Oh-Oni's body, something L-Drago took notice to. " **What the fuck are you doing!? You better not be doing what the fuck I think you're doing! Because that won't be cool at all!"** he yelled in fear.

L-Drago decided that staying around the spirit was a bad idea and started to unwrap himself from Oh-Oni. However, once Oh-Oni's arms were free, he grabbed the two dragon head's neck with a strong grip. **"This is your end, dragon."**

" **LET ME GO!"** L-Drago shouted, firing a blast of magic from their mouths at Oh-Oni. Oh-Oni didn't even try to block, knowing that he was only seconds away from going sky high. **"I SAID LET ME GO YOU STUPID, UGLY, DISGUSTING LOOKING PIECE OF SH-**

Orochimaru and Yoh made to Anna, who was far away from the two battling behemoths, and constructed a magic barrier around them, protecting them from the shockwave of the explosion of Oh-Oni's suicidal bombing. Because of their distance away from Oh-Oni, they didn't receive the brute force of the blast, but the aftershock as still strong cracking the ground below them and threatening the collapse of the small rock column they were on.

"I believe we are safe for now." said Orochimaru as their barrier fell, "Hopefully he's either retired or injured enough whereas we can finish the job."

"I'm not hearing any announcement, so he must still be alive." Anna said with a wince as her red horn slowly detracted, retreating back into her forehead. She groaned in annoyance once her horn was gone, rubbing her forehead at the slight pain she felt.

"Are you alright?" Yoh asked, checking on his fiancée, "You've used a lot of your magic, Anna. You need to rest."

"I'm fine, Yoh." she said, but was obviously lying as she leaned into Yoh to support herself. "I'll rest when we've officially won."

Yoh sighed as he wrapped an arm around Anna's waist, supporting the female shaman. "My sword's damaged and I won't be able to fight at all with it, so I hope this guy is dead."

" **STILL ALIVE, MOTHERFUCKERS!"** Out from the massive cavern in the ground created by Oh-Oni's explosion was L-Drago. His body was heavily scared and most of the horns on each individual head were broken. **"YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE ABLE TO DEFEAT L-DRAGO, SUPREME RULER OF EVERYTHING!"** the three-headed dragon screeched as he flew over to the injured trio.

"god damn it…" said Orochimaru, annoyed at L-Drago's durability to survive such an attack head on, "Seems like we've got some more work to do…"

" **Hahahahah! You thought you could get rid of me? L-DRAGO?! JUST THE THOUGH IS AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR STUPIDITY! WATCH AS I DESTROY YOU ALL WITH MY FLAMES!"**

Yoh grunted, clenching the handle of his damaged sword. "I won't be able to cut into him unless I destroy my sword…and I'm not that best when it comes to long-range spells."

"He's injured. We can still win!" Anna said with determination, conjuring a magic circle in front of them.

" **AHAHAHAHAHA! DIE BY THE FLAMES OF THE SUPREME RULER OF EVERYTHING! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!? I AM L-DRA-**

Only a few dozen meters away from the trio, L-Drago's body was surrounded by a veil of blue light before vanishing altogether. The light particles of his departure hit the faces of Orochimaru, Anna, and Yoh as they were all taken by surprise at L-Drago's sudden vanishing act.

"Wha…what just happened…." Yoh muttered, unsure of why L-Drago randomly disappeared.

" **Tannin-sama, a [King], has retired."** said the announcer, alerting the team of what happened, **"Because of his retirement, Naruto Bael-sama has officially won this Rating Game. Congratulations to the winners."**

"AAAWWWWWWW, COME ON!" shouted a familiar voice coming from behind the trio. It was Kisame, back in his regular Devil form, slammed a rather large Samehada into the ground, adding onto the cracks caused by Oh-Oni's suicidal bombing. "I was about to blast that fucker away with one of my Beast Bombs, but we just had to win!"

"Kisame?" said Orochimaru, "How long have you been there?"

"Eh? About two minutes." he said, causing the trio to sweat drop, "I wanted to finish L-Loser off with a surprise attack and show how cool I am, but that dumbass blonde had to beat Tannin! Fuck!" he yelled in anger, "Now my plan is all messed up."

Anna's eyebrow twitched in anger, "So you…..never mind…." she said with a sigh, "At least this is over. We won."

"Hmmm…" hummed Yoh, "I wonder what Hao was doing all this time."

 **Moments earlier…**

 **With Hao**

"Finally…" Hao muttered as he landed on the ground. His cloak was in shambles, shredded into pieces and only hanging together by small threads. His body was lathered with burn marks and scratches, but he didn't have any significant injuries that would have forced him to retire.

"Finally…after all that fucking running…" His Black Fowl armor disappeared from his back as he walked over to his fallen opponent, Ridley. Said dragon's most notable injuries were its torn wings and missing teeth. Ridley's skinny body was bleeding profusely and had scorch marks everywhere.

The dragon flinched as the much smaller, but strong, Hao stomp his foot into his visible ribcage. "If Yoh was never born, I'd say that you are the fastest opponent I've ever faced."

A ball of condensed flames grew in Hao's torn, gloved hands. He glared at Ridley's form, a massive tick mark protruding from the side of his head in response of his annoyance. "Do you know how annoying it was chasing you all over this damn dimension!?" he yelled in comical fury, a characteristic more known by Kisame or Naruto and not the Cherufe-wielding [Bishop].

Hao's right eye twitched in anger/annoyance at the skinny dragon as held the burning orb over Ridley's face, who whimpered at the heat. "I am going to enjoy this…." he said with an insane grin, "You…shall…die…"

Before he could release his attack and take pleasure in erasing Ridley's existence, the [Knight]'s body disappeared in a flash of blue light.

" **Tannin-sama, a [King], has retired. Because of his retirement, Naruto Bael-sama has officially won this Rating Game. Congratulations to the winners."** the announcer's voice echoed throughout the dimension.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…..*twitch*…*twitch*….."

"…."

"….ffffFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK!" he shouted an anger, blowing up the mountain he was on with an explosion of fire.

 **With Naruto and Kuroka**

Tannin disappeared in a flash of blue light, leaving Naruto and Kuroka alone. Naruto stared at the spot Tannin was at only seconds ago, registering the fact that they had won. "We won…." he whispered, catching Kuroka's attention.

"We did, nya." she replied.

"We won….We won." said again, his voice growing in volume as happiness flooded his body, "We won! We won, Kuroka!"

The [Queen] of Naruto shrieked when the blonde Bael picked her up by her waist. "Na-naruto!" she said with a growing blush of embarrassment, "Put me down, nya! I'm not a child!"

"Heheh! Sorry, Kuroka." said Naruto as he placed the smaller girl back on the ground. However, he brought Kuroka in for a tight hug. "Thank you, Kuroka. Truly, thanks for sticking with crazy Naruto for so long…"

In any other situation, Kuroka would have tried to pull away from Naruto, but she knew that this moment was important for her [King]. She smiled as she rested her head against his chest, secretly taking a whiff of his scent. "Thanks for saving me all those years ago….and for feeding a stray…"

In an act of bravery, Kuroka lifted herself onto her toes and kissed Naruto's cheek. The two left the dimension in a flash of blue light, still embracing each as [Queen] and [King]…

 **Heaven**

"They won!" said an excited Gabriel, jumping out of her seat in happiness as she clapped for Naruto and his peerage's victory. She was watching the Rating Game on a special projector, allowing her to tap into the Underworld's streaming services for Rating Game fans in other dimensions.

"That was an impressive win." said Michael, her brother, who was sitting next to his sister on a large, golden couch. "I didn't think that your friend was this strong."

"Boyfriend." Gabriel corrected.

"Boy-boyfriend?" gasped Michael, shocked at the new information, "You mean…you two?"

"Yup, yup, yup!" she said happily, "We made it official not too long ago! And a good girlfriend supports her boyfriend when he needs to beat up bad dragons!"

Michael stared at his sister with shock as she jumped around, celebrating Naruto's victory. "Oh!" she said, a thought hitting her, "I should make cupcakes for him and his peerage members to congratulate them for being victorious. Michael, would you please help your dear sister in making some delicacies for her boyfriend."

"Uh…sure…." Michael said, still shocked at the fact that Gabriel was in a relationship.

 **Underworld – Capital City of Lilith**

 **Serafall Memorial Hospital**

"Ouch!" yelped Lee as one of the many doctors assisting him applied pressure to one of his healing injuries, "That smarts!"

"We're just checking to make sure nothing is broken, Mr. Lee." said the female doctor, who wrapping his right shoulder with bandages, "As of now, what seems to be your main concern is your blood lost. You may need to stay here overnight until cleared."

"Overnight? But I must celebrate victory with my peerage members-YOSH!" Lee squealed at a sharp pain in his stomach where Red Eyes B. Dragon cut him.

"Calm down, Lee." said a shirtless Hao. He was sitting at the edge of his own hospital bed with two doctors healing his burn marks on his upper body with first-aid magic, "We'll celebrate when you're healthy. Stop being a bother to the medics and calm down."

"I wouldn't have to wait on you dumbass if you didn't get hurt in the first place!" shouted Kisame, flashing his shark-like fans at Hao, "Y'all are just a bunch of pussies! All we did was fight some dumb ass dragons and look at you! You look like fat kids who couldn't finish a simple obstacle course!"

"Most of us don't have healing factors like you, Kisame." Yoh said with a sigh. He was also shirtless with his right arm wrapped in bandages. He wasn't worried about his injuries; rather, he was staring at his charred Harusame. "It's gonna be a pain fixing Harusame…"

"We'll find a blacksmith for you soon, Yoh." said Anna, sitting in a chair next to Kuroka as a doctor focused on healing her forehead, "Don't worry about it."

"Nevertheless, you all did amazing." said Naruto with a true smile. Since he didn't have any serious injuries, he completed his check up rather quickly. "I'm proud of every single one of you."

"Naruto-sama! You're words are so kind!" cried out Lee, sniffling at Naruto's compliment. "YOUCH!" he flinched when one of the doctor's tightened his bandages.

"It was a hard fought victory…" said Orochimaru. Two doctors were healing his burned arm he received during his battle against Charizard, "In all honesty, I was surprised at the fact that we won by taking out Tannin before dealing with all of his peerage members. It's a strategy we usually don't do."

"Yeah, well I wasn't expecting Tannin to surrender." said Naruto, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back into his chair as he continued talking, "Kuroka and I were doing good. We easily took care of his [Queen] and were about to focus on him…but then he surrendered, saying that he wouldn't last against us."

"I could've handled the both of them easily…" scoffed Kisame, rubbing underneath a purring Samehada's chin, "But you gave me the lame guy to knock around."

"Didn't you volunteer to fight that dragon though, nya?" asked Kuroka with a cute head tilt.

"I…oh yeah, I forgot…" muttered Kisame, "But I still would've knocked the shit out of Tannin if I was fighting him! Him and his stupid [Queen]!"

"Sure thing, Kisame." laughed Naruto.

"I just wished I could've finished off that stupid dragon that I finally got the upper hand on…." Hao muttered, releasing a small spike of **KI** at just the thought of the annoying dragon.

"We've finished tending to Mr. Lee for now, but I need to check a few things with the others before continuing the healing process." said the head doctor, who was attending to Lee's injuries, "Wait here for us until we come back." she said.

"Yes ma'am. Thank you for taking care of my team." Naruto said with a bow.

Once all of the doctor's left, Naruto returned in his seat with a smile, "Man…..everything is slowly coming together…I feel like we can't lose right now."

"And we won't, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, "I'm sure with this win, we'll be able to continue with our ultimate goal with fewer setbacks compared to before."

"And those pricks with sticks in their asses won't be able to deny our strength anymore now that we've defeated a Top 10 peerage, nya!" said Kuroka.

"Well, you do have an advantage since you have one of the most powerful Devils in your group." Kisame said with his usual shark grin, "Oh, and the best sword to." he added when Samehada nudged him.

Yoh rolled his eyes at Kisame, "While I believe Harusame is the best sword, I won't debate about it. But, I am looking forward to the future…things are steadily moving in our favor."

"I just want to go home and rest…." muttered Anna, rubbing her forehead.

"YOSH! TEAM PICKLE RICK SHALL TAKE OVER THE UNDERWORLD! OUCH!" screamed Lee.

Naruto smiled at his family, glad that he had their support. "Thanks guys…it really means a lot."

The group moment was interrupted by someone knocking on the door to their room. "Must be the doctors, nya." said Kuroka, standing out of her seat and approaching the door.

Opening it, Kuroka was slightly confused when she was greeted to the sight of a solo young woman instead of the doctors treating her friends. "Oh, I think you have the wrong room, nya." said Kuroka.

"No, I have the right room. I need to speak to Naruto Bael." said the woman with a commanding tone. Kuroka narrowed her golden orbs at the woman but slowly moved out of the way, allowing the woman entrance.

Entering the room was a beautiful woman that wrecked pride and confidence. She was tall, slender, and her long light blue hair rain down her slender, voluptuous body and ended at her knees. She was outfitted in a general's uniform, signifying her status as a strong Devil, both physically and politically. Her top was open, revealing her large breast and the unusual black tattoo on her chest. Her confident smirk complimented her playful blue eyes as she walked over to Naruto.

Kisame's body shook as he took in the sight of the woman. His mouth opened in shock as memories replayed in his head as a feeling crept through the Devil/shark-demon hybrid that he hadn't felt in a long time…

Fear….

He stiffened when the woman's eyes landed on him. "Hello there, shark demon. It has been a while, no? I remember our time fighting during the Civil War over 500 years ago. Quite fun times if I do so recall correctly."

Kisame gritted his teeth as he jumped out his seat in anger, "What the hell are you doing here!?" he shouted, trying to stop his body from its hyper-trembling fit.

"I'm just here to talk to your master…." she said as she stepped in front of Naruto with a smile, "Naruto Bael….what a pleasure it is to meet you." she said as she held out her hand.

"Uh…likewise….sorry, but I don't know your name." Naruto said as he shook the woman's hand, noticing that while her hands were smooth, she had a strong grip.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself at the beginning. My name is Esdeath, a fan of yours since your re-emergence back to the Underworld." she said with a soft smile, "Your Rating Game matches have always been interesting to me, and your victory against Tannin only proves to me that you are something special….."

"Oh really?" Naruto said with an eye smile, "Thanks for the compliment! It really means a lot!"

 _*Click!*_

"Nani?" said Naruto as Esdeath snapped a metal collar attached to a chain link. A unique, blue seal appeared over the lock of Naruto's collar, spinning at the activation of a spell before disappearing.

"Hey!" Kuroka shouted in aggression of Esdeath's actions, "What the hell are you doing!?"

Esdeath smiled at Naruto's shock faced, rubbing his whiskered chin with her right hand, "Ever since I first saw you, I knew that you were the one for me. You have captured my heart, Naruto Bael, and I had to have you. Thankfully, the Bael Council supported my need for you and has now created an arranged marriage so the two of us to love each other for the remainder of time. Isn't that wonderful!" she said with glee.

However, Naruto felt no glee at all. His heart stopped as all color left his eyes. Everything around him was black and white as processed Esdeath's words. His entire world stopped as her words echoed in his head.

An image of Gabriel's smiling face appeared in his mind….

… _.._

… _._

… _.no…._

… _no…no….._

… _.no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…._

 _NO, NO, NO, NO,NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO…_

… _This wasn't supposed to happen…._

Kuroka's battle stance slackened as Esdeath's words slammed into her like a truck, "Arranged….m-ma-ma-marriage?..." she uttered from her quivering lips.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Yoh said, shocked at the turn of events.

"Yes!" said Esdeath with clap, the chain in her hand clattering as she moved, "As Naruto's peerage members, I'll be sure that you all have reserved, front row seating at the wedding."

Turning back to the unresponsive, shell-shocked Bael, Esdeath embraced Naruto like a child hugging their favorite teddy bear, "Come now, _dear husband._ There are some important people that want to meet you!~"

And as quick as Esdeath arrived, she disappeared with the blank-faced Naruto with her teleportation magic, leaving Naruto's shocked peerage members in the hospital room.

…

… **.**

… **..**

…

… **.**

… **.**

… **.**

 **GWWWAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! YOU GABRIEL X NARUTO FANS THOUGHT YOU WON!? YOU THOUGHT IT WAS THAT EASY?**

 **NOT WITH NARUTOPLUG- HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Whew shit I love my crazy fucking imagination! Always keep the readers on their toes is what I say!**

 **Lol, anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter! This chapter was HELLA long! I really didn't want it to be so long but I get so caught up with the damn battle scenes-Fuck! I love typing that shit up cuz it actually makes you think to make the shit entertaining!**

 **ESDEATH HAS MADE HER ENTRANCE! ALL THE AKAME GA KILL FANS SAY YAAAAHHH!**

 **Been waiting on revealing her character for the longest. With her comes more drama and more exciting situations too type up for you all to enjoy! Thanks for all of the support I get from you all. It really means a lot to see those reviews about how you all love BreakThrough, and that's all I need to finish this story strong! While we're not at the end yet, it is nearing with every chapter.**

 **THE FUCKING RACE IS BACK OPEN PEOPLE! GABRIEL, KUROKA, AND NOW THE AMAZING ESDEATH!**

 **Lol, and you all really thought that the pairing was certified! And there I was, answering your reviews as if that how it was.**

 **I'm so fucking evil its sexy…**

 **But yeah that it-Sweet fiddle sticks! I'm at 50 pages! I've never gotten that far! and 25k+ words.**

 **Ok, this shit has to end now.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

… **.**

… **.**

 **Tannin's Peerage!**

 **Tannin [King]**

 **Rayquaza [Queen] – Pokémon**

 **Giratina [Rook] – Pokémon**

 **Blue Dragon [Rook] – Blue Dragon**

 **Red Eyes B. Dragon [Bishop] – Yu-Gi-Oh!**

 **Blye Eyes White Dragon [Bishop] – Yu-Gi-Oh!**

 **Neo Dragoniod [Knight] – Bakugan**

 **Ridley [Knight] – Metriod**

 **Charizard [Pawn] – Pokémon**

 **Ryuga/L-Drago [Pawn] - Beyblade**


	27. HowItFeelsToBeSealed

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, and guess what happen?**

… **Oh, what? You haven't noticed yet….**

…

… **..You guys should know by now what I should be talking about based on the past whenever I start off the chapter like this….**

 **WE PAST 3,000 REVIEWS BABY! SPRAY THE CHAMPAGNE!**

 **MMMMAAAAANNNNN I thank you all for helping me reaching this milestone! Bru, this shit is amazing! I never thought when I started this story that it would be such a success. Even The Corrupted Mind, a story I made almost 4 years ago, hasn't gotten this much recognition from people. BreakThrough has broken through every milestone Corrupted Mind has (except in views. The Corrupted Mind is closing in on 1 million views while BreakThrough is around 660k views) which is fucking amazing for this story to be a year and one month old.**

 **Thank you guys…truly, that shit means a lot.**

 **Now! Wheeewwww weeeeeee! Last chapter man…last chapter..**

 **I'm be honest, a lot of y'all weren't feeling Esdeath's introduction, cuzzo. Many complained that with her introduction, the direction of the story now became unclear, confusing, random, and any other adjective that means fucked up. Another compliant many people had was why would Naruto just sit there and allow Esdeath to put a fucking collar around him?**

 **(July 5, 2019 – 11:17 p.m.) Whelp…I was gonna explain why I brought Esdeath's character into the story this Author Note, but I've decided to pull it down it down to the ending author note at the end of this chapter. I believe that if you really hate that I added her character into the story to the point where you won't read until I change/take her out entirely, then I'm sorry to say that this may be the end of BreakThrough for you. I stand by the reason as to why I added her into BreakThrough, and if you want to understand why I added her into my story, read this chapter and then the Author Note at the end of the chapter. I copy/pasted what I had up here before and moved it down there.**

 **I wanted this chapter to be different…and I feel like it is. Remember to Follow, Favorite, and Review.**

 **We made it to 3,000 reviews….thank you.**

 **Let's continue the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **HowItFeelsToBeSealed**

 **Underworld – Capital City of Lilith**

 **Serafall Memorial Hospital**

The light of Esdeath's teleportation dwindled away until the spell was complete, both Esdeath and Naruto now long gone to an unknown place in a matter of seconds. The member's of Team Pickle Rick were stunned, lacking the ability to form words as they tried to register the fact that their master was gone.

Kisame's grip on Samehada's handle tightened exponentially while he gritted his teeth in anger. "Fuck…..fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…." he muttered as he started to pace back and forth, "Why the fuck would she just do some dumb shit like that! That icicle tramp and her dumb ass uppity attitude….shit, what am I gonna do….he's not gonna last long…fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…."

"What...what just happen…." said Yoh, his mouth still hanging from his shock.

Orochimaru growled in anger, "Our master just got abducted and nobody did anything!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the wall, leaving a decent sized crack while doing so, "Kisame! Who was that person?"

"Ffffffuuuuucccckkkkkk…" groaned Kisame, dropping back into his seat and pulling at his hair in frustration, "This isn't good…this isn't good…"

"Kisame!" shouted Anna, snapping the blue-skinned man out of his fear-induced spell, "Stop talking to yourself and tell us who that woman was." she demanded.

The first [Knight] of Naruto Bael sighed. Samehada whimpered at its master's distress, curling around his legs in an act of comfort. However, the demonic sword flinched when Kuroka's foot stomped in front of it.

The Nekomata glared down at Kisame with an intense fury, concentrating her **KI** at Kisame. Her golden orbs glowed with power and she lifted Kisame's chin with her finger, forcing his head up. "You are going to stop mumbling to yourself and tell us what we want to know…now…" she said with authority, not accepting any other answer.

"Don't touch me, pussy." Kisame said, slapping Kuroka's hand away, "I was about to tell you all…I just had to…to think about some shit…"

"We're gonna need you to think quicker if we want to save Naruto-sama. Every second counts." said Anna, "So start talking."

Kisame groaned, leaning back into his chair, "Alright, alright! Fuck this sucks…"

"Uh, hello…" it was the doctors that had left a few minutes prior standing at the door, "We're back to continue checking over-

"Excuse us, but we'll need a few minutes before you all may continue. Thank you." Orochimaru said before closing the door in her face. "Continue." he said, locking the door.

"That woman's name is Esdeath…" started Kisame, "I was with apart of the Old Satan Faction years ago, fighting against the Anti-Satan Faction during the Civil War. That's how I met the idiot…if I was at a specific battlefield, he was assigned to fight me…and if he was at another battlefield, I was assigned to fight him…we canceled each other out, our fights always ending in a tie…"

"That's not answering any of my questions…" said Kuroka with a glare.

"Maybe if you'd let me get the fucking words out of my mouth, then you'd understand!" shouted Kisame, standing from his seat and towering over his ally. Kuroka didn't back down, surrounding her body in a veil of black magic.

"Now isn't the time to fight, you two." said Hao, stopping any sort of fight from occurring, "Kuroka, let Kisame talk uninterrupted please. Continue with your story, Kisame."

The [Queen] and [Knight] of Naruto Bael hissed and growled at each other before calming down. "Stupid pussy…" he muttered under his breath, "Anyway! One day while fighting, the legion Naruto was a part of didn't show up…instead, another one did….lead by Esdeath. She had somehow got it in good with the Bael Clan and they promoted her to General, giving her a whole fucking legion and shit. That bitch may be crazy, but she knows the art of war. We fought…and I lost….It isn't like she whipped my ass or something!" he shouted, defending himself from any type of accusation of him being weak, "It was a long ass fight! I was really close to giving her the beats until she pulled out her 'trump card' or whatever the hell she called it!"

"We understand, Kisame." Orochimaru said with an eye roll, "Keep going."

Kisame huffed at Orochimaru, not liking how the snake man told him what to do. "But yea," he continued, "…I lost…I got taken captive after a few of our battles with her 'friends'…tortured me for information…but those pussies underestimated how great I was back then…broke out and escaped…after that shit, I decided that this war shit wasn't worth it and dipped off to do my own shit. End of story."

"So that was why you looked like you were going to pee your pants when you saw her?" asked Lee with a raised hand, "Because she tortured you?"

"ACH! I WAS NOT ABOUT TO PEE MY PANTS!" Kisame shouted, "SHE JUST BROUGHT UP SOME BAD MEMORIES! THAT'S IT! NO PISSING OF THE PANTS IS GOING ON OVER HERE!"

"Noted." Hao said, uncovering his ears after Kisame's loud outburst, "So what can we do now? If she's actually in an arranged marriage with Naruto-sama, there must be a way for us to null the contract."

"Rating Game, most likely." answered Orochimaru, rubbing his chin while thinking of a game plan, "During the meeting with the Four Satan's and the Devil Council, Zekram Bael, the former Great King, asked Naruto-sama about his relationship with Gabriel…he all but threatened Naruto-sama to end it with Gabriel because of her statues as an Angel. Also, Lord Agares warned us that the Bael Clan had their sights on us…he just didn't know what they were planning…"

"Ok, so what's our next move!" said Kuroka, sick and tired of all of the talking and lack of action, "We need to go save Naruto now!"

"And how the fuck do you plan on doing that, pussy?" snarled Kisame, "Got any good ideas inside of that useless brain of yours?"

"How about getting off our asses and killing the bitch that took Naruto!" she shouted, "Why am I the only angry about this?!"

"We are all angry as well as confused, Kuroka." said Anna, "But we can't act without a plan. We don't even know where Esdeath took Naruto-sama. Calm down and think rationally."

"She just said the Bael Council was the one that approved of their marriage! Their probably in Reshiram in the Bael Territory: probably some high-class prick's house! I can sense Naruto's magic and we'll bust in and bring him home!" she countered, "Does this 'plan' good enough for you to stop brooding and act like you care Naruto might be marrying a monster!?"

"Woah, Kuroka." said Yoh, not liking her tone or the insult to his fiancée, "You need to calm down."

"We can't just barge into someone's house, Kuroka." said Orochimaru, "If we do that, we'll be arrested for sure, doing more harm than good. For now, all we can do is wait until we hear back from Naruto-sama. I've already tried using a communication spell to reach him, but it isn't working for some reason. The only thing we can do is stay calm and patient." he finished.

"Calm? Patient!? If the roles were reversed, Naruto would've raided Bael Castle for any of us by now! Staying calm and patient is just the same as doing nothing!" she shouted again, "Do you all even care for the man that saved us from our terrible past lives!?"

"It's time for you to shut the fuck up." said Kisame, not taking anymore shit from the [Queen], "You are obviously not judging what's at stake here, dumbass! ' .Anything! Get that through that thick skull of yours!"

"Uh...guys.." said the injured Lee, not liking the hostility coming from the two.

"You've known Naruto the longest!" said Kuroka, "I would've expected you to be on my side out of anybody! How could you sit there and say something like th-

"Shut up!" yelled Kisame, stepping up to the small girl, barely holding back his rage, "I'm sick of this shit! Everybody else, even the rookie, isn't fucking crying like a child. You're the only one being a pain in the ass! The only reason you're acting like this is because you hate the fact that Naruto may end up with somebody else other than you!"

"Kisame!" shouted Anna.

"No! Fuck all that shit!" he said, pushing Kuroka into a corner, "You think he'll just magically end up with you, huh? Crying because you aren't 'Little Ms. Naruto Bael yet!'" he mocked, "Well that shit ain't gonna happen! Why the fuck would he want to be with somebody that left him to join some other peerage!"

"Wha…" said the now wide-eyed Kuroka, "How…"

"Yeah, I know all about your little 'rebellious stage' because he was venting to me about you leaving back then!" he revealed, thoroughly shocking the young girl, "'Why would she leave when I took care of her?' 'Did I do something wrong?' 'Am I really a bad person?' Everyday I'd listen to him crying like a bitch because of you! Heh, I actually felt bad for the guy! That's why I'm glad he's got Gabby, because he deserves someone loyal and trustworthy, unlike you!"

"Kisame, that's enough." Orochimaru said, tugging on his shoulder.

Kisame pushed the pale man off of him as he continued his rain of assaults at the now shivering, tear-eyed Kuroka, "And now that those two are official, you can throw away any fucking dreams of you being with my best friend. Hell, even if he ends up with that Esdeath bitch, I KNOW she can do more for him than you EVER could!"

Kisame didn't fight back when Goki and Zenki grabbed his arms and pulled him away from the now crying Kuroka. The damage had been dealt and he felt good dealing it. "Fucking bitch…go take your teenage emotions somewhere else. You ain't helping us here anyway." he muttered with a scowl, "Scram!"

And run she did as Kuroka covered her crying face and ran out of the room with no destination in mind. "Yeah, that's right. Do what you did a couple of years ago! Run!" he shouted down the crowded hallway, watching her run until she turned a corner, vanishing out of his sight.

"Eh?" he said, taking notice to all the eyes centered at him, "Were y'all listening to my fucking conversation!" Kisame shouted, releasing a massive amount of **KI** in the atmosphere.

"Nope." said all of the doctors, returning to their jobs as if nothing out of ordinary happened.

"That's what I thought!" he said, slamming the door to their room behind them, "Nosey ass Devils…fucking imbeciles…"

"Great job at crushing Kuroka's heart." said Anna, glaring at the tall man, "That's exactly what's gonna help us bring Naruto-sama back…" she said, sarcasm evident in her tone.

"Ehhh, fuck off." he said, waving Anna's glare off, "Somebody had to say it." he muttered while returning to his seat.

Orochimaru face palmed with a heavy sigh, "We really didn't need you saying that, Kisame. Now we have to search for her."

"Oh we don't have to search for her." replied Kisame, "She's a grown woman. She can do what the hell she wants!" he finished with an 'hmph!'

"I didn't know that Kuroka left Naruto-sama before…" said Hao, "That's interesting…she would be last person I'd suspect any disloyalty from when it comes to him."

"Ms. Kuroka aside, we still don't have a plan to save Naruto-sama!" said Lee from his hospital bed.

"We'll just have to wait until we learn something from Naruto-sama when he returns…whenever that will be…" muttered Yoh.

Orochimaru hummed in thought, "I could alert Lord Agares…tell him what happened and see if he can help us…Lee still needs to heal, so he'll stay here for the night."

"I've still gotta meet with the Phenex's for a short while tomorrow." said Hao.

"I'll stay here with Lee until he's discharged." volunteered Yoh, "And I'll be on the lookout for Kuroka just in case she returns here."

"Good." said Naruto's Advisor, "If you hear anything from Naruto or if Kuroka returns, contact me immediately." he said while crafting a large teleportation seal for the group returning home.

"Understood." Yoh said with a nod.

"Don't worry, everybody!" shouted Lee with enthusiasm, "We'll find a way through this! I'm sure Naruto-sama is thinking of a plan at this moment!" he said with a thumbs up while flashing his pearly whites.

"Yeah…everything will work out…" said Yoh with a small smile, "We'll find a way through this."

"Let's remain hopeful." said Orochimaru before vanishing with Anna, Hao, and Kisame, returning back home.

 **Bael Territory Capital - Reshiram**

 **Bael Castle**

The first sight Naruto was greeted to be what looked like the hallway inside a household of royalty. The long, red carpet resting on the floor was decorated with a complex, golden pattern, similar to the magic circle used by members apart of the House of Bael. Statue heads aligned the walls of important Baels that contributed to the Clan's wealthy and prosperity.

Naruto took in the sight of the hallway, wondering where they were. "Where….where are we?" he asked, noticing the window behind him. Looking outside, he saw a grand garden that was tended by many Devils, most likely the groundskeeper of wherever they were.

"Welcome to Bael Castle, my love." Esdeath whispered into Naruto's ear, causing him to jump away. However, his head jerked back because of the chained collar the blue-haired Devil put on him before coming here.

Calling forth his wings, Naruto saved himself from falling on his face and balanced himself. "Did you just say….Bael Castle?" he muttered in disbelief.

"That's right." confirmed Esdeath, "The Bael Council wanted to inform you of all the details that come with our arranged marriage. I was sent to retrieve of you after your Rating Game."

Naruto glared at the happy woman with hatred. "I don't want to marry you…I don't even know who the hell you are!"

"My name is Esdeath, dear. It would be best if you remembered your fiancée's name." Esdeath said with a roll of her ice-blue eyes, "Now stop being difficult and follow me."

She tugged on her chain, wanting to pull Naruto forward, but Naruto did move an inch. "What's wrong?" she asked her captive.

"Get this damn collar off of me." he growled, his eyes flashing red before reverting to his regular blue, "I am not your slave. I am not your pet. I am not your fiancée."

"Oh, but you are, dear." she said, rubbing his whiskered cheek with affection, "You are my treasured future-husband and I won't let anything happen to you. You've been through so much during your life…let me be your peace…"

Naruto slapped Esdeath's hand away from his cheek in a fit of anger, "Don't touch me."

"So feisty!" she said with a laugh, "Don't worry, my love. You'll get used to being with me soon enough. Just give us some time!~"

Naruto was going to retort, but the sound of Esdeath's chain clinking against each other drew his attention. _'That sound…'_ he thought as he stared at the silver chain. Its slow movements, swaying back and forth forced Naruto to remember his time while sealed…a time he didn't want to remember.

 _ **Flashback**_

An eternal darkness filled the space with nothing insight. The cool, chilling darkness was the sight Naruto had witnessed for over 20 years, but he still couldn't forget of the betrayal Serafall, his first love, put him through.

The chains connected to the cuffs on his limbs clanked against each other as they stretched off into the darkness. Naruto didn't know how long the chains were because his weakened body couldn't move to investigate. Lying on his side, he continued staring at the darkness that welcomed him when he first was sealed. An eternal void of black nothingness and chains being the only thing he could see through his dull-blue eyes…

…..

….click…..clang…

…..

…..

…."Some…..s-somebody"….

….clang…..

…

…"Please…"

"…..Please!"

…..

…..

…

….

….."Anybody"…

…

…..clank…..

…..

…clink….clan-

"SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF HERE! I CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE! GET ME OUT! GET ME OUT! GET ME OUT! GET ME OUT! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! FUCKING KILL ME! JUST GET ME OUT OF THIS PLACE! I CAN'T LAST ANY LONGER! SOMEBODY-IF YOU CAN HEAR ME! PLEASE!...please….."

 _ **Flashback End**_

Tears gathered around Naruto's eyes as his vision became blurry. Fear coursed through his body and his breath quickly increased in speed. His wide-eyes continued to stare at the chains as he started to hyperventilate, his entire body shaking uncontrollably as he dropped to the ground while grasping at his neck.

"Naruto!" Esdeath shouted with concern, falling to the floor and cradling his quivering body, "Naruto! What's wrong!? Tell me something!"

It was Esdeath's voice that snapped Naruto out of his panic attack. He gasped as he pressed his right hand into his chest, trying to calm himself. ' _You're not there anymore….it's over…you freed yourself….it's over….'_

"Naruto!" Glancing to his left side, Naruto saw Esdeath's worry-filled face, "Are you okay!? Please tell me what's wron-

The blonde Bael wrapped his left hand around Esdeath's throat, surprising the woman. Slowly standing back on his feet, Naruto forced Esdeath's back into the wall. His blue eyes were now red as rage influenced his actions. The once fear-stricken Naruto was now as serious as ever, glaring a hole through Esdeath's head with an extraordinary amount of hatred and rage in his red eyes.

"This is what you are going to do for me…" he muttered slowly, "You are going to get this collar off of me. Now."

Esdeath's surprised look slowly morphed into one filled with lust and seduction, "Hmmmmm…" she hummed, licking her lips, "Who knew you had such a demanding side, My King…hopefully you'll use that in some of the more…. _pleasurable…._ aspects of our marriage…."

' _Who the hell does she think she is…'_ thought Naruto, tightening his grip around Esdeath's neck.

Noticing the increase of pressure around her neck, her previous words only angering him further, Esdeath smirked before speaking, "If you had a clear mind, you would have realized that the seal on your collar was just for me to bring you with my teleportation spell. Since we aren't apart of the same peerage, it would be impossible for me to bring you here, which is why I planted the synchronizing spell on your collar…as for the collar itself, there isn't anything special about it. You could just destroy it with your Power of Destruction, but I think you should keep it. I think it makes you look sexy~….."

"I told you to take it off…" he growled, consequently turning her on even more as she rubbed her thighs together at the sound of his commanding tone.

"Hmph…" she hummed with a smile, a dirty look in her eyes, "Whatever you say, _My King_ …" she whispered in a sultry manner, batting her eyes at the angry Bael.

With a snap of her fingers, the collar opened and fell to the floor, releasing Naruto. Dispelling the collar and chain away, Esdeath pushed out of Naruto's hold and wrapped her arms around his own, burying his arm into her bountiful chest. "Come now, Naru. We have an important group of Devils awaiting us." she said, pulling Naruto along with her down the long hallway.

Naurto stared at the happy Esdeath with narrowed eyes, _'If this is Bael Castle, then he will most certainly be at this meeting she's talking about.'_ he thought, planning of a strategy that could help him twist his current predicament around in his favor. _'While it is a little early on schedule, our confrontation was bound to happen…I'll play along for now.'_

Turning into another hallway, maids and butlers lined the walls, bowing to the duo as they walked past them. Seeing the servants, Naruto hummed in realization of something, which Esdeath noticed. "Is everything alright, my dear?" she asked with concern.

Ignoring the way she addressed him, Naruto replied, "I'm just realizing that this is my first time here in the legendary Bael Castle…seeing all of the servants…it reminded me that my mother was once a maid working here…"

"Really?" asked Esdeath, "Maybe once this meeting is over, we can request a tour. Since we'll be married, you'll be here more often now." she said with a smile, tightening her grip around Naruto's arm.

' _Don't count on it, bitch…'_ he thought with an eye twitch.

Continuing their stretch through maze-like castle, they finally made it to the hallway that led to the entrance of the meeting room. The room was currently closed, two metal doors closing the area off. In front of the meeting room stood a group of Devil guards, standing watch of anything suspicious.

The duo approached the guards. "Esdeath-sama!" they all greeted, bowing out of respect for the general.

"Has everyone arrived?" she asked/demanded for an answer.

"Yes ma'am." said the guard in front, leading Naruto to believe that he was the leader of this squadron, "Once you left, all of the other council members have arrived to greet Naruto-sama. Everyone is inside awaiting you two."

"Hmm…that's good. Move aside." she ordered. With another bow, the group split in half, making a pathway for the duo to the door.

"Are you ready, dear? The council is very excited to meet you!" she said as two of the guards opened the door for the two to enter the meeting room.

"Oh, I'm ready…" he muttered darkly, snatching his arm away from Esdeath and walking towards the meeting room entrance. _'It's finally time….time to see the face of put me through that hell…'_

Entering the room with Esdeath following behind him, Naruto took in the sight of a large, majestic room filled with royal décor in every corner of the room. Paintings and maps of the Underworld hung from the walls, hardly leaving any of the cream-colored walls visible. Servants stood at attention, their backs facing the walls as they silently waited for orders from any of the Lords and Ladies in the room. In front of Naruto was a long table that was low to the ground, with council members seated in small, purple cushions along the sides of said table.

Past the table, towards the back of the room, sat a man sitting atop of a small throne that overlooked He exuded a feeling of dominance and royalty as he flashed his white teeth at Naruto once they made eye contact. At first sight, one may say that the man was an older, carbon copy of Sairaorg. His black and gray hair spiked upwards with a few strands curling over the gold crown mixed with different gems sitting atop the man's head. He ran his hands through his thick beard as he stared down Naurto with his violent eyes. His body was huge, similar to Sairaorg's but somewhat more bulky, and his dark blue, skin-tight body suit acted as a second skin, revealing all of his massive muscles.

Standing out of his throne, his long, black robe with a furry white scruff at the ends and around his neck fluttered behind the monster of a man. "Let us welcome the couple of the hour!" he said, his deep voice reverberating throughout the large room.

Standing on their feet, the members of the legendary Bael Council clapped for the newly engaged couple. Naruto noted some of the familiar people that Misla informed him of as they clapped for him.

Sitting at the top right corner of the long table was Lord Agares. While he was following everyone's lead, clapping for the smiling Esdeath and neutral Naruto, his mind ran rampant with worried thoughts. _'What in the hell is going on!? Why is he with Esdeath? And what does that man mean 'couple of the hour'…..unless…..damn you, Lord Bael….'_ Lord Agares continued his façade and clapped for the duo, but he couldn't help but grit his teeth at the fact that the head of the Bael Clan did something not even he would suspect.

Standing towards the middle of the table was Magdaran Bael, Lord Bael's second son. He stared at Naruto with wide-eyes. ' _What is Naruto doing here! Why wasn't I informed about this!'_

"Thank you. Thank you all." said Esdeath with a bow, "I am very happy that I am arranged to be married to Naruto Bael, and I know this meeting will be successful in informing my fiancée of how the process of our marriage will happen."

"Yes, Esdeath." said Lord Bael with a smile, but his eyes stared at Naruto with an uncontrollable amount of arrogance. He knew what he was doing to Naruto, and he knew that he had the Bael in the palm of his hands.

Naruto's blue eyes subliminally turned red as his rage increased. Standing before him was the man behind everything. _'There you are…..'_ thought Naruto, not breaking eye contact with Lord Bael. Beneath his skin, his magic ran wild throughout his body like a swarm of bees. He had to remember his meditation practices with Anna in order to keep himself at bay and not outwardly react in response to his growing anger. _'I will kill you….You're time in is coming soon, Bael…..but, fortunately for you….that time isn't now….'_

After the applause for the newly engaged couple ceased, the council and Lord Bael sat back down in their seats. Naruto and Esdeath were provided their own cushions placed at the top of the table by two servants. Naruto thanked the servant for providing him a seat, while Esdeath ignored her maid, deciding to sit and wait for the commencement of the meeting.

"Now, before we begin, I believe that it is only right to congratulate Naruto Bael with his victory against Tannin." said Lord Bael, "It was most impressive indeed."

"I agree." said one the Bael councilmen, "To defeat one of the Top 10 peerages at such a young age…it is an impressive feat for someone so young. You represent the House of Bael well, Naruto-san."

' _I wouldn't be towards my favor acting in subordinate right now…'_ he said, briefly making eye contact with Lord Agares, all the communication the duo needed to understand what the other was thinking. "Well, not to gloat, but I expected the Rating Game against Tannin-sama to be more…..difficult, to say."

"Oh? So you believe you could face some of the other peerages among the Top 10 as well?" asked another council member with curiosity.

"Absolutely, but I'd need some prep time to study their peerages, common strategies they use frequently, and run through simulations in my head of every situation my peerage may face during the Rating Game." he answered thoroughly.

"And that's how you plan out each of your Rating Games?" asked another council member, one of the sole females seated at the table, "Usually, your peerage doesn't use any complex strategies during your Rating Games. Instead, you take the head on approach, leaving base and attacking your opponent by splitting them up individual into either one-on-one or two-on-one battles."

' _Oh, they've been watchin' watchin'…'_ thought Naruto, quoting something he felt Kisame would say. "My peerage is comprised of powerful pieces with the ability to win in two-on-one scenarios. While my peerage maybe low in members, we're still able to wreck havoc on the battle field with large-scaled attacks that are hard to defend against. I found leaving our base and directly attacking the opposing peerage's [King] is the best style that fits with my peerage." he finished.

"Very resourceful, indeed." said another councilmember, "How are your feelings about your possible promotion to Ultimate-Class Devil?"

"I'm not too sure about that one." said Naruto, hiding the fact that he was tired of playing the nice guy with the rich bastards, "I guess I'm still processing the fact that the offers been made." he said with a small smile and a head scratch.

"Your promotion only just further proves that you are worthy in marrying me, dear." said Esdeath, rubbing his shoulder.

"That is something I'd like to talk about." said Naruto, pushing aside his raging emotion in want to throw Esdeath into a wall for touching him again, "This…arranged marriage….when did this come about?"

"It was a few days after your peerage match against Rai Agares a few months ago." said an old man with grey hair, "Esdeath had previously mentioned about wanting to fall in love and we had suggested many potential bachelor's for her. However, she claimed that they were all incompetent; not worthy enough to be wed her."

"But then I saw you, my love." said Esdeath, continuing where the old man left off, "I watched a recording of your match against Rai Agares and I instantly felt a connection. I continued to watch your Rating Games, becoming a fan of you and your peerage, not even realizing that the unknown emotion you created in me was love. When I saw you defeat Loki when he appeared during the Devil Exams, I knew that I had to have you as my own." she said, blushing up a storm.

"That's when she came to us to propose the contract. We were a little hesitant to proceed with such a request suddenly, but we then decided that it would be for the betterment that you two married." said the old man, "Now, hopefully Esdeath will get off my back for a while, hahaha!"

"While you are usually lazy about any request I have, you acted quickly with this one, Honest, so I thank you for setting us up." replied Esdeath.

"Awwwww! I've never you say thank you before, Esdeath." laughed the newly named Honest, "I'll have to tell the others over dinner when we go home."

"I'm sure you will…" Esdeath said with a roll of her eyes, latching onto Naruto's arm again.

"Naruto," said Lord Bael. Naruto had to check his emotions again, hiding the anger at the monster that dare call his name, "with this marriage, it will not only help us, but you. While we understand that you were given the opportunity to become a Ultimate-Class Devil, we think it would be in your favor not to accept the position."

"Really?" said Naruto, actually interested in hearing the Bael leader out, "And why is that?"

Lacing his fingers together, Lord Bael began his explanation, "The few that has obtained the rank of 'Ultimate-Class' Devils are just pawns for the Satan's use." he began, "They are aligned with the Satans, used as figures heads to add onto how powerful they are. Basically, they are trying to collect enough power to soon overthrow the true rulers of the Underworld, the House of Bael."

"You're victory against that damned dragon just proves our collective strength as Baels." he continued, slamming his fist against his throne, "By joining us, you will help solidify our position as even more at the top of the totem pole. You accepting this marriage proposal will prove your loyalty to your clan, which won't go without reward."

"And that is?" asked Naruto.

"By accepting this proposal and following our orders, you, Naruto Bael, will have a promised position within the Bael Council, a legendary council that rules the Devil's side of the Underworld with an undeniable power. You will be given riches, land, anything that pleases your carnal desires. Do you accept?" finished Lord Bael.

' _Bullshit.'_ immediately thought Naruto, breaking down the true meaning of the Bael's proposal, ' _They're just offering me this position because they know they can't stop me. By marrying Esdeath, I would be tied down to the Bael Clan forever….'_

' _But if he says no, they'll just force him into marrying Esdeath since he's just a regular member of the clan.'_ thought Lord Agares, analyzing the situation, _'The Bael's technically can't be punished for sealing Naruto away because they can claim bullshit like 'for the betterment of the clan'. They can also claim insubordination since Naruto didn't break it off with Serafall long ago. As long as its clan business, nobody outside of the Bael Clan would be able to come to Naruto's aid, including the Satans….so either way, he's trapped…'_

' _He doesn't want this!'_ thought Magdaran, staring at the blonde Bael with worry. _'During his visits with me, he would tell me all about Gabriel! He loves her, not Esdeath! He's probably dying inside because he'll lose the only chance at being with her!'_

As soon as he thought that, an idea popped up in his head. _'Wait….renounce my name….that's what he wanted me to do last time he came to see me.'_

Staring at Naruto, who was rubbing his chin in thought, a determination sparked within Magdaran heart. _'Is this the moment Naruto was talking about? Is this the time where I renounce my right to the throne? While Naruto may underestimate me, I know the only reason why Naruto would want me to renounce my right to the throne is so it could be easier for him to somehow steal the throne for himself…or at least, somebody he knows he believes would be a better Great King than my father…'_

Magdaran gripped his pants together, slowly gathering the courage to do what he was about to do. _'This is it! If Naruto believes he can be better King…or someone else can be a better King, then so be it! I've seen the things my father has done…he doesn't care about anyone but himself! If this is what it takes to get rid of him, then-'_

" _Not now child…"_

Magdaran's eyes widened when the voice of Naruto filled his mind. Staring at the blonde sitting at the top of the meeting table, Naruto was staring right at Magdaran, his eyes boring their way into his mind, which actually made the heir of Bael shiver in fear. _"Not now….later….y-yo….you…wil…will…kno when…"_ Naruto's voice within the younger Bael's head faded away, but he got through what he wanted.

"Naruto?" The blonde Bael was pulled out of his inner turmoil when Lord Bael called out his name. He had been silent for a while, trying to think up of some counter measures, but couldn't find one. "Have you come to a decision?"

Naruto analyzed Lord Bael again. To Naruto's surprise, the Great King of the Underworld was smiling at him, as if they were comrades. However, staring deep into the King's violent eyes, Naruto could see the arrogance, evil, and pure joy the man had for forcing Naruto into a corner. He knew what he was doing. He knew exactly what he was doing!

' _But I don't have a way out…'_ thought Naruto, _'Maybe….maybe there is no way out of this…'_

"I'm sorry." Naruto said with an eye-smile, "I do appreciate the offer, but it's just that…..well….I'm so unprepared for it all."

"Really?" asked Lord Bael, confusion evident in his voice.

"Yes Lord Bael. I am highly considering the offer you've given me, though just the timing of it all is what's got me somewhat stunned. If it is possible, may I request a few days of considering your proposal…." Naruto then wrapped his arm around a surprised Esdeath, pulling her body closer to his own, "…and to get to know my…..w-w….w-w-w-wwwiiiffeeee…my wife…"

' _If Gabriel ever finds out about this, I'm dead.'_ cried chibi Naruto inside the Bael's mind. He had to force the bile coming up his throat back down as Esdeath snuggled into his embrace. _'It's taking everything within me not to shoot her up with my Power of Destruction….I've just gotta deal with it for a little while Naruto….just a small while…'_

"I think that this is a favorable request, if you don't mind me saying that, Lord Bael." said Lord Agares, secretly coming to Naruto's aid, "Let young Naruto have a few days to think things over. He needs to break the news to his peerage members and adjust to a different lifestyle, after all."

"Hmmmmm…." hummed Lord Bael, "I guess that does make sense…if the council agrees as well."

After a collective agreement, Lord Bael was content, "Alright, Naruto Bael. We shall give you a few days to think things over and to spend time with your fiancée. You shall report back here in 4 days time and give us your response."

"Yes, Lord Bael. Thank for being so generous." said Naruto, bowing in respect to the man. He was seething mentally, hating the fact that he had to play along with the monster that sealed him so long ago, but he didn't have a choice.

"Good. This meeting is now over." said Lord Bael, leaving the room via teleportation spell.

Naruto sighed, running his hands through his hair in stress. _'I can't believe that happened….at least I got a few days time to figure things out.'_ Glancing up, he saw Lord Agares talking to a few councilmen. The two shared a short moment of eye contact before nodding at each other.

"Come, dear." said Esdeath, grabbing Naruto's hand, "It's time to go home."

"Home?" said Naruto in confusion.

"Yup! Home for supper!" said Honest, walking over to the duo, "You're coming home with us, Naruto, to adjust to your new living conditions."

"And where will that be?" asked Naruto.

"With me, silly!" said Esdeath, pulling Naruto for a hug. Since the two were of similar height, Esdeath leaned into Naruto's ear, whispering, "Hopefully you'll have that same aggression you had earlier for the fun activities I have planned~"

"Since you've synced your teleportation seals together, that means that you're compatible with mine as well." said Honest, the seal of Bael appearing under the group's feet.

"And why is that?" asked Naruto, pushing away Esdeath, who tried to kiss his cheek.

"Because Esdeath is my [Queen], of course." revealed Honest, surprising the blonde as the group disappeared.

 **Bael Territory - Honest's Castle**

Naruto, Honest, and Esdeath appeared in a massive yard. There were servants everywhere, tending to the garden, intent on sustain the beauty of the yard. _'This is big…'_ thought Naruto, taking in the sights.

"Wheww! I wonder what the servants have cooked up today?!" said Honest, leading the group to the huge double doors of a massive castle with an emerald-colored roof, "All this work lately has me stressed somewhat. I think I'll have a massage after supper. What about you two? Care to join me?"

"No thank you, Honest. I'd rather spend some alone time with my husband after dinner." said Esdeath, tightening her hold on Naruto's arm.

Naruto didn't even notice Esdeath's breast suffocating his arm as he looked at the massive castle. _'This is incredible… I've been to some of the other Devil Clan's main mansions and castles, but none of them compare to the size of this….it unnecessarily large.'_

"Hello, there." Honest said to the guards standing in front of the front doors, "I assume everything has been well since my departure this morning?"

"Yes, Bael-sama." said one of the guards, "Your supper and peerage members are awaiting you in the dining hall." he finished as the other guards open the humongous doors for the trio.

"Thank you very much." said Honest, entering his castle first before the other two.

Marching down the hallway, Naruto couldn't help but stare at how lavish the inside was. Everything was sparkling clean from the constant care of the castle's servants. _'I feel out of place here….this is nothing like how it is back home…my mother used to be around this every day?'_ he thought, remember the stories his mother told him serving as a maid for Lord Bael.

"How do you like my castle, Naruto?" asked Honest, "Does it fit your standards of living?"

"The real question is if I am fit enough to live here…" muttered Naruto, still taking in the sights of the luxurious castle, "I've never lived in such a place like this before."

"You are more than worthy enough to live her, my dear." said Esdeath, still latched onto his arm, "Once we finish dinner, I'll take you on a tour throughout the castle. You must be knowledgeable of the place you're going to live at after all."

"Wait…you live here?" asked Naruto.

"…as do all of my peerage members." said Honest, "I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here, young Naruto. The food my servants make for us is some of the best in the Underworld. Absolutely delicious!" He finished with a hearty laugh.

Two servants opened the door for the trio as they entered the dining hall. Naruto was greeted to the sight of yet another lavish room with a long table filled with all types of food. Sitting at the long table were a group of people Naruto believed to be the rest of Honest's peerage. _'Just play it cool, Naruto. This won't last long…'_

"Greetings, Honest-sama." said a massive, blonde-haired man. While he was a little shorter to Kisame's 6.5 foot stature, the man's width increased by the bulky armor he wore added to his intimidating presence. "I assume your meeting was successful since you have Naruto-san with you."

"Yes, yes it was, Budo. Everybody, this is Naruto Bael." said Honest, presenting Naruto to his peerage, "He is in an arranged marriage with Esdeath, so let's make sure he feels welcomed."

"Woah! So you're the guy that's marrying Esdeath-sama?" said a blue-haired teenager with curiosity, "I hope you can handle her…"

"What was that, Wave…" muttered Esdeath, shooting a death glare at the newly named Wave.

"Uhhh, nothing! Nice to meet you, Naruto-sama!" Wave shouted, jumping out of his seat and repeatedly bowing to the duo.

"Nice to meet you as well?" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

The next person to greet him was a shirtless, masked man. Offering his gloved hand for a handshake, the man spoke, "Hello there, Naruto-sama! My name is Bols and I am-SUCH A BIG FANN! ME AND MY DAUGHTER WATCH ALL OF YOUR RATING GAMES!" he suddenly squealed, scaring Naruto.

' _Uh oh…he's a fanboy…'_ thought Naruto with a sweat drop. "Oh really? Thanks for your support."

"Oh my, oh my! I can't believe I'm standing in front of the Naruto-sama, the Compass Needle of Victory! Oh, can I get your picture?" he said Bols, suddenly pulling a smart phone out of his pants pocket.

"Uh…sure y-

"Aaaaannnddddd 3-2-1!" Naruto jumped, not prepared for the sudden flash or the masked man seemingly teleporting next to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Esdeath had sneaked into the picture as well, resting her chin on Naruto's shoulders while flashing a soft smile at the camera. "OOOohhhhh! It came out perfect! My daughter is gonna be so jealous!~"

Naruto peeked at Bols' phone to take a look at the picture. While Esdeath and Bols looked fine, the camera caught Naruto's surprised look when Bols' popped up next to him. _'I'm already not enjoying my time here…'_

"Bols, give Naruto-sama some air to breath." said a young man with a fair amount of blond hair. He wore a white rob on top of a black shirt. "He's new here and probably doesn't want cameras flashing at him. He gets enough of that from the press."

"Oh! You're right, Run`! Please forgive me, Naruto-sama!" Bols said, bowing at the blonde Bael.

Naruto chuckled awkwardly, "Heheh! It's alright…" _'Somebody get me the fuck outta here.'_

"You two take a seat." said Honest, who had moved the head of the table _._ To his right were two available seats for the duo. "The food will get cold if we don't start eating."

"Come, my dear." said Esdeath, pulling Naruto along with her as they made their way to their seats, "I saved a spot for you right next to me!"

"I hope I'm not stealing anyone's spot." said Naruto, secretly snatching his arm away from Esdeath and pulling his chair out for himself.

"Of course not, dear." said Esdeath with a smile, secretly angry at the fact that he took his warm arm away from her. "This seat was meant for you from the start. Right, Wave?" Esdeath asked with a sweet tone.

"R-right, Esdeath-sama." nodded Wave, hiding the fact that he hated he had to give up his old seat just so Naruto could sit next to Esdeath.

"It has been a long time, Naruto." said a voice, catching Naruto's attention. Sitting across him was a young girl with long black hair. She had dark red eyes, which complemented her red tie she wore with her black, sleeveless mini dress. Because she was sitting down, he couldn't see what she wore past her waste, but it didn't take any more looking to realize that this girl was quiet beautiful.

A wave of nostalgia washed through Naruto as he stared at the girl. "I…I feel like I know you from somewhere…" he muttered.

"Exceeding Excellence Academy…" was all she said, but that was enough for Naruto's memory to remind him of who she was.

An image of a small, child-like version of the girl before him appeared in his mind, suited in the uniform he used to wear during his younger years. "We went to school together….a….Akame?" he asked.

"Correct." she said with a small smile, "It is good to see you in person after so long. You look well."

"I am! It's good to see you as well!" said Naruto with a bit of excitement, generally happy to see one of his old friends from his younger years.

"You two went to school together?" asked Esdeath as one of the servants prepared a plate of food for her.

"Yeah," said Naruto, thinking back to his past, "Exceeding Excellence Academy…a school for Low-Class Devils…I was more of the class clown while Akame was the smartest of the classes, always acing her assignments." he said with his first true laugh since meeting Esdeath.

"In order to leave that depressing place and become a High-Class Devil, I had to do what was necessary…for me and my sister." said Akame.

Naruto nodded in agreement, "I understand completely. It's really good seeing you ag-

"Sorry we're late!" shouted two voices as the door of the dining hall were thrown open. Standing at doo huffing as if they had just ran a marathon were a teenage boy and a woman. The brown-haired boy was of average height with a unique set of eyes- his left eye flashing green while the right was a dark red. He wore a white jacket over a slim purple hoodie and a black base layer shirt with black jeans.

Next to him was a young woman he had an amazing figure. She has short blonde hair with two long tufts that frame the sides of her head and golden eyes. She wore a revealing outfit with black tube top, detachable sleeves, loose white pants, brown boots and a scarf around her neck.

"Tatsumi! Leone! How dare you two be late for Naruto's arrival!" shouted Honest, smacking on a piece of meat while doing so.

"Hehe?! Sorry?" said Leone with a smile.

However, her [King] wasn't having it. "You two shall apologize to Naruto-san immediately! I'll think of your punishment later."

"Yes sir…" the two said depressingly. Walking over to where Naruto was seated, the two bowed at him, "Please forgive us, Naruto-sama!" they both cried out.

"It's alright. Really! I'm late to stuff all the time." said Naruto, "And you all don't have to call me '-sama' either. Just call me Naruto."

While Naruto was all smiles, Esdeath narrowed her eyes at the two younger Devils. She did not like the fact that they were late to greet her husband and she would punish them thoroughly for it. "Honest, if you wouldn't mind, let me take over their punishment." Both Leone and Tatsumi tensed at Esdeath's proclamation, "I'll teach them why it is important to respect my fiancée's presence. I'm sure they won't disrespect him again when I'm through with them."

"Sure, Esdeath. Doesn't really matter to me." shrugged Honest as he continued to chow down on his meal.

"Good." she said before blowing on the soup a servant prepared for him.

Naruto's belly rumbled when his plate was set in front of him by one of the many servants within the massive dining hall. Just the sight of the food made Naruto's mouth water as he took in the sight of the soon-to-be gone meal. _'Now that I think about, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast…I did just get done fighting dragons about two hours ago...'_

A dangerous gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes as he grabbed his eating utensils and dived in. While he made sure not to eat like a beast like how he did at home, he did eat in a way most High-Class Devils would call 'un-proper' by using the wrong fork to eat and resting his elbows on the table.

' _Holy fuck, this is good.'_ said Naruto, clearing out his plate in just two minutes. Grabbing a napkin, he whipped his face of any crumbs, which was when he noticed everyone looking at him. "Uhhhh…..hi?" he said awkwardly.

"You didn't do anything wrong, dear…it's just that you must have been hungry." said Esdeath, blowing her hot soup before sipping from her spoon, "Do you eat enough every day?"

"Well, yea, I eat well…some days…" muttered Naruto, "Sometimes I forget to or I push eating aside because I'm either working or training."

"Hmm…understandable." said Budo from across the table, munching on a loaf of bread.

"Also, I'm a little tired from my fight against Tannin, which happened not too long ago. I haven't refueled since our match."

"You did well against Tannin, Naruto." said Akame, catching the blonde's attention, "I didn't expect you to win against an Ultimate-Class Devil like Tannin and only losing one peerage member. You're training regime must be intense."

"Heheh! Very!" Naruto said with a head scratch. From the corner of his eye, he saw Esdeath shot a small glare at Akame for an unknown reason. _'What the hell is up with her?'_

"I'd like to face you in battle one day, Naruto-san." said Budo, allowing a servant to retrieve of his clean plate, "I'd like to test myself against a pseudo-Ultimate-Class Devil."

"I'm sure I'll be able to spar with you soon, but I think I need to take it easy for a few days…" replied Naruto.

"My fiancée doesn't have time waste with you, Budo." Esdeath jumped in, "He's going to be with me for the next few days. Go find someone else to be your sparring partner."

Budo grunted, his only response to Esdeath. "I shall now be leaving for the training grounds if anyone is searching for me." Standing from his seat, Budo bowed in Naruto's direction, surprising the blonde, "I hope that you find your stay here satisfying. Good day, everyone." he finished before heading out of the dining hall, wanting to training for the remainder of the day.

"I swear that guy never runs out of stamina." said Tatsumi, chewing a rather large piece of steak like Honest.

"He's just trying to stay healthy." said Wave, cutting his grilled fish into pieces with a knife and fork, "We haven't had anything to do lately, so I'm sure he's bored."

"He sounds a lot like my [Knight], Kisame." chuckled Naruto.

"Kisame! You mean the blue-skinned guy?" asked Leone with excitement.

"Yeah….do you know of him?" asked Naruto.

"She wants to…" said Tatsumi with an edgy laugh, "Big sis has a crush on him!"

Now that interested Naruto. "Oh really?" said the Bael with a devilish smile, "Why are you interested in Kisame?"

"He just cool…and I like how he rips apart his foes during Rating Games." said Leone, spinning her soup around with her spoon. "He doesn't take shit from anybody….has a huge body….and that grin he has…oohhh~…may I leave the table for a little while?" said Leone with a light blush.

"Can we not discuss about your sexual attraction to my fiancée's peerage member?" said Esdeath, not liking the conversation topic at all.

"Actually, I need to talk to my peerage members back home." said Naruto, setting his eating utensils on the dinner table. Turning to Honest, who just finished his meal, the blonde Bael asked, "May I leave for a while so I may speak to my peerage members?"

"Oh don't worry about them, young Naruto!" said Honest, allowing a servant to wipe his face with a fancy cloth, "I'll be the one to do that! Plus, Esdeath has to give you a tour around my house, no?"

"Absolutly." said Esdeath, standing out of her seat and pulling Naruto up with her, "Come now, dear! We have much to see!" she said as she pulled Naruto along.

"Ah-wait! I need to see my peerage members!" he said, trying to pry his hand out of Esdeath's fierce grip.

"Honest will meet with your peerage members. We have business together. You can almost say this is our first date…" she muttered, a small blush growing on her cheeks.

"Don't worry, young Naruto! I'll go and inform them of the entire situation!" he said with a smile and wave as Esdeath successfully pulled Naruto out of the dining hall to explore the rest of the castle.

Once they were long gone, Honest sighed while scratching his long beard, "Now….who should I bring to accompany me in meeting Naruto's peerage members?"

"I wanna go!" shouted Leone, slamming her fist into the table in excitement, "Come on, Honest-sama! Let me go! I wanna see Kisame!" she said with hearts in her eyes.

"OOOOOOHHHhh!" Bols shouted loudly, causing Honest to flinch at the loud volume, "I wanna go to! That way I get to take more selfies with all of Naruto-sama's peerage members!"

"Okay! Okay! You two can come for Satan's sake! Just stop yelling!" shouted Honest, covering his ears with his hands.

"Yes!" said Leone and Bols, stretching across the table to give each other a high-five.

"This peerage is filled with children…" sighed Run with a shake of his head in disappointment.

 **Timeskip…**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"This is stupid." said Kisame, flipping to another channel by the command of Orochimaru, "We won the fucking fight. Why do we have to watch the stupid press talk about how I great I was? Nat Geo is running a special on hammer-head sharks I wanna see if my buddy Johnny got some screen time. He said he was swimming in the area they were filming at."

"Because, Kisame, we must study how the public view us." said Orochimaru, resting in one of the few couches in the living room, "Our image is important if we want the media to be on our side once our plan unfolds."

"And nobody wants to see weird shaped, oversized fish swimming around for a hour." said Anna, munching on a bowl filled with popcorn she made earlier for herself and Hao.

"I don't want to see your face in life again, but we can't get everything we want in life, huh?" countered Kisame. The two glared at each other, lightning dancing between them as their **KI** slowly leaked from their bodies, daring the other to do something that would start a brawl.

"You two stop it. We've had enough arguments for one day." said Hao, taking a few pieces of popcorn for himself, rubbing them against the inside bag to retrieve of some the delicious butter. "Humans may be stupid, but they sure do know how to make good snacks…" he muttered as he ate of few pieces.

"Hao is right. Kisame, you've caused enough trouble with your fight with Kuroka earlier. We don't need something like that affecting our team's chemistry." said Orochimaru with his usual raspy voice.

"I just did what I had to do." he stated while crossing his arms over his chest, "The bitch was acting stupid and I had to put her in her place…tch..who the hell she thinks she is anyway? Talkin' bout' some 'we don't care for the blonde idiot'. That's why I can't stand children."

"She wasn't thinking with her head, I agree with your there, but you did go overboard, Kisame." said Hao, creating a magic circle that exhausted heat, in which he used to pop another bag of popcorn, "She didn't need to hear all of that….but it does explain why she acts the way she does, always trying to prove her worth to Naruto-sama."

"Because she's a fucking fraud!" yelled Kisame, "While she isn't the only person that tried to fuck him over, she is the only person that wanted to leave and join another peerage!" he said, taking a shot at Hao's past mistakes.

"Me and Naruto-sama have moved past my little anger moment." said Hao, not liking the fact that Kisame was picking at old wounds, "It means nothing now."

"What we need to discuss is figuring a way to get Naruto-sama out of this arranged marriage." said Anna, watching Hao restock their shared bowl of popcorn, "We can't have him marrying so psycho. I didn't like the way that woman looked at him. She's insane."

"Ya damn right that bitch is insane." said Kisame, "She's obsessed with power, which is probably why she's 'attracted' to the idiot."

"I just don't know of a proper way to break him out of it…unless he becomes Great King before they are married, in which he'll have the power to overrule the marriage….hhmmm…" the snake man thought out loud.

"Shit, we can always just beat their ass in a Rating Game." shrugged Kisame, "Not like we've done this before…"

"Somebody just teleported outside." calmly alerted Anna, munching on the new and hot popcorn Hao made, "Three of them…. a [King], [Bishop], and a [Rook]….nothing we can't handle together."

"I'll get the door…stay on guard." said Orochimaru as he walked to the front door.

"Just stay cool and we'll get our pictures…" Orochimaru heard the hushed whispers through the door as the group walked up the steps their front porch. Orochimaru snakes would have attacked if they sensed any negativity from the group, so they were safe for now. _'I still need to make sure they aren't up to any good…'_

Orochimaru instantly opened the door the moment their guest knocked, surprising them. "Oh! I didn't expect for someone to suddenly open the door like that!" laughed the old man leading the two behind him.

"Forgive me, but I was alerted by your presence by one of my colleagues. My name is Orochimaru, [Pawn] of Naruto Bael. May I ask for your name and reason for being here?"

"I 'm Honest Bael, representative of the Bael Council. These two idiots here are my [Bishop] and [Rook], Bols and Leone, respectively." said Honest, pointing to his peerage members behind him.

"You didn't have to call us idiots, Honest-sama…." muttered Leone with pouted lips, displeased with the insult.

"Uh..Hi…" Bols whispered with an awkward wave, his powerful blush showing even on his masked face as he tried to control himself in front of one of his favorite Devils of all time.

"Greetings." Orochimaru said with a nod before focusing back on Honest, "You said that you were a representative of the Bael Clan?"

"Yes, yes, yes." said Honest with a wide grin, "We just wanted to inform Naruto's peerage members that he is in good hands with Esdeath right now back at my castle in Reshiram. You all don't have anything to worry abo-

Suddenly, the tip of Samehada was in front of Honest's face. Behind Orochimaru stood Kisame, holding the massive sword's while glaring at the Bael Council representative. "Where the fuck is the idiot!? What did that ice bitch do to him!? You better tell the truth or I'm gonna skin you right here, right now!"

"Holy shit, it's him!" clapped Leone, confusing Orochimaru and Kisame. Knocking Honest out of the way and bypassing Samehada, Leone moved in front of Kisame, batting her eyes at him. "Hey there, big guy… Names Leone." she said with a sensual hair flip, "I just wanted to say-

"I don't have time for groupies!" shouted Kisame, knocking Leone out of the way.

Orochimaru face palmed as Kisame grabbed the frantic Honest's shirt. "Why couldn't he just stay in the house…" he mumbled.

"Uh…Orochimaru-sama?" the snake man perked up at Bols' voice, "M-may I ask you something?"

"Yes?" he asked, keeping Kisame in his peripheral to make sure he didn't hurt their guest.

"Can you take a picture with me!?" asked Bols, lighting up in happiness as he pulled out his smart phone.

"No."

Bols heart broke into tiny, glass pieces as his soul left his body in pure shock and utter disappointment. Orochimaru stared at the masked man weiredly before moving over to Kisame. "Let the man go, Kisame. Scaring him to death won't help us get answer."

The blue [Knight] of Naruto before releasing the shivering man, "Alright, ya dick! Start talking! What's up with you fucks arrange him into a marriage with that blue-haired ice bitch!"

Honest groaned, taking a few steps back away from Kisame out of fear, "I didn't know that Naruto's peerage would be this scary…" he muttered.

"He called me a groupie…" muttered Leone, who was currently balled up in the corner of the front porch brooding because of Kisame's instant rejection.

It was at this time that Hao and Anna stood at the front door, expecting the damage both Orochimaru and Kisame caused. "You two are idiots." said Anna with her usual monotone attitude, "If this is how you two plan on handling all of our guest, then never answer the front door again."

Focusing her attention on Honest, Anna continued, "Where is Naruto-sama and when is he coming back?"

' _At least she's normal…'_ thought Honest before answering, "Young Naruto is with my [Queen], Esdeath, and spending time together at my castle. Since they are getting married, it's best for the two to get to know each other before tying the knot. As for when he comes back…" Honest scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trying to find a suitable answer, "...Uh….well, Esdeath is a very protective person…so the best answer I can give you is whenever she lets go of him…which may take a while."

"We don't a have a while to wait for him." said Anna with a small glare, "We know who you are. If you are an older member of the Bael Council, in which you probably are because the Bael Council hardly accepts any new members based on my research, then you probably supported Naruto-sama's sealing centuries ago."

That flipped a switch in Kisame's head. He hadn't even thought about it like that. "Yeah, that's right!" said Kisame, his anger spiking as he stood over the smaller man in Honest. "You sealed him…"

"N-n-n-no! You must be mistaken!" said Honest, wave his hands in desperation, "I didn't have anything to do with his seal! Hell, the entire Bael Council didn't have anything to do with it! That was all Lord Bael's doing!"

"Interesting…" said Hao, stepping next to Kisame, "Tell us more…..what did Lord Bael gain in sealing Naruto-sama?" he asked/demanded for an answer.

"I can't really answer that to your expectations… "muttered Honest, "Lord Bael started off one of meetings with the demand to seal young Naruto. His word is law, so we couldn't say anything else about it. He didn't even give us an explanation, just the order."

"How do we know that you're not lying?" asked Anna.

"I can't really prove it to you…" said Honest, "If anything…my first name is Honest. Shouldn't that be enough?" he said with an unease smile.

"Bitch, if you're name is Beautiful, does that make you beautiful? I think not because if your name was Beautiful, I'm telling you right now that you're ugly as hell." said Kisame.

' _Why are they so mean!?'_ was the collective thought of Leone, Bols, and Honest.

Orochimaru hummed, processing the information given to him by the Bael Council member. ' _We need to alert Naruto-sama of this as soon as possible….I may have need to send one of my snakes to inform him of this…'_

Mentally agreeing with himself, Orochimaru spoke, "Alright…we'll trust you for now. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's it. You all have a good day!" Honest said as he quickly made a teleportation seal set to send him back to his castle, "Come on, Bols! Leone! Let's get the hell away from these crazy people…" he whispered as he grabbed the two. The group hurriedly disappeared, but not before Bols got a quick snap shot of the four before the teleportation seal consumed him.

"…..that was weird." said Hao, glad that the annoying trio had left.

"He was lying." Anna said abruptly, "He has a vibe about him that makes me want to throw up. I didn't believe anything he said about Naruto-sama's sealing."

"Same." said Orochimaru, "But now another question has surfaced: If he's trying to hide the Bael Council's innocence, why only paint a target on Lord Bael? He's their leader, so anything that affects him affects his council."

"Seems as if their some distrust within the council that we haven't heard of before." said Hao.

"We need to start planning…we can't wait for the others now. We have to take things into our hands now." said Orochimaru, re-entering the house, Anna and Hao following the [Pawn].

Kisame scratched the top of his head before following the trio, saying, "Uh...yeah…I knew he was lying the whole time…" _'I actually thought the guy was telling the truth. His name is Honest, after all…that's gotta count for something…'_ he thought as he closed the door behind him.

 **Capital City of Lilith - Serafall Memorial Hospital**

 **Lee's Room**

"Change the color to green."

"Of course, you'd changed the color to green and not blue, Lee."

"YOSH! Green is my favorite color!"

"Hmmm…green 2 and yellow 2."

"Yellow 7."

"Shit….Draw."

" Yellow 3."

"Change the color to red."

"Ah ha! Reverse back to me! Red 5."

A wide grin grew on Yoh's face as threw down his secret weapon. "Draw 4."

However, Lee countered with his own grin and secret weapon, "Draw 8."

"Draw 10."

Lee stared at the red Draw 2 that Yoh threw down in confusion. "Uh, you can't stack a +2 on top of a +4. That's against the rules."

"Eh?" said Yoh, raising an eyebrow at the younger Devil, "Yes you can. What rules are you talking about?"

"The correct rules!" shouted Lee, "Even Seekvaira said you can't stack +2s on +4s!"

"Does it look like I give a damn about what she says?" asked Yoh with sass, "Now pick up those 10 cards that are waiting on you."

"Absolutely not! You cannot stack a +2 on a +4!" yelled Lee.

"Yes you can. I've been doing that all my life and you're not gonna changed that!" shouted Yoh, "Now pick up those cards, LEE!"

"No, Yoh! I remember the official Uno twitter account tweeting a few weeks ago that you couldn't do this! This is wrong!"

"Then I guess the people that made Uno don't know how to play Uno." Yoh said with shrug, "Now pick them up.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Guys!"

Yoh and Lee, whose foreheads were smashed together as they yelled at each other, were interrupted by the sudden voice coming from Kuroka. She had returned during the two's shouting match but they didn't notice her presence because they were so focused on proving their point.

The expression on the Nekomata's face could only be described as sadness. Her two cat ears slumped against her head and dry tear marks ran down her puffy cheeks. Her eyes were still red and Kuroka would sniff every few seconds.

"Kuroka…" said Yoh, pushing Lee away from him and recalling his Uno cards into the magic circle he kept them in, "Are you okay?" he asked as he approached the sniffling girl.

"No…" she said honestly, allowing Yoh to embrace her, "I…..I need someone to…talk to…" she muttered.

"You can talk to us, Ms. Kuroka." said Lee, who couldn't leave his bed because of his recovering injuries, "Take a seat." he said, patting a spot on his bed she could sit at.

"Thanks…" she muttered while Yoh walked her over. Yoh sat on one of the nearby chairs while Kuroka sat on the edge of Lee's bed. "I guess the others went back home?"

"Yeah…" said Yoh, "Orochimaru called not too long ago…said that Naruto-sama is at a guy named Honest Bael's castle in Reshiram. He's gonna be stuck there for a while because his new 'fiancée' is practically gluing herself to his side. There's no telling when he'll be back home."

The [Queen] of Naruto released a depressing sigh, increasing both Lee and Yoh's worry for the girl. "That's something I didn't want to hear…at first, I was thinking that this was all a joke….or Naruto would find a way out….but this is really happening."

"Ms. Kuroka…" Lee placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Please tell us what's on your mind….we want to help you."

The cat girl gripped the sides of her kimono as she thought of her next words. If she wanted help, she was going to have to be open and truthful. She knew that Lee and Yoh had no ill feelings for her, so she could trust them.

Even though she knew it would be an embarrassing conversation, she forced herself to open up. "You two know that….that I love Naruto….I really do…but I also feel like…like I'm waiting for something that will never happen." she said, "He already has Gabriel….and now this mess with that crazy lady is now a factor….should I just give up on the man that saved my life?"

Yoh scratched his head in stress. This was a touchy subject and he knew he had to watch his words so he wouldn't hurt Kuroka unintentionally. "Kuroka….you know you don't owe Naruto-sama your love." he said, confusing the cat girl.

"I don't owe him, nya?" she replied, not sure at to what the younger Asakura twin meant.

"Like….it's kinda hard to explain." said Yoh, "You asked us if you should you give up on the man that saved your life as if the only reason why you love Naruto-sama is because he saved you from…whatever fucked up situation you used to live through. If you feel like you love is a repayment for him saving you, then I don't think you should pursue him. You pay him back with loyalty, but not love."

"I understand that…" said Kuroka, "But I generally do love him….When he's with Gabriel…I'm consumed with a strong feeling of jealousy….because I want him to look at me the same way he looks at her, but I don't know what else to do…"

"While I've never had feelings such as love, so I don't know how you feel, Ms. Kuroka," started Lee, "but I do understand that you really hold Naruto-sama on a high pedestal. While it may take a lot of courage, why haven't you tried just telling Naruto-sama how you feel?" he asked.

Kuroka shook her head, "It's not that simple, Lee. I don't know how he would respond…but if he were to reject me, I don't know who I'd live after that…and it would only make it awkward being around him after that….and I've waited too express my feelings to him now that he's with that bitch, Gabriel…" she hissed.

"Well, to be truthful, Naruto-sama isn't the type to have a harem…meaning if nothing bad goes wrong with Gabriel-sama, then those two will stay together." said Yoh, "So your only other option-

"Is to let him go, huh…" she said depressingly. Kuroka's cat ears slumped against her head even more, which pulled at Lee and Yoh's heart strings. A sad Kuroka was a very unusual thing to see, since she was either so jolly or lazy, so it really hurt the two to see their [Queen] struggling with her feelings towards their [King].

"Yeah…" sighed Yoh, "That's the only other option….."

"Well, maybe that's not it!" panicked Lee, not wanting his friend to succumb to depression, "Maybe Naruto will like you back. I mean, you've known him longer than Gabriel-sama, so you know more about him! Use that to slowly draw his attention!"

Kuroka smiled at Lee, glad that he wanted the best for her, but she knew it wasn't promised. "Because I know Naruto so well, I know that he's happy with Gabriel right now…" she admitted, "And then there's the fact that she was there when I wasn't….when I left him alone…..she's the one that helped him. While Naruto may have moved past that…I don't think I have…what Kisame said earlier is true…one hundred-percent true, nya….."

She gulped as tears flooded her eyes. Her body shook as she leaned into Lee, rest her head into his shoulder as her crying slowly grew in volume. "I don't deserve him.." she managed in between her hicks as her crying fest intensified.

Yoh and Lee glanced at each other, not sure as to how to help their Nekomata friend. However, Lee wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the weak pain in his arms, and hugged her, allowing her to use him as a pillow as she cried her eyes out.

 **Night time**

 **Reshiram – Honest's Castle**

Stopping in front of two double doors was Esdeath and a tired Naruto. The long tour had bored him to death as Esdeath literally showed him everything around the castle. While Naruto wasn't as tired from his fight with Tannin, he was tired after he had finished eating the delicious dinner he had around two hours ago. Now that he had to stay awake and walk all around the massive castle, Naruto was utterly exhausted.

"So, how did you feel about the tour? While the man is very stupid at times, Honest knows how to live with style." said Esdeath.

"Amazing…just great…" Naruto wheezed out, wanting to find a bed and enter a three-day coma.

Esdeath smiled at the blonde Bael, happy that he enjoyed himself. Pulling Naruto with her, she unlocked the door and opened it for Naruto, "This is the last room you have to see."

' _Finally…'_ thought Naruto as he entered the room. Glancing around, he noticed that the room was actually a bed room. There was a rather large bed located in a corner that could fit multi people in it comfortably with white drapes falling along its sides. In the middle of the large bed room were three couches surrounding a small coffee table and walls were littered with either very expensive paintings or mirrors.

' _Wait a second…'_ thought Naruto with narrowed eyes as his tired mind slowly processed where he is was. _'Is this…'_

"Welcome to my bedroom, Naruto~" Esdeath said from behind him, locking the door shut with a seductive smile.

The pale beauty tried to wrap her arms around Naruto, but he quickly stepped away from her. "Aww…" she said with a small pout, "Don't you want to get comfortable with me, dear husband?"

"I've told you before…" said Naruto with a growl, "I am not your husband."

Esdeath sighed, crossing her arms over her bountiful breast while leaning more on right foot than her left, "Honestly, Naru, why are you acting so hard-to-get? Why I do like a chase, I feel as if you are really in denial of a solidified agreement."

"I'm with someone. I have a girlfriend." answered Naruto, "You aren't Gabriel."

"Ah yes…" Esdeath said with an eye roll, clearly annoyed, "Your supposed girlfriend, Gabriel the Seraph." she said with obvious sarcasm, "I don't understand why you're even with her, Naru. She isn't a Devil, so she won't be able to please you like how I can. That fake love you have for her will never compare to what we can have if you just open up to-

"Did I ask you for opinion!?" yelled Naruto, stepped up to Esdeath. His 5'9 stature was just a little taller than Esdeath's 5'7, "First of all, stop calling me 'Naru'. Secondly, I have a girlfriend and you aren't her. Stop acting like I owe you love just because of this stupid marriage contract that I didn't even sign off on!"

"But you didn't have to sign off on it, dear." said Esdeath, "It was something I asked for. I have been searching for love for a long time, even before I came to Honest about my quest of feeling this hole in my heart. I've had Devils try to court me, but they were unworthy…weak…and I made sure they would never even think about trying to court me again…" she said darkly.

"Well I'm uninterested." said Naruto, creating a teleportation seal, "If this is it then I'm leaving."

"You can leave if you want," said Esdeath with a sly smile, "but the moment you leave, you will be breaching the agreement you made with the Bael Council. They will find you and pull you back here with me…so, you can run like a coward only to be arrested and brought back to my awaiting arms…or you can wait on the bed for me while I take a shower. You're choice." she said as she turned away from the tired Bael, walking into the bathroom connect to her room and leaving Naruto alone.

Naruto growled, feeling as if he was being played with…and he was. _'Fucking bitch…she really aggravates me…'_ he thought in anger.

Staring at the bed, a big red 'X' appeared over it. "Not getting in that thing…" he muttered as he glanced over to the couches. With a shrug, Naruto laid down in one of them, which was long enough for him to rest comfortably in.

"I'll just sleep for a while until she gets out…" he said before a long yawn escaped him, "She'd probably…tie me up or something if I….don't stay focused…." he mumbled as his eyes grew heavy. Soon enough, Naruto was in a deep slumber within a lion's den. The sound of Esdeath's shower didn't disturb him at all as the stressful events of the day finally subdued him.

…..

…..

…

…..*shuffle*…..

…..

…*shuffle shuffle*….

….Na….

…"Naruto."…

"Naruto, wake up..."

While he didn't open his eyes, his conscious was awake but still dazed. Naruto moaned at the soft cushion of the couch he was laying in. It was so big! Large enough to spread his legs easily and rest in another soothing cool spot for his body to heat up.

' _Man, this is comfortable…'_ he thought as a small smile grew on his face as he stretched his arms out. _'Ooh! Pillow.'_ he thought as his right hand brushed against a pillow. Grabbing it, he put it under his head and snuggled into it. While he couldn't turn his body around because of the heavy weight on his chest, he was still very comfortable.

…..

….

….

….

Naruto's face suddenly scrunched up is suspicion, _'Wait a second….I was sleeping on the couch…there shouldn't be enough room for me to stretch out on….and this comfortable-ass pillow….and the weight on my chest!'_

Opening his eyes, Naruto was greeted to the sight of a very alluring Esdeath, who was wearing a wet, white dress shirt was halfway unbutton, showing off her toned stomach, generous cleavage, and her tattoo…sitting on top of him, dangerously close to his more 'private' area. "You're so cute when you sleep." she said with a soft smile.

Naruto had to hold back the girlish scream that almost climbed out of his throat as he tried to get away from the blue-haired beauty. However, Esdeath locked her thighs around his waist, clamping herself onto him, "Oh? Trying to get away I see? You really like playing hard to get. Don't worry…I'll continue to chase after you~" she whispered, sending a chill down Naruto's spine.

His fatigue left him as it was replaced by anger and adrenaline. "Esdeath, get off of me." he ordered.

"Still acting like you don't want me? This is getting quite old, Naru." she said with a small glare, visibly upset that he was still denying her.

"I don't care what you think, Esdeath." he said, his voice growing darker by the second. "Get off. Don't make me say it a third time."

The two glared at each other for a while, wanting to see who would break first. However, after a while, Esdeath sighed as she released Naruto, also flashing her uncovered nether regions at the Devil. "Fine." she muttered, clearly unhappy, "I wasn't going to do anything to you anyway. I just wanted to see how you'd react…"

Lying next to the Bael, Esdeath pulled back the covers to the bed, "I pulled you into my bed because you looked cold…and I wanted something to hug while I slept….but I guess that isn't happening either."

"I'm glad you know." he said, scooting away from the beauty but not leaving the bed. The softness and comfort had enslaved him for now.

"While I am trying to get closer to you, your demands are making it hard, Naru." said Esdeath.

"Then why do you listen to me?" he asked, hiding his curiosity as to why she usually listened to him.

"Why do I listen to you? Well, it should be obvious: you are my husband." she said as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "You are my husband because you captured my heart, and you are stronger than me. Only those who are stronger than me have my absolute respect."

"There are many Devils out there that are stronger than me." said Naruto, "I'm not sure as to how I compare with other Ultimate-Class Devils, but there has to be others that are stronger than me….so why choose me? There isn't anything special about me."

"Never say that." she said with a glare, surprising the Bael, "You are special. I can feel it…its blatantly obvious to me that you are special." Reaching to Naruto, she started to play with his blonde locks as she continued, "And not just your strength….your attitude…so child-like and innocent at times…but serious whenever you battle….like a warrior whose seen too much…I have a level respect for you nobody else in the universe will ever achieve."

"Oh…" Naruto muttered, "Thank you…I guess?"

"No problem." she said with a smile, "I'm always happy to talk about how great you are…hopefully you'll do the same for your wife one day."

"Too bad for you…since you'll never be my wife." said Naruto, not caring if he hurt the woman's feelings.

However, Esdeath lightly chuckled at the accusation, "Please…if you think that little relationship you have with the Seraph will last, you're lying to yourself. I don't even feel threatened by her."

A little bit of **KI** leaked out of Naruto as he was slightly pissed off by Esdeath's words. "You think what I have with Gabriel isn't real?"

"I'm not saying its real, I'm saying it won't last at all." she answered, still playing with his hair, "Answer me this: what do you think will happen when she finds out you're engaged to me?"

"She'll wait until I find a way out of this bullshit arranged marriage." he answered confidently.

His answer only brought chuckles out of the blue-haired beauty, "Hilarious." she muttered in between her giggles, "You really think that Gabriel is just another Angel? False. She is a Seraph. The moment hears that you're engaged; she'll cut you off immediate-

"Shut up." interrupted Naruto, his eyes blazing red, "You don't know what you're talking about…"

The bed creaked under Naruto's pressure, his magic flaring around him. However, Esdeath confidently smiled at Naruto, not even worried at the sudden fluctuation of magic. "Maybe since you were in that seal for so long, you forgot how politics work….especially when it comes to Angels and Devils." she said.

Her mentioning of his seal caught him by surprise. He recalled his outpour of magic, now wanting to have a serious conversation with the woman. "You know about that?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I know about it?" she asked with a slight head tilt, "The Bael Council was the ones that came up with the idea and organized your sealing. Seeing as I am a member to one of the more powerful members of the Bael Council, I get to know certain things other don't."

She smiled as she scooted closer to Naruto, "This is how things are going to work. You'll try to hide the fact that you're engaged to me from Gabriel, but sometime soon, she will find out about us. Gabriel is a Seraph, one of the most powerful Angels in Heaven, both physically and politically. Once she finds out you're engaged in a political marriage, she will remove herself from you. Angels usually don't engage in polyamorous relationships…..usually, but it is still possible….but being a Seraph, Gabriel would never be in one…she has to keep her appearance up if she doesn't want to falter in political power. If her 'boyfriend' is now in a political marriage, she'll duck off, leaving you all for me~" she whispered in his ear.

Naruto shook his head, denying it all, "No….I don't believe you…" he said, but how Esdeath explained it to him, it sounded like a possible scenario, "She wouldn't just….leave…"

Esdeath internally smirked, glad that her whispers were creating doubt within her husband, "But she will dear…Devils and Angels are allies now…and if a Angel is in the way of a political marriage, he or she will have to either cut things off with their partner or play second fiddle which, again, won't be an option with Gabriel if she wants to keep her political power."

"She'll choose me…she'll wait." Naruto muttered, clenching his eyes shut as the smiling image of Gabriel appeared in his head, "It's not like her…"

"Yes she is, _my husband~_ …" replied Esdeath, rising over Naruto. Her long hair draped over his face as she leaned over him, placing her arms on either side of him. "Because she can't supply what you want the most….What I know you want from somebody but never got…."

She chuckled as she rubbed his whiskered cheek, her blue eyes staring at him with interest as she remembered all of his facial features. Licking her lips, Esdeath slowly descended until her forehead was firmly pressed against his. Her lips were centimeters away from Naruto. She internally mewled as she felt his breath on her face. However, she kept composure as she uttered the words that were like a knife to his chest.

" **You'll be my number one...The number one person in my life…"**

 _ **Flashback**_

Naruto Bael now in his early 20s, was no longer a little boy. He was a 5'8 man that was stronger than even his old man. After years of training alone, Naruto has become a master of his Power of Destruction. It took some time because he didn't have a real teacher that could teach him, but the progressed over the years and was ready to display his power.

His father was already in the war with the rest of his clan for a while and Naruto was now of age to fight. The Bael Clan surprisingly chose to fight with the Anti-Satan Faction, believing that fighting against the other factions at the moment was stupid and would do no good. It was surprising because the clan's traditions relate a lot with the Old Satan Faction's beliefs, so maybe this was a step in the right direction for the clan.

Suited in black pants and an orange jumpsuit, Naruto leaned down and kissed his mother's cheek and hugged her. "Don't worry, Ma. I'm ready to fight to free the Underworld. I promise you that I won't do anything stupid. I'll stick with my group and not do anything irrational."

"Good. And make sure that you're that your father is okay. _Because without him… I don't know what I'll do."_ Muttered Kushina as she hugged her son tight.

…

… _._

…

…

"When Sera finds out about this, she'll find me and release me." Naruto said confidently. He knew Serafall was supposed to call it quiets with him a while back, and he remembered times when she tried to but couldn't quite say it, but he knew she wouldn't agree with something like this.

"Oh, you must not know." said the leader with a slight chuckle. "Serafall-sama knew about this."

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt his heart drop. _'She knew? That's impossible! She wouldn't agree to something like this! Thi-This…. This isn't like her!'_

"You should have seen the signals." said the leader as he leaned his back on a tree, "I've watched you for a couple of weeks and even I could see Serafall-sama's reluctance and hesitation in telling you. However, you've known Serafall-sama for years. You should have suspected that this would happen."

"I…I-I suspected something," muttered a defeated Naruto, "but I wasn't suspecting something this major."

Naruto was trying his hardest to hold back his tears. Everything that he went through with Serafall and this is how she would end things. By sealing him up and throwing him away like trash? This is how she does him after all this time?

Small droplets of tears crept from his eyes as he shook in sadness. "Why…why would she agree to this?"

" _Because she loves her duty to the Sitri Clan more than she loves you._ " stated the masked leader plainly. "I mean, it's been drilled into her head since birth that her clan comes first. You have to think, she had to have been in a physiological battle with herself in deciding which one was the most important to her: you or her duty? Well, she's not here to stop us, so you know which one she picked."

…

… _._

…

…

" _It is because you're lying."_ said Naruto harshly _, "I'm almost certain that you are lying, Kuroka. I know you. I've been with you for three years and I know how you lie to people to get what you want. You want to be a part of his peerage just so that you can feel 'normal' again, right? The problem is that you are not normal. You are one of the last remaining Nekoshou and everyone will be gunning towards you. I've been with you for so long, but I never pressured you into joining me because I actually like you as a person, but you want to throw all of that away for this?!"_

"I just told you I'm not lying!" shouted Kuroka, "I want to stay here with my friends and that's final! I don't care what you say about it but that's what I'm doing!"

Kuroka took in deep breaths as she glared at the silent orb. She had never gotten into an argument with Naruto before, but she was done with following him around. If those hunters were to find her again, she would kill them with her power. She was strong enough to live and protect herself, but it felt like Naruto didn't believe her at all.

" _Where would you live, then? You can't stay here forever."_ growled Naruto.

"Ginta and his family have money. He told me that he would rent me out an apartment, buy me a house, whatever I wanted. He generally cares for me and so does everyone else."

"… _And you don't think…you don't think that I care about?"_ asked Naruto sadly. Kuroka's heart broke in half when she heard Naruto's defeated tone, but she had to do this if she wanted to feel free for the first time in years.

"I feel…I feel like you only want me to be in your peerage. You've trained me and stayed around me in hopes that I would join you someday. I'm telling you today that it'll never happen." she glared at the orb with all the anger she could muster up. "I'm done following you, nya. This is my life and I can choose what's best for me and I know that this will help me in the long-run. I can't stay with a guy who uses an orb to talk to me all the time! You only want me so I can be your [Queen], but they like me for Kuroka! Just Kuroka! _You can go find yourself someone else who cares about you, BECAUSE I DON'T!_ "

…

… _._

…

…

 **Flashback End**

Esdeath's smile grew a little as she placed her soft hands on Naruto's cheeks. "That's what you want, right? For someone to actually put you first in their life? Such a selfish desire, but you crave it because it's a feeling you've never experienced. There's a hole in your heart that want to be filled…but you won't get that from Gabriel…you won't be able to get that from anybody but me."

"And you know I'm telling the truth…" muttered Esdeath, wiping Naruto's tears away with her thumb, "These tears are proof. You know it's true, but continue to deny it, my husband…."

Pulling her forehead off of his, she created a small distance between them. Her hair still surrounded them, raining down from her head and landed around Naruto's head. Positioning her hands back on the bed to balance herself, she stared down at Naruto, who was glaring at her with his tear-filled eyes. His body trembled slightly, but it wasn't major trembles like before when he had his episode at Lord Bael Castle.

"My name is Esdeath." she started, "Born as a Low-Class Devil, my father taught me that the weak die and the strong survive. I didn't want to be weak. I hadn't being at the bottom. Taking my father's word to heart, I lived by that moniker, training everyday in my youth to become stronger, maturing everyday as I forced myself to live. My father died while fighting in the Civil War, proving that he was weak. His death only furthered my hunger for power and to grow out of the slump I was in. I was born a Low-Class Devil but was destined for more. I was born with an unusual strength and it only grew over time. I enlisted in the Anti-Satan Faction's military and quickly grew in rank as I dominated every battlefield I was sent to. It was during this time that Honest found me and offered me the position as his [Queen], in which I accepted because I knew it would only help in becoming stronger."

"However, because I focused my time so much on strengthening myself, I didn't have friends….those to call 'family'. A void steadily grew in my heart as I fought. I was stronger than ever, had rank in the military, even to the point of having numerous control of legions….but still, there was something that stopped me from being satisfied with life. I was fighting…but I didn't know why. Some ideology that my abusive father pushed on me? While I believe in it, is that all that I was meant to be? A mindless killing machine?"

"As the centuries pasted, the hole in my heart continued to grow…I didn't know how to fill it. I still didn't have anyone I considered as 'family' nor did I even know what that was….until I saw you're smiling face, flashing a peace sign at the camera, when you defeated Rai Agares. After that, I followed you're every movement….you kept winning, and I slowly fell in love."

Esdeath sighed as she lowered herself back down on the bed, wrapping her arms around the distraught Naruto's chest and resting her head on his shoulder. "And now….I have you…..we were made for each other…because we've both had to fight our way to the top….even at the expense of our mental stability….that smiling façade that you have…I can see through it easily…I can see the massive darkness in your heart…I want it…I want to tame it, match it with mine, and take over! We deserve it, no? The world has done nothing for us….our kind shouldn't have made it this far….Low-Class Devils aren't supposed to be on the level of Ultimate-Class Devils…"

"Tell me….." muttered Naruto, speaking for the first time in a while, "Tell me what you really want me to know…"

Esdeath smiled into Naruto's shoulder, "I have a hunch…..there's a reason why you associated yourself with both Magdaran and Sairaorg…the two sons of Lord Bael…..you're aiming for the head, aren't you? Knowing you, you aren't going to sit around and let the people that sealed you so long ago live. You want revenge….but not any type of revenge…You want to embarrass them..Overpower them…and then throw them away, just like they did you."

"How do you know all of this?" asked Naruto. He wasn't crying anymore, just listening to the blue-haired beauty speak, "How are you reading me so easily?"

Esdeath chuckled at Naruto's confusion, rubbing his covered stomach with her soft. "I just told you, dear. We are the same. Anything you would do, I would do…that's why I understand you…and that's why you need me, just as much as I need you. We both long for something we've never had in our lives, and we can both fill that hole in our hearts. This marriage is happening, whether you like it or not. It'd be for you benefit to open up to the idea and get rid of any feelings you have for the Angel."

Esdeath looked down at her side when she felt a small protrusion. It was Naruto's hand, with his fingers shaped like a gun, with his middle and index finger's digging into her side and his thumb held upwards.

Looking up to her fiancée, she shivered as their eyes met. His now red eyes seemingly bore into her eyes, looking through her and glaring at her soul. She quivered, but also smiled at the sensation of fear, something she had never felt in her life. This was why she needed him.

"And what if I killed you here? Right now. You are open and exposed. I can pump my Power of Destruction into your body and kill you from the inside out. Give me a reason why I shouldn't?" he said, his voice deeper than usual as a red glow enveloped his arm, his Power of Destruction illuminating through the darkness.

Esdeath stared at the two fingers jabbed into her side. The dangerous glow of Naruto's Power of Destruction grew stronger by the second. If he wanted to, he could shoot her with the deadly aura at a moment's notice and she couldn't do anything about it.

Smiling, Esdeath spoke, "I'm in the mood for ice cream. For our date tomorrow, let's go out to get some. I knew a spot in Reshiram that I'm sure you'd enjoy."

Kissing the bottom of his chin, Esdeath rolled away, resting on the other side of the bed. Her back was fully exposed as she threw the dress shirt off of her body and onto the floor below. "If you want to come on this side of the bed and hold me, I won't stop you…Good night, my King~." she said sweetly, ending their conversation.

Naruto's Power of Destruction slowly died off, allowing the darkness of the room to claim rule. However, because of his Devil heritage, he could clearly see Esdeath's open back. If he wanted to, he could shoot her with his magic and be done with it. But, what scared Naruto was that Esdeath knew this as well, but because of the confidence she had, she knew he wouldn't attack her. She was comfortable, while he felt like every defense he made to protect himself from pain was broken only by this woman's words. She spoke truths, and revealed something's to Naruto that even he hadn't thought about….and that's what scared Naruto, a feeling he thought he'd never feel again, but now felt it twice in the same day: once at Lord Bael's castle and now.

' _Why…..why do I feel…..so weak…'_ he thought as he lay on his side. The darkness reminded him of his time in the seal. He could almost feel the chains wrapped around his ankles and wrist. The sound of them clattering against each other every few seconds echoed in his mind as he lay there.

' _I feel like I'm back where I started….'_ he thought as he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overcoming him.

… **.**

…

… **.**

… **..**

…

 **Wheewwwwwwww weeeeee! Boy, oh boy that was a chapter!**

 **Man you know I had to throw the sauce on that shit!**

 **Anyway, a lot of shit is going down with Naruto and his peerage members. Kuroka's fucked up, Kisame's angry, Naruto's married to an crazed ice warrior and is getting played by the Bael Council. Just looks like everything is going bad for our good friend eh?**

 **Hopefully this chapter helped explain why I introduced Esdeath's character and gave her the role I gave her. If it didn't, this is the original post that I was gonna put up at the beginning of the chapter, but decided to move it down here.**

…

…

…

 **About like two weeks ago….**

 **I'm be honest, a lot of y'all weren't feeling Esdeath's introduction, cuzzo. Many complained that with her introduction, the direction of the story now became unclear, confusing, random, and any other adjective that means fucked up. Another compliant many people had was why would Naruto just sit there and allow Esdeath to put a fucking collar around him?**

 **Okay…I get that part…thinking back on it now, it could have been handled better. How I was gonna explain it was hat Esdeath quickly put the collar on Naruto when he was doing his usual eye smile thing (meaning his eyes were closed when Esdeath put the collar one), but yeah…I could have done that better. I admit to that and I'm sorry I disappointed many of you.**

 **Now, pertaining to Esdeath's character introduction…The direction of story is going exactly how I planned to. Esdeath's introduction is random and confusing…because it was supposed to be random and confusing. Naruto and his peerage just won a Rating Game against one of the most powerful peerages in the Underworld, and before that he made the Devil Council his bitches, got Magdaran on his side, has a winning record of Rating Games, and is slowly approaching his goal to becoming Great King of the Underworld.**

 **And to keep it a hundred, and I teased her entrance a few chapters ago. Look at the last part of DevilExamsFinals after Team Pickle Rick defeated Loki. It was a very subliminal tease, but it was there. What was crazy is that one person actually figured out who it was just off that small tease (shout out to Z-Breezy who figured it out instantly. You can check in the review list of chapter 22 if you want).**

 **Basically, Naruto had to hit a roadblock, and a big one, too. He's been winning too much lately. The story wouldn't be interesting if Naruto wins all the time…**

 **Well…maybe it could be interesting if he won all the time, but it loses the suspense to the story. That, and if Naruto keeps winning, you all wouldn't know what Naruto would do if he was in a losing scenario. How would he bounce back and flip the situation in his favor…..**

 **Actually…now that I'm thinking about…..that is what the story is about….since he was sealed and all-**

 **BUT YOU GET THE POINT!**

 **You all aren't supposed to like Esdeath. She is the enemy working with the Bael's. She's fucked up in the head and thinks she owns Naruto because of a simple arranged marriage. She's inconsiderate of Naruto's feelings because of her own selfish desires. She's an evil woman and I don't understand why she has so many fan boys. Her ideology of how she lives her life is almost the exact opposite of Naruto's, with Esdeath believing those beneath her are useless and Naruto believing that people from lower classes deserve a chance.**

 **I got a lot of mad reviews because of Esdeath's introduction because they didn't like her….and my response to that is good, you get it then. You're not supposed to like her. Naruto doesn't like her. I don't like her. You don't like her.**

 **She's the enemy.**

 **Listen, you all have stuck with me for this long… 26 chapters of my fucked up imagination. If I bring in Esdeath, trust in ya boy, NarutoPlug, that he knows what he's doing, even if I don't know what the hell is going through this man's mind!**

 **Trust in ya boy...I got y'all, ya diggg?**

 **Plus, a lot of your confusion will be answered in this chapter anyway, so just stick with me.**

 **I'm not mad at those who left reviews complaining about Esdeath and how I handled her introduction; I'm actually glad that you all left those types of reviews because it shows how you care for this story. I just wanted to clear up a few things before continuing the story.**

… **..**

… **.**

… **..**

 **Yep. Words from the wise man himself, NarutoPlug.**

 **Now, if you still don't like Esdeath and all of the other characters introduced in this chapter, then I can only say sorry, but I'm keeping it this way. People went as far as to say to remove the last part of Chapter 26 because they disliked it so much. No offense to those that thought this way, but I will never do such a thing.**

 **While update this chapter every 10-14 days for you all, I'm not gonna conform to what others believe how the story should be. I'm putting my fucked up imagination out there for you all to read and enjoy. If you do enjoy it, thanks for the support. If you don't like it, sorry that I disappointed you. However, I will never change. This story means a lot to me and I will type it how I see fit.**

 **Again, those that were probably mad/disappointed as to Esdeath's introduction probably felt that way because of how much you like reading BreakThrough. I love reading everyone's reviews. I do it sometimes while typing just to motivate me to keep going on.**

 **So I wasn't offended or took the negative reviews from last chapter as flames, but it did disappoint me some what. We're 27 chapters into BreakThrough and people still doubt me…..my supporters doubted me.**

 **It troubled me for a few days, I'll admit…**

 **BUT THEN I BOUNCED RIGHT BACK WHEN I SAW THAT REVIEW COUNT JUMP TO 3,000! WHHHEEEEEWWWWWWW BABY! WE DID IT! SPRAY THE CHAMPAGNE!**

 **Mannnnn, I looked at them reviews and said 'fuck it! Writing the story this way so far has gotten me over 3k in favs, follows, and reviews, so I must be doing something right!'**

 **And so I kept it the way I WANTED IT TO BE.**

 **And I liked how it turned out.**

 **Overall, the lesson in this chapter is that the hero can't win every fight. The best way to add a twist to a good story is to throw something that the readers weren't expecting…and what better way to do that is to make Naruto feel like he's back at Point A. Even with all the hard work he's put in, he can still be overpowered. That's the lesson I want you all to learn from this chapter.**

" **The hero doesn't always win."**

 **Thanks for your continued support. It means so much to me.**

 **Also, happy Fourth of July, where we Americans celebrate Independence Day, the day when America finally broke free from Britain and became an independent country (even though while the European settlers won their independence using black slaves, slaves still didn't get their freedom following America's birth, even if they fought in the war for the European's freedom and continued to be enslaved for a little while-but let's not talk about that right now *insert innocent smiley face*)**

 **The review count has settlely increased as I've updated more often. Thanks for that guys.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	28. King'sBreakthrough:StartOfRevolution

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, chillin in this southern heat and frying like bacon at the crib, ya digggg?**

 **Whelp, last chapter still kinda split everyone in half on either liking the direction of BreakThrough or utterly disagreeing with it completely. I swear, I've never had this much controversy for one of my chapters. The most hate I got for a chapter was that one part in The Corrupted Mind where I made Naruto kill that little girl…..it sounds fucked up but if you read the story you'd understand that he wasn't in the right head space during that part of the story….kinda like this Naruto in BreakThrough…**

 **I guess I just like insane main characters…**

 **Anyway, after another few days of reading mixed reviews, I'm backing typing this story that you all (hopefully) still love. I'm not affected by any of the bad reviews, since I'm been doing this Fanfiction thing for about 4 years now, but I'm a little surprised by the Guest…they usually leave nice reviews and I don't have a problem with them…but these last two chapters? Wheeewww….**

 **At least the review count is slowly increasing back to what it used to be…**

 **Not that I do it for the reviews…I don't receive any income doing this, meaning I could be using the time making this story for other things, like practicing on my 'craft' and getting ready for my sophomore year of college, but I do love reading those reviews man….Good or bad….I just like the fact that people pay attention to something I put out in the world. It's a good feeling.**

 **I've been late on anime lately. I just watched season 1 and 2 of My Hero Academia (subbed, of course) and I just started reading the manga of Seven Deadly Sins just last night. Both are pretty good…I'm mad I haven't been keeping up on anime recently…**

 **Actually, while reading My Hero Academia, an excellent story idea popped up in my mind…However, I'm not sure if its unique or not because I don't read My Hero Fanfictions…but since I came up with the idea, it probably is (a humble brag. I'm not better than anyone)**

 **Anyway, just a small thing I want to address, dealing with Naruto specifically. A lot of people don't like the fact that Naruto was acting weak and like a bitch lately. We all know what's he's capable of, so why take Esdeath and the Bael Council's slander?**

 **To be honest, I knew I was gonna do this with Naruto's character for a while now, but something really solidified why I'm doing this. I've recently started watching this anime YouTuber by the name of Nux Taku, a man of culture who has a Ph.D in satire. He has this series called "O.P Done Right" or something along those lines, where he goes into detail as to why certain powerful characters were well written. Basically, every over-powered character he talks about has something holding them back, which either holds said character back in releasing their true power or stopping them from advancing in life. He's analyzed characters like Raven from Teen Titans, Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls, Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins, and more.**

 **It's because of this series that made me feel that what I'm doing with Naruto's character is right. A bad OP character always wins. Naruto is OP, but he still has to fight to win while facing problems of the past that will always have a hold on him. His journey is what makes him interesting and reading BreakThrough worthwhile.**

 **I highly suggest that you all watch some of Nux Taku's videos on YouTube. Be warned, he uses heavy satire, but he's quite enjoyable.**

 **Thanks for sticking with me this far.**

 **This chapter is where BreakThrough enters its final arc. This chapter will also be the defining chapter on whether you, as a reader, continue to read BreakThrough or drop it because of the direction it is going. My reviews have been split on whether what I'm doing is right or wrong. Hopefully, all of your questions will be answered now.**

 **(Day of update, July 27, 2019: Sorry it took me so long to update guys, but everything in this chapter couldn't be trimmed down as everything is important. The word count is currently over 26.1k, so it is quite the read, but take this as a sorry gift for me updating so late. I was working on another project and it took up a lot of time. Again, this chapter will probably be the deciding factor on whether or not you continue to read BreakThrough. I put a lot of effort into this chapter, so please read until the end before you make your decision. Thank you for your support.)**

 **Enjoy the chapter.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **The[King]'sBreakthrough: StartOfRevolution**

 **Morning**

 **Bael Territory – Honest's Castle**

"Delicious!" Honest muttered as he gobbled down his breakfast, "Truly delicious. Ahh! One of the perks of being me: top-tier food delivered to me whenever I want."

"Right there with you, Honest-sama!" shouted Leone with a happy smile as she followed her [King]'s lead, gobbling all of the food on her stacked plate, "Man, this is good. I'm glad we're so rich!"

"You two shouldn't eat so fast. It's bad for you." muttered Akame, who was munching on a bowl of rice with manners of a High-Class Devil.

"It's no use." Run said with a shrug, "Those two always eat without manners. While I expect it out of someone like Leone, I know you can do better, Honest-sama."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" said Leone with a growing tick mark on her head, clearly annoyed by Run's insult, "I can be an elegant, young maiden when I want to be!"

Wave snickered, "Well, maybe your natural personality is a slob that eats food you find on the ground."

"THE FIVE-SECOND RULE IS DIFFERENT!" she shouted with an animated enlarged head.

The sound of the doors of the dining hall opening caught everyone's attention, including the shouting Leone. Standing at the now open entrance was the newly engaged couple, Esdeath and Naruto. Esdeath had a small smile on her face as she guided Naruto, who had a neutral stare, to the table. Their hands were interlocked as the couple walked to their seats.

"Good morning, everyone." said Esdeath, greeting her fellow peerages members, "How is everyone this fine morning?"

"Uh…" Honest stared at Esdeath in confusion, not understanding her happy attitude. _'Why is she so happy?'_ he thought to himself. "Good morning…Esdeath and Naruto. How was your first night together as a couple?"

"Oh, it was splendid." Esdeath said, cuffing her blushed cheeks, "Naru and I opened hearts to each other last night: revealing what we wanted out of our relationship and how grow as a couple. It was so much fun! His words and expression really made my heart soar as we had our heart-to-heart!" she giggled, causing everyone to look at her strangely, "I guess I'm still basking at the feeling of such an emotion-driven conversation! I've never had one before but it felt so good!"

"You're practically glowing…" said Wave, wincing at Esdeath's radiant happiness, "but at least you're happy, Esdeath-sama…"

"And you, young Naruto?" asked Honest, causing the Bael to perk up at his name being brought up, "How do you feel this morning after your…heart-to-heart… Esdeath speaks of?" asked Honest before sipping his morning coffee.

"It was…it was a new experience, that's for sure…" Naruto said with a head scratch and a smile, "but I'm glad we had it….it revealed something's to me that I attend to in order to be a better….husband…" he finished. From his side, Esdeath glanced at Naruto, studying his facial expression. She inwardly smirked before focusing on the coffee provided to her by one of the many servants.

"Soooooooo…." Leone said with a devious smirk, "Did you two…ya' know….do the Devil's Tango?" she said while bouncing her eyebrows suggestively.

"Leone! That' is a very inappropriate conversation to have at the dinner table…or any setting." said Run, shooting a small glare at the laughing blonde, "Please excuse Leone's antics, Naruto-sama. She lacks any shame at all."

"Can't live life if ya' regret live the life ya' want!" she said with a wide grin.

Esdeath rolled her eyes at the hyper lady, "No, we did not do the 'Devil's Tango'…sadly…." she added, causing Leone's eyes to widen at the ice [Queen], "While I am looking forward to having such an experience with my Naru, he didn't want to do 'that' with me yet…" she said with sideways glance at her husband.

Naruto chuckled while rubbing his head awkwardly, "I'd rather wait till our wedding day. It's what my father did when he married my mother, so I'd like to go about doing what he did."

"Waiting until marriage? That's so boring." muttered Leone with a sweat drop.

"Anyway," said Honest, wanting to change the topic at hand, "Naruto. I met your peerage yesterday and informed them that you were okay. I have to say….your peerage members are quite scary!" he said as he shivered at the memory of meeting some of Naruto's peerage members.

"Scary?" said Naruto in confusion with a spoon in his mouth, "What do you mean 'scary'? My peerage includes some of the nicest people in the world!" he countered.

"That's what you think…" muttered Honest, "But they scared me. The big blue guy grabbed me and smacked Leone, while the pale man made Bols cry! Just pure evil one must be in order to make Bols cry!"

"They were acting like dicks…" mumbled Leone with disappointment as she thought back to her brief encounter with Kisame, "He called me a groupie…."

Leone's ears twitched when she heard the sound of someone holding back their laughter. On the other side of the table, both Naruto and Wave were covering their mouths with their hands as they tried not to laugh at the rambunctious blonde. "It's not funny!" she shouted in anger, slamming her palm into the table for added effect.

"I'm sorry for how they treated you all…" said Naruto, slowly recovering from his laughter. Meanwhile, Leone found comfort in one of the corners of the massive dining hall, mumbling curses as a black cloud of depression hung over her head, "They must have been surprised at your sudden appearance and didn't know what to do. How many of my peerage members were at my house?" he asked Honest.

"It was four of them, it my memory doesn't fail me." said Honest, rubbing his beard as he thought back to last night, "That's right, it was four of them…your [Queen] wasn't there…and the boy who wears the green jumpsuit or your other [Knight] wasn't there…"

' _That means that he met Orochimaru, Kisame, Hao and Anna…'_ thought Naruto, _'Yoh probably stayed with Lee at the hospital….but why wasn't Kuroka home?'_

"I know Bols is still at his house with his family, but where is Tatsumi?" asked Wave, wondering where his friend was.

"He's out training with Budo again…" answered Akame, "The usual."

"Hmm…maybe I'll join them…" turning to Naruto, an idea popped up in Wave's head, "Hey, Naruto-sama…do you want to work out with us?"

Before Naruto could answer, Esdeath spoke for him, "Sorry Wave, but me and my husband will use today for our first official date. I have things schedule around the capital city that I want to experience with my dear, so no training for him."

"Oh? Sounds fun." said Honest.

"It shall be. With help from Bols, I've come up with a list of things to do with my beloved for the day! The ultimate date!" A fire burned in Esdeath's eyes as she thought about her plan. _'If all goes well, then maybe we could do 'that' early! I shall not fail today!'_ she thought with a searing blush as her imagination ran wild.

Naruto sweat dropped at his fiancée while scooting his seat away from the raging woman, "Heh….sounds like fun…" he muttered, lying through his teeth.

"And it shall, dear." she said, "Also, I'll have Leone and Tatsumi act as our guards for the day. Since we are two recognizable Devils, I wouldn't want to be bombarded by fans everywhere."

"Hey! Why do I have to be a bodyguard?!" shouted Leone, jumping out of her depression.

"You and Tatsumi still owe more for your insubordination from yesterday." said Esdeath, shooting a small glare at the blonde woman and making her shiver, "Go fetch Tatsumi for me now so we can leave." she ordered with no room for debate.

Grumbling, Leone made her way out of the room in search for Tatsumi. "Well, dear. We should get ready as well." Esdeath said, standing from her chair, "Breakfast was excellent today," she said as she wiped her face with a napkin, "Me and Naru will be out all day, if you don't mind, Honest."

"Oh no!" he said, waving his hands in surrender, "You two take as much time as you need. Naruto still has three days to make his decision, after all, so use your free time to grow with one another."

"Thanks for the food, Honest-sama." said Naruto, standing next to Esdeath as they prepared to leave.

"Please, just call me Honest." said the man with a wide smile.

"You two have a good day." said Run with a wave.

"Make sure you bring back Esdeath-sama safe!" said Wave.

"Don't worry everyone." said Naruto, who was now at the door of the dining hall, "We'll be back soon." he said with a final smile before closing the door behind him.

The mood of happiness instantly flipped to annoyance as Naruto's fake smile morphed into a frown. Glancing over to Esdeath, his annoyance spiked when he saw her arrogant smirk. She was leaning her weight onto her right leg and had her arms crossed over her chest. She chuckled at Naruto's expression, "That was some good acting in there. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought you actually liked being here."

"I just want to get this over with." he said, starting their walk down the hallway, "I'm not looking forward for today…" he muttered.

"But you should, dear." said Esdeath, reaching for his hand to hold. She sighed in disappointment when he snatched it away from her. "Naru, I don't understand. I explained everything to you last night. We're meant for each other. Why do you continue to deny me?"

"I have a girlfriend." he answered.

His answer only further added to Esdeath's disappointment, "Didn't I tell you what was going to happen with your relationship with the Angel?" she said, "You're riding on a false hope, Naruto. You know that I'm telling the truth…"

Him not answering made Esdeath smirk a little. While she couldn't see his face because he was walking ahead of her, she took the silence as a sign of uncertainty. "But I'll let you hold onto this false hope of yours for now…It'll be fun picking up the pieces of your broken heart and molding it back how I see fit."

Again, she didn't receive a response from the blonde Bael, but she wasn't angry at his silence. It only proved to her that her words last night took an effect on her fiancée. _'It's only a matter of time, My King…until you see that I'm the only one who can provide you want you truly want…'_

The duo was nearing the front door of Honest's Castle. Esdeath told him that they would meet with Tatsumi and Leone outside in the front yard. However, before Esdeath followed Naruto outside, her hand brushed against her side and she noticed the lack of her weapon.

"My rapier…" she whispered, halting mid-step.

"You're what?" asked Naruto, not hearing that woman's hushed whisper.

"Forgive me, but it seems I left my rapier in our bedroom." Naruto noted how she said 'our' instead of her bedroom, "Wait for me in the front yard. Tatsumi and Leone should be joining us soon." she said as he started her march back down the maze-like hallways of the massive castle, leaving Naruto by himself.

Now briefly free from the ice queen, Naruto took the time to study Honest's front yard. The first thing someone would notice was the massive fountain in the middle of the yard. It was a large, concrete Honest holding a Bapple, the specialty fruit of the Bael Territory, in his right hand. Three jets of water came from atop of the Bapple and dropped into the pool of water below.

"I'm pretty sure Kisame would want something like this…" muttered Naruto, creating an image of a laughing, concrete Kisame holding a Samehada who was without its ribbons. The water for the fountain would come from Samehada's open maw, filling the pool below. "Hmm…maybe I should keep that idea for later…maybe surprise him one day as a birthday present when everything is finished…"

He continued to examine the sights of Honest's Castle, but he noticed that presence behind him. His expression didn't change since he knew someone was behind him, but waited for the person behind him to act first. _'Mid-Class magic reserves…nothing special to worry about…'_ he thought as he continues to stare at the massive fountain.

He didn't have to wait long as the person behind him finally spoke, "Uh…Naruto….uh, -sama? I'm not sure if I should call you that?" said what Naruto assumed to be a man from their deep voice.

Turning around, Naruto's was greeted to the sight of a man wearing the traditional butler uniform for Honest's male servants. Said man had black, curly hairy, violent eyes and a small patch of hair on his chin as a beard.

Naruto looked at the man in confusion, "Do I…I know you from somewhere…" he said, a sudden wave of nostalgic running through his mind.

"It's Tenzo, your good ol' pal from back in the day when we fought in the same legion way back when!" said the newly named Tenzo.

Naruto's eyes light up in realization as wide smile grew on his face, "Tenzo!" he said, pulling the man in for a hug, "It's good to see you man…"

"Heh, good to see you to, Naruto." said Tenzo, patting Naruto's back before pulling away, "Mr. Big-Time is finally here…I've seen what you've been doing, man. It's crazy how you've grown."

"Thanks, Tenzo." said Naruto, generally happy to see his long time friend and veteran, "Do you work here for Honest?" he asked.

"Yeah…" he muttered, "It sucks, but the pays good. I didn't want to be stuck in the army after the Civil War fighting random strays and risking my life anymore…I saw a position here to work for Honest-sama and got the job. I've got two wives now, so I didn't want to be risking my life every day."

"But what about your goal at becoming a High-Class Devil?" asked Naruto, remembering the times his friend would talk about his goals at attaining higher social ranking.

Tenzo sighed while shrugging his shoulders, "Sad to say, but I'm not that strong. You remember all those times saving me during the war." he said with a laugh, "I'm a Mid-Class Devil, but I don't think I'll ever become a High-Class Devil. It's just how the world works, ya' know?"

"Yeah…" muttered Naruto, a little sadden by Tenzo's words, "I get you…"

Noticing Naruto's slump, Tenzo spoke, "But you don't have to worry about that. You're marrying Esdeath-sama, you've got a strong peerage, and everyone likes you." said Tenzo, wanting the conversation to stay on the positive side, "You're doing good for yourself. Me and some of the others are watching you, man. It's crazy how much you've grown."

"Others?" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah! Some of the other members of our old legion work here, too! Joey, Veronica, Aiko, and Hayami all work here as well." he said.

"That's…I haven't seen everyone in so long! Where are they?" Naruto asked, his excitement growing at the chance of seeing all of his old friends.

"Hold on, partner. You've gotta date with Esdeath-sama." said Tenzo, calming the blonde Bael down. It was at this time that Esdeath (equipped with her rapier), Leone, and Tatsumi exited the castle and were making their way over to the duo. "Listen, when you're back, find me. I'll bring you to the others when we're off after dinner, alright?"

Naruto nodded in agreement, "Alright. I'll see you then."

"Yes, Naruto-sama." Tenzo said, switching character as he bowed before leaving Naruto at the fountain. Esdeath and the others finally made it to Naruto, but noticed Naruto talking to one of the groundskeepers.

"Naru, do you know that man?" asked Esdeath with interest as she watched Tenzo walk away.

"Yeah…" he answered, "We used to be in the same legion during Civil War…that takes me back when things were….simple…" he said, reminiscing his past.

"You consider war times as simpler compared to now?" asked Leone if confusion with her hands on her hips, "I wasn't alive back then, but if I were to ask anyone else, they'd probably say they liked how things are now compared to a freakin' war."

"That maybe true, but my life was very repetitive during the Civil War." started Naruto, "Wake up. Mission brief. Fight. Eat. Sleep. That was my life for a long time. People died but were replaced by new recruits. If a new enemy appeared: we killed them. It's how war works."

"Hmm…" hummed Tatsumi, "That sounds messed up….and something Esdeath-sama would say, too…"

"Exactly, Tatsumi." Esdeath said with soft smile, "Naruto and I are quite the same when it comes to our worldly experiences. It's what molded us into the fine Devils we are today." she said, moving to his side and sneaking a quick kiss on his cheek.

Naruto shivered at the cold, lingering feeling of Esdeath's lips on his cheek. It paled in comparison to Gabriel's soft lips. "Let's just get this over with." muttered Naruto, not looking forward for his 'date' with Esdeath.

"Don't say that, dear!~" said Esdeath, wrapping her arms around Naruto's right arm, submerging the limb in her ample chest, "Today is going to be a great day! And with Tatsumi and Leone acting as our guards, we'll have space to enjoy each other's company. Doesn't that sound great?" he asked as a teleportation seal appeared beneath the group's feet.

"Amazing…." muttered Naruto with a heavy amount of sarcasm as the seal transported them into the city of Reshiram.

 **4 hours later…**

"Just kill me now, Satan…" mumbled Naruto as he repeatedly slammed his head into a nearby wall. He was sitting on a small couch with Tatsumi next to him as they waited for Esdeath and Leone to finish their shopping. The group was currently at Lilith's Secret, a woman's clothing store that was inside a massive shopping mall in Reshiram.

Waiting for to the two women was slowly driving the Bael crazy. Since Esdeath didn't know much about shopping, Leone helped her search through each and every story that caught Esdeath's interest. Since Naruto was able to shift all of their bags back to the castle, he didn't have to carry a boatload of shopping bags everywhere, but his boredom was what slowly causing him to be exhausted.

"Never shopped with girls before?" asked Tatsumi with a snicker as he watched Naruto slam his head into the wall.

"I've done it a few times with my [Queen], Kuroka." mumbled Naruto, "But it's been a while since then. I've forgotten that women can't make up their mind when it comes to shopping."

"Yeah, that's true!" laughed Tatsumi as he leaned back into the sofa, crossing his arms behind his head, "I've gone shopping with big sis Leone a lot, so I'm used to it. She isn't that bad when it comes to shopping since she acts like a tomboy. I actually have fun with her when we come to the mall."

"This isn't fun to me…and the air smells funny in here." said Naruto, pinching his nose at the strong fragrance within the store.

"That's the perfume the store sales." said Tatsumi, "It is kinda strong though…"

"It's hella strong!" shouted Leone, who walked over to the duo. She had her scarf wrapped around her face, hoping to block the pungent scent, "This perfume makes it hard for me to breath. Esdeath-sama's needs to hurry the hell up!"

"Where is she?" asked Naruto, wanting to leave just as much as Leone.

"Changing room." she said, pointing where the rooms were, "She said she wanted you to come see something…"

Tatsumi suddenly grew a smirk as dirty thought went through his mind, "Wanting to see something at a woman's clothing store…heheheh…that only means thing, if you catch my drift." he said, nudging Naruto's side with his arm.

"Go get em', tiger." Leone said with a laugh, pushing Naruto out of the sofa and towards the changing room.

' _This is embarrassing…'_ thought Naruto as he pushed passed the drapes that acted as the entrance of the changing room. Thankfully, there weren't that many women in the store, and Leone waved off any of the store attends that tried to stop Naruto from entering the changing rooms.

He sighed as he looked around the changing room. It was a short hallway with a few open rooms available. On the ends of the hallway were mirrors angled to where someone could see oneself at various angles.

"Uh…Esdeath?" Naruto called out.

"Down here!" her voice echoed from one of the changing rooms to the left of him.

' _Here we go…'_ he thought to himself as he walked down the hallway until he stood in front Esdeath's changing room. "Leone….uh…she said you wanted me for something?"

The door to Esdeath's private room opened, greeting Naruto to the sight of an almost naked Esdeath. She was wearing a lacy blue set of lingerie, which matched in color of her sky blue hair. She licked her lips at Naruto, her alluring eyes filled with mischief. Grabbing him by the shirt, she pulled Naruto into the changing room with her and closed the door behind him.

Naruto's back collided with the now closed door as Esdeath pushed against him, her large breast squished on his chest. Wrapping her arms around his neck, the ice queen darkly chuckled as she had the Bael to herself. "Hello, my King…" she whispered in a way that would have made any weaker man shiver, "I'm sorry if I haven't been paying much attention to you during our date, but I've actually enjoyed shopping with Leone…please forgive me…"

Naruto rolled his eyes, not falling for the woman's seduction, "Esdeath, get off of me…"

"Still so stubborn, hmm?" she mumbled with a shake of her head, "I knew you weren't going to do anything naughty with me, but just to make sure there was a chance. I'm practically throwing myself at you."

"Not interest." he replied plainly.

Esdeath chuckled, her blue eyes boring into his own, "Yes you are, my one and only….you just haven't admitted it yet…remember our conversation last night!~"

She smirked at the visible frustration on Naruto's face, "This will probably be the last store we go to. I just wanted to ask what you felt about this lingerie. It's very comfortable, but now that I have a partner, I would like a second opinion."

Releasing Naruto and taking a few steps back, Esdeath twirled for Naruto, giving him a full view of her body. She looked absolutely stunning, the expensive clothing hugging to her body as if it was personally tailored for her. When she twirled, Naruto got a good look at her back, especially her nicely-shaped ass, in which her underwear did nothing to hide. Her blue hair cascading behind her like a river, and the two bangs adding cuteness to her soft face. _'While I may not know much about the art of seduction, even I can recognize that I look desirable.'_ she thought arrogantly, _'Even he won't be able to deny-_

"Basic." Naruto commented with a dead stare.

Esdeath sweat dropped at Naruto's judgment, not expecting him to say something like that. "…oh..…I wasn't expecting that…"

"I wasn't expecting to be pulled into a woman's private changing room, but life is full of surprises." Naruto said with a shrug.

"Honestly, Naruto, the sooner you stop acting so childish the better it will be for the both of us." said Esdeath, unknowingly accentuating her breast as she crossed her arms over her chest, "When are you going to let go of that Seraph?"

"None of your business…" answered a stern Naruto.

The two were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door; "Esdeath-sama, are you finding everything alright in there?" said an unknown voice that Naruto assumed to be one of the store workers.

Esdeath pulled Naruto away from the door and opened it, revealing her hardly clothed body to the brunette Devil awaiting them on the other side. Said woman face morphed from confusion to shock when she noticed Naruto in the room with Esdeath. "Yes, I do find this set to be quite comfortable and stunning. My husband agrees as well." she said with a small smirk, causing Naruto to growl at her, "I'd like to wear this out. I believe this is the amount necessary for purchasing." she finished as a frog-like wallet fell out of magic circle she summoned.

"Gama-chan!" Naruto's hand instantly moved to his pocket, feeling the lack of his trusty wallet. "When did-

"It fell out of your pants last night and just had to keep it safe." Esdeath said with a knowing smile, "Actually, I'll buy this set in every color you have. My husband's paying." she said to the clerk as she pulled out a wad of money and handed it to the lady.

"I'll fetch everything for you immediately." she said with a bow before hurrying back into the store to retrieve Esdeath's purchase.

' _MY MONEY!'_ shouted Naruto in his mind as he cried out anime tears, "It took so long to save that…."

"Oh shush. I know you have more than that." said Esdeath as she grabbed her general's outfit that was hanging on the wall, "I know how much those Rating Games pay out the victors. Stop crying about it. I'll pay you back….whenever I feel like it…"

' _Somebody get me away from this demon!'_ he cried as Esdeath evilly laughed at his suffering.

 **A few minutes later…**

After leaving the store, the group consistent of Naruto, Esdeath, Tatsumi, and Leone moved on to the food court of the massive mall to get a bit to eat. Tatsumi and Leone were stationed in front of the arranged couple, with Esdeath locked onto Naruto's right arm, leaning into his body as they marched their way to the food court.

Throughout the day, Naruto had noticed the amount of attention they received while on Esdeath's self-proclaimed 'date'. While he did have fans everywhere that noticed him, they also noticed Esdeath. He could sense a fear they had for the woman as she walked next to him, keeping them from approaching Naruto. While he was grateful he didn't have to deal with annoying people, he wondered as to why they all stayed a certain distance away.

He received his answer when he waved at a group of female Devils that shouted his name. Of course, he waved at them, causing the hormonal teenagers to squeal in delight at their crush's attention. However, they all froze when Esdeath glared t them, shooting a concentrated blast of **KI** at the group.

"Jealous much?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow, seeing the girls shiver at the cold, evil feeling wash over them.

"I don't like it when people look at what's mine like that…" she said confidently, glaring at another set of passersby glancing at them, "They reek of incompetence and weakness….they'll never you."

Naruto didn't comment on Esdeath's words because he saw something that caught his interest. While search through the crowds of people, he felt a sudden, but familiar, spike of magic. It was small, barely noticeable, but his sensory capabilities he worked on with Anna helped him notice the small magic.

On the ground, not far away from them, was a white snake. The snakes color matched the white-colored tiles decorating the floor, perfectly camouflaging it; its piercing-yellow eyes meeting his own blue orbs and Orochimaru instantly came to mind….

Stopping suddenly, Naruto looked around the mall, confusing Esdeath. "Is everything alright, dear?" she asked.

"Y-yeah…I just gotta…head to bathroom…" he muttered, locating the bathroom after glancing around.

"Well I'll order us some ice cream from that store I told you about yesterday." she said, not knowing that Naruto was buying time for the snake to make its way to him unnoticed, "What flavor do you would you like?"

"Uh…..how about…miso flavor?" he asked with a sheepish grin.

Esdeath sighed at her fiancée's joke, "There is no such thing as miso flavored ice cream. Anything else…that's more realistic?"

"Hmmm…"he hummed, noticing that the snake was now next to him, "How about…Oh! How about straw-BEEERRRRRYYYY!"

Esdeath jumped at Naruto's sudden shout, "Why are you screaming?" she asked, utterly confused at his odd behavior.

"No reason!?" he said with a wide, awkward smile. The reason for Naruto shouting was of the snake, which started to slither up his pants and wrap itself around Naruto's leg. The feeling was very odd and uncomfortable, since he never had a reptile in his pants. The snake was still slithering up his pants, wanting to fully hide itself from any prying eyes.

The bottom half of Naruto's body shivered at the feeling of the snake's scales, something Esdeath caught using her peripheral. "What is…"

Naruto's world slowed down at Esdeath moved in slow motion. She was tilting her head downwards to check what was on the floor. If Esdeath saw the snake, she would instantly figure out that he was up to something, which would only further complicate his current predicament. _'I've gotta distract her!'_ he thought frantically as he tried to come up with some way to pull her focus away from the floor.

Esdeath's body stopped functioning as she felt the sensation of Naruto's lips pressed against her cheek. It was a small kiss, but it was enough to throw Esdeath out of whack for a millisecond before her body went into overdrive. Warmth coursed through her veins, the source of said warmth coming from the place Naruto's lips connected to her smooth skin. Her body turned red in realization, embarrassment, and excitement at what Naruto did to her.

Naruto placed his index finger under chin and pulled her head upwards, forcing her to look him in his stunning blue eyes as he whispered, "I'd like strawberry, Esdeath. Thanks for asking." he said with a smile.

"o-o-o-o-o-o…k…." stuttered Esdeath in disbelief, still processing the fact that her fiancée willingly kissed her.

"Thanks." he muttered before pulling away, making a beeline to the bathroom and leaving a shell-shocked Esdeath. Even Tatsumi and Leone were astonished by Naruto's sudden action, losing the ability to form words as the man left them.

Slamming the bathroom door shut, Naruto instantly ran to the nearest sink and turned on the hot water. After pumping the soap dispenser numerous times, the blonde Bael scrubbed his lips frantically with both hands, trying his best to get rid himself of any Esdeath-cooties that were on his lips. _'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! THAT WAS WHAT I THOUGHT OF?! FUCKING KISSING A WOMAN THAT'S OBSESSED WITH ME!'_ he shouted in his head as he cried another round of anime tears.

Not caring for the elderly man watching what he believed to be a crazed Devil, Naruto lowered his face to the faucet and washed his lips with the hot water. _'It's so freakin' hot-'_ he thought, flinching at high temperatures of the running water, ' _BUT IT'S WORTH NOT CATCHING AN INFECTION!'_ he thought as he continued the process over and over again.

' _Young people these days….'_ thought the elderly Devil with a shake of his head as he circled around and left Naruto in the bathroom by himself. He wanted to be nowhere near the crazed man rubbing himself in the bathroom.

After believing he was in the clear of being infected by Esdeath, Naruto entered a stall so he could have so privacy. Placing his foot on the toilet, Naruto pulled up his black pants leg, revealing the white snake wrapped around his leg. "Hey there, little fella." he said to the snake as it uncoiled itself and slithered up to Naruto's arm.

Naruto winced as the snake entered a hacking-feast until it spit out a scroll into Naruto's awaiting palm. "Ewww…." he muttered, not liking that he had to open the saliva-covered message. However, he pushed past his disgust and opened the scroll. In it was a message from Orochimaru, which Naruto read:

" _Dear Naruto-sama,_

 _Sorry for not reaching you sooner, but the security to Honest's Castle was hard to bypass, and even then, my snake couldn't locate your position within the massive castle last night so I had to wait for another opportunity to relay this message. Yesterday, Honest, along with two of his minions, came to the house to tell us that you were currently in his care. We told him of our distrust towards him and the entire Bael Council because they were the ones behind your sealing, however, it seems the man tried to push the blame away from the Bael Council itself and paint a target on Lord Bael's back by saying that he was the only one that wanted you sealed. Since it was a direct order from their leader, the Bael Council followed their orders like the slaves they are._

 _We knew that he was lying throughout the duration of his explanation of your sealing, which is proof that the 'all-powerful' Bael Council has a few weak spots we may exploit. He didn't lying when he informed us that he didn't know as to why Lord Bael wanted you sealed, but that isn't important. While we don't know of the time you'll be freed from your wretched fiancée's grasp, we need to make a plan to free you. I've already communicated with Lord Agares and we are now awaiting a responds from you to come up with an efficient strategy._

 _Your Advisor,_

 _Orochimaru_

"Seems like we're in a pickle…" muttered Naruto to himself after reading the message a few times over. He sighed in stress while running his hands through his hair. "Alright, Naruto…calm down…analyze everything you have….and come up with something….."

Leaning against the walls of his bathroom stall, Naruto got comfortable as he started his long analysis that would lead to a successful plan. _'So Honest has an issue with Lord Bael….if he's trying to move the blame from the Bael Council to just Lord Bael, then he, along with an unknown amount of Bael Council members, must have some type of vendetta against the big guy…..which makes sense. Bael's are the most power-hungry Devils, so Honest and a few others could have thier own plan to overthrow Lord Bael to claim the spot of Great King…he's trying to minimize my hatred for the Bael Council to just Lord Bael because he knows I'll be a problem if I don't stay on a tight leash…which is why they made this arranged marriage between Esdeath and I.'_

During his rampant, internal dialogue with himself, Naruto eyes meet the yellow orbs of the white serpent. The snake had wrapped itself around Naruto's arm, warming itself with Naruto's body heat. _'I have two days until I give my answer to the Bael Council on whether or not I want to marry Esdeath and join their little social club….If I say no, they'll probably just force me to marry Esdeath anyway, seeing as I am a lower-ranking member of the Bael Clan compared to those apart of the Bael Council: the highest social rank of power one can have within the clan. So my number one priority has to be to cancel this marriage as quick as possible.'_

' _I've done this before…'_ he thought as he started to pace back and forth while rubbing his chin, _'With the Childish Gremory….My peerage fought Riser Phenex to free her from her arranged marriage…she placed the weight on my shoulders because she was too weak to face him by herself….and made it to where Riser had to prove his competence to marry her by defeating me, which didn't happen…so my only logical answer would be to defeat Honest in a Rating Game…or defeat Esdeath one v. one…but she knows that I'm strong than her, so she'll probably deny any individual fight, so Honest is my only option…but now there's the problem of convincing him to take the fight…'_

' _If I were a female, this would all be different…'_ he thought, _'Since its usually the female Devil marrying into a clan, they have the opportunity to prove that their arranged partner isn't worthy of them…however, since I'm a male, and the Underworld is heavily sexist, its already believed that I'm stronger than Esdeath, who doesn't have a peerage to represent herself…..so I'm back to fighting Honest…..'_

Naruto halted mid-step as he an idea hit him, _'Wait…..how did I manipulated Riser before? He was arrogant; confident in his power of Phenex that he would win no matter what. That led to his downfall in accepting a challenge he couldn't win. He had to accept it because Rias had the power to move the responsibility of defending herself to me...and in return, my peerage received a pint of her blood so that would be of use to set me free…..Rias had the political power on her side because of the context of her marriage contract….but not the physical power to save herself…so the answer to convincing Honest to accept my challenge is to…..move the political power to my side of the field…..'_

' _The Bael's are arrogant because of their Underworld social ranking and strength…..with strength being everything to them. They're basically Riser, just stronger in both politics and physical strength. I'm strong by myself, but I need something that can make them uncomfortable….something big and public….It'll cause them to see me as a greater threat that needs to be handled to show the dominance of the Bael Clan to the other Devil Clans of the Underworld and, possibly, other supernatural Factions…Lord Bael did say that it was basically the Bael Clan against the Satans and the Ultimate-Class Devils..the two are fighting for power…..so what could I do that would be loud enough to add to my overall political presence…enough to where Honest will have to fight me in a Rating Game instead of forcing me to marry Esdeath…..and, in a domino effect, weaken the Bael Council's structure….'_

'… _.Sitri…'_

"I know what I need to do." said Naruto with a snap, finally coming up with a plan to end it all, "But I need a way to send a message back to Orochimaru. If I teleport now, Esdeath will sense it and instantly be on alert…and I don't have anything to write Orochimaru back with."

As if it were listening to Naruto thinking out loud, Orochimaru's snake entered another hacking fit, causing Naruto to wonder if the serpent was okay. However, his worries ceased when a pencil came out of the snake's mouth and landed in Naruto's palm.

"How the fuck does Orochimaru stuff all of that shit in there?" Naruto asked himself as he grabbed the convenient pencil, "Thanks…" he said to the snake. The white serpent's forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, which Naruto took as a form of recognition to his thankfulness.

"Alright…" mumbled Naruto, placing the scroll against the wall of the stall he was in as he started to intensely write his reply, "This is gonna work…It has to…"

 **A few minutes later…**

Esdeath composed herself, smoothing out her skirt and making sure her hair was straight when she noticed Naruto walking over to the table the group was seated at. She could hardly function when Naruto left her as her mind burned the feeling of his lips on her cheeks. Leone had to order her and Naruto's ice cream for her because she was still out of wack, only able to mutter what flavor of the delicious treat the couple wanted before entering dream land again.

However, the ice queen had calmed down, but was still slightly nervous, a feeling she had never experienced before. She tensed when Naruto sat down next to her with a sigh, "Glad I got that one over with…" he muttered while leaning back in his chair.

"Why were ya' gone so long, Naruto-sama?" asked Leone with a mouth full of chocolate ice cream, "Had to take a shit?"

"Yup, yup, yup….'been holding it in since last night." he replied with a mischievous smirk.

"See, that's why I like you, Naruto-sama!" laughed Tatsumi is red and green eyes glowing in excitement, "You're not afraid to speak your mind at all!"

"There's no point in holding back what you feel, Tatsumi." answered Naruto, "I've learned that holding things in will only tear you up from the inside. Even taking things one step at a time is better than bottling your feelings up."

"Uh….Your ice cream, dear…" mumbled Esdeath, holding a small bowl of pink ice cream to Naruto. She looked away, wanting to hide her slightly red face.

"Thanks…" he said while accepting the treat, "So what do we have planned next, or was this it for the day?" he asked the woman as he started to eat the icy treat.

Esdeath perked up at Naruto's question, glad that she could use the new topic to calm herself. "We'll be going to the Battle Coliseums here in Reshiram." she answered, "I thought it would be fun to watch the weak little Devil youths flaunt their insignificant power. I'm sure you'll find it entertaining as much as I do." she said with a chuckle.

"That doesn't sound bad…" said Naruto, taking another bite out of his ice cream, "I just don't want to fight anybody for a while…I did just get done fight a peerage filled with dragons yesterday, after all."

"Well I plan on taking down some a few chumps!" said Tatsumi, flexing his impressive muscles, "They won't know what hit em' when I enter the ring!"

"Just don't pull a muscle while your down there." said Leone with a yawn, "I think I'll take a nap will there…it's been a long day…."

"This 'shopping experience' really does test one's stamina…" said Esdeath, "I've never been one to be around these type of places…while it had its enjoyable moments, being surrounded by peasants all day was an annoyance…"

"That's just everyday living, Esdeath-sama." said Leone, throwing her empty bowl of ice cream into a nearby trash can, "You're so used to living in a castle with servants everyday that you forget the real world."

Esdeath chuckled, "Negative, Leone. I haven't forgotten about life outside of our lavish lifestyle, I just hate everything outside of it…all of these powerless simpletons are nothing to me…" she muttered darkly, scanning through the crowds of people, "Those who are weak…..are nothing short of utter disappointment."

"Watch what you say, Esdeath." said Naruto, surprising Tatsumi and Leone at his sudden change in tone. He was calm before while enjoying his snack, but now Naruto's eyes were narrowed as he lightly glared at Esdeath. "The people you talk about…I used to be them. I won't listen to any more of your slander."

"Slander…or truth…" she countered with a sideways glance at Naruto, "You don't have to defend these weaklings' incompetence."

"Stop talking."

"Sure." she said with an eye-smile before enjoying her ice cream again. Naruto intense blue eyes didn't leave the ice queen's body, taking a personal offense to her words.

Leone and Tatsumi shivered at the tense atmosphere surrounding the two. _'I've never seen someone talk to Esdeath-sama like that…and she actually listened!'_ thought Tatsumi.

' _This is really awkward…I thought Naruto-sama was cool, but he's mean like the rest of his peerage members!'_ thought Leone, remembering of her experience with a few of Naruto's peerage members the day prior.

"W-why don't we head to the coliseums now?" asked Tatsumi with an awkward laugh, wanting to restore the once serene atmosphere. It looks to have worked a little as Naruto's scowl wasn't as intense as before.

"Let's just get this over with." he said, standing out of his chair. Esdeath and the other two followed with Leone providing the teleportation seal for the group to disappear in.

 **Reshiram - Battle Coliseums**

The massive constructs dubbed the Battle Coliseums of Reshiram were similar in style to the old coliseums the ancient Romans used for big gladiator fights. Walking through the main entrance, the group marched through a tunnel until it split to five different tunnels.

"You guys have fun." said Tatsumi with a backhanded wave, deriving from the main route they took and walked into a different tunnel, "I'll be in Coliseum D. You should take Naruto-sama to Coliseum A. There are more people there, anyways." he said as he continued his stretch into the long hallway, leaving the now group of three.

"Even though he's supposed to be acting as our bodyguards, he decided to leave us for his own selfish desires." said Esdeath with a 'hmph',

"It's been a while since Tatsumi gotten to fight. He'll become calmer once he releases some of that energy he has." said Leone, leading the group through the dark long tunnel until they finally made it to the end.

Leaving the long tunnel, the group was greeted to the sight of a large, flat area in the middle of rows and rows of concrete seats encircling. On stage were two Devil youths fight each other with their magical spells; both Devils having an entourage encouraging them to continue their fight from the stands closest to the middle stage.

"Seems things are already a little spicy today!" said Leone with a laugh, "I'm sure you two will be entertained by the blood fest that sure to happen, right?"

"Sure..."

"I guess…."

The voluptuous blonde sweat dropped at the lack of excitement coming from the duo, "Aww, come on! You two were acting okay not too long ago. Don't let one little argument ruin your day."

"It wasn't just 'one little argument' for me, Leone." answered Naruto with crossed arms, "It was personal."

"I'm sure Esdeath-sama didn't mean any harm, though." replied Leone, intending on mending the damaged relationship.

"I didn't mean any harm…Naru just finished talking about not holding back what you feel. I did what he said but angered him. It's something he needs to work on." Esdeath finished with a flick of her hair. While she didn't want Naruto to be mad at her, she had her beliefs that she stood by and nothing was going to change that.

' _Damn it, Esdeath-sama! You weren't supposed to say that!'_ Leone shouted in her mind. She sighed as she led the two towards the stairs to the stands at the roman-like coliseum. "Hopefully you two can talk this out while watching those idiots rip each other apart."

After a little walking, debating on where they should sit, Leone settled with a section of the coliseum that had the least amount of people around. "Alright. You two sit here and, ya' know, talking to each other. I'll be up a few rows to give ya' some privacy. Cheers!" she said as she left the two, jumping over multiple rows of seats before settling near the top of the coliseum.

"That silly girl…" Esdeath said while taking a seat on the rough concrete. Naruto sat as well, but made sure to put some space between the two.

Esdeath sighed, not liking the silence from Naruto, "I didn't think you would be this sensitive, dear. I only spoke the truth. Why is it so hard for you to accept it?" she asked.

"Your truth isn't true at all." he answered, leaning his back into the row behind them, "You think that those at the bottom of the totem pole are somehow lesser beings. I can't agree to that."

"Then what do you think I should consider them?" she asked in curiosity, "Equals? If so, I'm sorry to say, but that is far from the truth. The effect of a High-Class Devil's death is far more significant than a Low-Class Devil's death."

"I believe that a life is a life." said Naruto, starring down at the battle happening in on the stage below, "No matter what type of social ranking a society may have, we are all alive…and we all will die…that will never change."

"Hmm…if that is what you believe." muttered Esdeath, "I would like to ask where that kiss on the cheek came from…" she glanced over to the blonde haired Bael, interest if he would react to her words, "…almost as if you were distracting me from something…."

His smirk to her caused to feel a bit uneasy. It wasn't a reaction she was expecting. "Maybe I just decided to do it, Esdeath….see how it felt…."

The feeling of pride washed through his body when he saw her disturbed glare centered on him was something he would always remember. For the first time since being with the ice queen, he finally felt like he had an edge over her; an edge that she wouldn't find out about until it was too late to do anything about.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" she said with narrowed eyes, not liking the fact that she felt like he was hiding something.

"I'm watching this stupid battle, Esdeath." he replied, not even making eye contact with his fiancée, "It's funny…..how I used to want to come here and fight…test my abilities against others….but my mother and father wanted to hide my skills until I was in the military. Since I was born with an impressive amount of magic…and my Power of Destruction was very potent…they were scared the elders may try something. It is common for most Low-Class Bael's not to inherit the Power of Destruction, so I was a rarity being born of Bael's who didn't inherit my Clan's ability to be born with such power…..now look at me…."

"You seem at peace with yourself…" said Esdeath, "Have you accepted the fact that you will marry me then? Was that kiss really out of good-intention?" she asked, wanting an answer from her fiancée.

Naruto's silence to her question annoyed Esdeath thoroughly, especially the small smile that was on his face as he watched the battles carry out. The [Queen] of Honest Bael didn't like the feeling of not knowing everything. Even with the almost guaranteed chance that Naruto would marry her, because she knew who this man was, the feeling of uncertainty was present in her heart.

"How…" she said after a few moments of silence between the two.

"How what?" he asked.

Esdeath gripped the sides of her skirt as she glared at him with an angry smile, "How do you do this? Make me feel this way…I know that we will become one…..it has to happen…but you still make me feel unsure…like you know something that I don't."

"I know many things that you don't know, Esdeath." he said plainly, not bothered by her rise in anger.

His lack of emotion only added to her anger only further, "I don't understand! You were weeping like a child last night! How are you so confident all of a sudden! It is impossible for you to free yourself from me!" she yelled, not caring that she was starting to attract the attention of those nearby by her rise in volume.

"Esdeath…." a shiver went through the ice queen's body as Naruto eyes meet hers. His deep, commanding, voice entered her ear and reverberated around her body, vibrating against her bones. "Calm down…" he uttered with a smile.

Esdeath gritted her teeth, feeling played by the blonde Bael. "How are you so calm? Just answer me that." she said.

"Why am I so calm?" he repeated, "It's because you were right." he said, surprising the blue-haired beauty, "Everything you said last night was true…well, maybe not the part about Gabriel leaving me, but everything else was true….and I've accepted it."

"You've….accepted it…." she whispered, "Not even a day's time has passed since last night….and you've already accepted what I said?"

"Yup, yup, yup…." the blonde Bael said with a smile, "You are right. We are the same. Similar background; similar in power; similar social ranking…..just different outlooks on life, but we are the same."

"Th-then you don't mind marrying me, right!?" she said with hope, glad to hear that he accepted everything she told him last night.

"Nope!" he said with a laugh, "Not at all!"

"I…..I don't understand…." she said, "What….why?"

"Again, almost everything you said was true, but that helped me realize something…." glancing up at the sky above, Naruto took in a deep of air, relaxing his muscles while doing so.

"And that is?" she asked, hungry to hear his answer.

Glancing over to the confused ice queen, Naruto's smile never left his face as he revealed, "I don't need to marry someone that's exactly like me."

"ALRIGHT, YOU LAMES!" shouted a loud voice coming from the tunnels leading to the stage below, interrupting the two battling Devils, "MAKE ROOM FOR ME!"

"Who the hell is that-GAHH!" one of the Devils fighting was hit in the stomach by what looked like an iron ball attached to a rather long chain.

"Holy shit..." muttered the other Devil as the iron ball retreated back into the shadows of the tunnel, "W-who did that!?" he demanded.

Stepping out of the dark tunnel was a spiky-haired, blond teenager with a confident grin. In his hands was a giant, metal kendama that was attached to an iron ball by a chain. Surprising, the iron ball had a face on its smooth surface, including big white eyes, pointed nose, a mustache, small beard and eyebrows of black hair.

"I did. Ginta Toramizu!" shouted the newly arrived Ginta.

"And the most powerful Sacred Gear in the world: Babbo!" shouted Babbo with a wide grin.

"Wait a second!" shouted a random, green-haired boy while pointing an accusing finger at the grinning duo, "He was in the Devil Exams! You know! The one that got his ass handed to him by Sairaorg!

"IT WAS A CLOSE MATCH!" shouted Ginta in comedic anger, "I almost had him, but he was just a little stronger! That's all!"

"It looked to me like he walked away from the fight with a few scratches…." mumbled a girl sitting on the row closest to the middle stage.

"Shut up!" shouted Ginta, "Now, somebody face me! I'm back home for a little bit and I wanted to let loose with some relaxation and ass-kicking!

Everyone within the arena suddenly shivered as the heavy feeling of death weighed on their shoulders. An exponential amount of killer intent filled the coliseum, creating an uncomfortable, dark atmosphere.

' _What's going on?'_ thought Gitna, holding back his fear in favor of figuring out the source of such a powerful **KI.** Noticing that the deathly presence was strongest north him, he focused his sights at the two people sitting near the middle section in the stands. _'It's coming from the blonde…wait a second…isn't that?'_

Standing from his seat, Naruto's eyes blazed with fury as he glared at the younger Devil. _'He's the one that tried to take Kuroka away from me…'_ he through, thinking back on the argument he had with Kuroka when she decided to leave him a few years prior. Without summoning his wings, Naruto levitated off of the ground, surprising everyone in the arena, and landed on the opposite side of the stage. "You…" he muttered darkly, his eyes flashing a dangerous red as his anger increased.

"Holy shit, that's Naruto Bael!" shouted the other boy that was in the fighting stage with Ginta.

"Naruto Bael…it really is him…"

"Kya! He's so cool!"

"Did you see his fight with Tannin yesterday? His peerage totally destroyed those dragons!"

"Who's that woman that he was sitting with?"

"Do you think he could hook me up with his [Bishop], Hao? He's so sexy!"

"I wonder why he's here of all places…"

The hushed whispers of those at attendance continued to fly as Naruto approached Ginta. Said Devil youth was shivering at the sight of the blonde Bael because he had a feeling as to why Naruto was so angry. Ginta was the reason behind his [Queen]'s betrayal, after all.

Stomping in front of the shorter Devil, Naruto stared down at Ginta with blazing red eyes. Ginta shivered under his heavy stare, waiting for the onslaught of harsh words that would surely come. Even Babbo, who was usually loud while proclaiming his greatness, was quiet as Naruto's pressure affected him as well.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto spoke after a few seconds of silence between the two, "Ginta Toramizu…it's been a while…" he muttered.

"Hehe…hey there, Naruto-sama…" Ginta said with a head scratch, "N-nice to finally meet you. Been a while since-

"You tried to steal Kuroka away from me, no?" answered Naruto, his **KI** spiking somewhat.

"R-right…." he muttered, "I just want to…ya know…apologize for that….she didn't look happy at the time and….."

The ground beneath caved in as red aura seeped out of the cracks. Because of the loose ground, Ginta lost his footing and fell on his back. He grunted in pain when Naruto stomped his foot into his stomach with enough force for spider web cracks to dance along the surface of the ground beneath the younger Devil.

"Enn…argh….." hissed Ginta through gritted teeth as Naruto's foot held him down, exerting a force that he couldn't free himself of.

"Ginta!" Babbo glared at Naruto and levitated his iron head in the air, ready to ram itself into Naruto's head. However, Babbo's iron ball suddenly halted when it was only inches away from Naruto's nose. "Wha-what this?" he muttered in confusion as he tried to free himself from the unknown force.

Both Naruto's eyes and Babbo's iron body glowed blue with psychic power as the enraged Bael used his improved telekinesis to send Babbo into the already old and damaged wall of the coliseum, breaking through a layer of magic circles that protected the structure and trapping the Sacred Gear in a small crater in the wall.

"Ba...Babbo…" Ginta managed to say before he screeched in pain as the strength of Naruto's foot in his stomach intensified, breaking through the ground below and slowly forcing Ginta into the growing cracks.

Naruto stared down at Ginta with utter disgust, arms crossed as he held him down. "You do know who I am, right?" he asked Ginta, "Then you also must understand why I'm making you suffer…"

The pressure from Naruto's foot lessened somewhat, allowing Ginta to breathe properly and to talk, "Yeah…I kn-know you…Naruto Bael….K-k-Kuroka's….master…" he said with unease, "Look…I'm sorry about that…I just wanted to he-help her an-

"So you're implying that I wasn't doing that already?" interrupted Naruto, not liking Ginta's reasoning.

Ginta instantly panicked, not wanting to anger the blonde Bael further, "No! No, no, that isn't what I meant! She would come to u-us everyday complaining about not living a….regular life…"

Ginta shivered at the spike of **KI** , which was focused on him. Naruto's red eyes seemed to be furious as his Power of Destruction slowly seeped from him, covering his body except the foot implanted in his stomach. The entire coliseum was silent as everyone watched in fear of Naruto's bloodline, along with the increase of his **KI.** Babbo continued to struggle against the psychic power trapping him, but was utterly powerless to the strong weight that held him against the coliseum's wall.

"Do you know…" started Naruto, his Power of Destruction inching its way down his foot and threatening Ginta beneath him, "…what happened to the last person who was in this exact position?"

Ginta watched as the Power of Destruction was centimeters away from his skin. "….No…" he said.

"I eroded his body." he answered darkly, "I hate being mad…and I hate those that make me mad even more. What you did is-

' _While you are a nice person, Naru….I sense a lot of darkness within you as well…It's something you try to hide from everyone but it's blatantly obvious to me…'_

Naruto's eyes widened and lost their red hue as his Power of Destruction that seconds away from devouring Ginta disappeared, with a few wisp of the ultimate power circling around the Bael before fading in the air. _'Gabriel….'_ he thought as his focus moved to his chest, remembering the feeling of Gabriel's hand on his chest during their date not too long ago. ' _So this….is what she meant….'_

Naruto sighed as he looked behind him and to the stands of the massive coliseum. Focusing his eyes on the woman he came with, he saw Esdeath watching the scene with a small smile, seemingly enjoying Naruto's display of dominance and anger. She was leaning forward, resting her chin on her open palm while her arm was set on her crossed legs. Her blue eyes were filled with glee as she gazed into his eyes, licking her lips while doing so.

' _We are the same.'_ Her words from last night echoed through his head like a curse, haunting him with every decision he made.

Shaking his head, he broke eye contact with his fiancée as he turned back towards Ginta. "What am I doing…" he muttered; face palming as regret replaced his anger. He sighed as he released Ginta from his hold, confusing the boy with his sudden freedom.

Naruto's next action thoroughly confused Ginta when his former oppressor held out a hand to him, a gesture to help him off the ground. "Forgive me for what I did…I wasn't thinking clearly at the time…"

"Uhh…." Ginta muttered, not sure if Naruto was telling the truth. One moment, Naruto was crushing him with his foot, and the next he's asking for forgiveness. However, since Ginta was a kind-hearted person, he accepted both Naruto's hand and apology. "Thanks…I guess…" he said, now on his feet with the help of Naruto, "…what's with the change of heart? A few seconds ago, you were about to…erode my body…" he said with a shiver.

"Let's just say I have some demons I still need to conquer." he said while snapping his fingers. The psychic power trapping Babbo against the coliseum wall disappeared, releasing the talking Sacred Gear from its invisible hold.

The Sacred Gear quickly hopped over to Ginta, wanting to make sure its master was okay. "Ginta! Ginta! Are you okay?" Babbo asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. My stomach hurts a little, but I'm fine." he said with a small grin.

After receiving confirmation from Ginta, Babbo levitated up to Naruto's face with an angry look in his eyes, "What the hell is wrong with you!? We didn't even do anything to you!"

"I'm sorry…I wasn't thinking. I was acting on built up emotions that I should have already dealt with." admitted Naruto.

Babbo hummed with a smug face, "Hmmm…..Yeah...alright. At least you realized what you did was stupid." he said, accepting Naruto's apology for now.

"So I guess we're cool now, huh?!" said Ginta with a smile.

"We are. I'm glad I saw you today. It gives me a chance to reflect and amend some of my past mistakes." said a now calm Naruto, "I want to use this as a chance to connect with you more. While I didn't like you for some time, you did catch my interest with your performance in the Devil Exams. I'd like to meet with you again." he said before summoning his wings.

"Hehe! Sure thing!" he said with a wave as Naruto flew into the air, intending on going back to his seat.

However, Naruto stopped midflight, remembering one question that he wanted to ask the young Devil. "Hey, Ginta!" he shouted.

"Huh?" he asked.

"How do you have a Sacred Gear?"

Ginta's eyebrows rose at the question for a few seconds before releasing a long breathe of air, "It's really complicated…" he started, "My parents were scientist…even before the alliance with the other factions, my parents researched Sacred Gears with Azazel-sama of the Fallen Angels. One of their main goals was to create a Sacred Gear comparable in power to the Longinus."

Ginta hugged Babbo's iron ball to his chest, confusing Babbo at the sudden embrace, "There was an accident during one of their experiments…my father was absorbed into the Sacred Gear they were creating...his memories of his wife and small child were erased in the process, but Babbo is my father…"

"Father?! I'm not your damn father!" shouted Babbo, "I don't even think I can have kids!"

Ginta chuckled at Babbo, who forced himself out of Ginta's arms, "He doesn't remember, but I still love him. Even after his body changed, he wouldn't let anyone touch him except me and my mom. When I unlocked my magic, Babbo became my Sacred Gear, making us the ultimate duo!"

"I don't what the hell you're talking about being a father, but we are the ultimate duo!" shouted Babbo, "Now which one of you little dorks wants to face the power of Babbo and Ginta!" he yelled to the patient bystanders of the coliseum. He quickly got a few challenges from the bystanders and the coliseum's lively atmosphere had returned.

Naruto chuckled, shaking his head as he flew in the air, "He's interesting…" he muttered as he made land fall.

His smile quickly left his face when Esdeath's voice filled his ears, "Seems like you had an episode down there…"

"It was nothing. I'm ready to leave." said Naruto, "Leone!" he shouted to the blonde haired girl that was currently laid out on the top row of the coliseum. The large snot bubble popped as she jumped to life at the sound of her name. "Huh! Huh! I'm awake!" she yelled to nobody in particular, checking her surroundings for the source of the voice that called for her.

She perked up when she saw Naruto looking up to her. Seeing as her small break was over, Leone jumped down to Naruto and Esdeath's row, "Ready to leave?" she asked.

"Yeah. Should we get Tatsumi?" he asked her.

"No, he likes being here." she said as she created the teleportation seal for the group to leave in. "Alright, back home!"

 **Timeskip...**

 **Honest's Castle**

"Ahhhhh! Simply delicious!" said Honest as he tore into a large piece of meat with his bare hands, not even caring for the silverware avalible to him, "Damn, it's good being rich!"

"Ya' got that right!" replied Leone, using her chopsticks to rapidly eat through her bowl of rice.

Wave, eating with sense, cut his grilled fish like a professional, using his fork to hold his meal down as his sharp knife sliced through the cooked flesh of the dead fish. "Back home, there would be no way I could afford all this food! Now that I think about it, I need to go visit Ma and the others sometime…"

"A vacation from you savage beast is welcomed by me." said Run, sipping from his wine cup with class, "It's like eating with animals…"

Naruto chuckled uneasily as he took a bite of his pasta that was cooked perfectly. He couldn't talk much about the other's eating habits since he was a sloppy eater himself back home with his peerage. ' _Maybe I should change that…now that I see how I look when Anna makes her ramen…'_ he thought with a sweat drop as he watched Honest clean the bone of any meat with his teeth.

"I assume Bol's already went home?" asked Akame, calmly partaking from her soup.

"Yeah, not to long after dinner was made was when he left." answered Wave he said while chewing on a piece of diced fish, "I swear, that guy loves his wife and kid. I wanna have something that he has with his wife."

"Who would have thought that the ever-so manly Wave would want to settle down with someone." laughed Leone.

"Hey! Settling down is manly!" he defended, "I don't want much! Just a girl that can I go fishing with! Is that too much to ask!" he shouted with tears pouring from his wide eyes.

"Thankfully, I have someone that's special to me like that." Naruto held back a sigh as Esdeath rested her head on his shoulder. From across the table, Leone flashed a smile and shot him two thumbs up, glad to see that they had recovered from the small fight they had earlier. However, he couldn't let his annoyance get to him now; he had a something he needed to take care of now.

"Honest-sama," said Naruto, catching everyone's attention, "I need a favor I need to ask of you."

"Really?" said the man with attentiveness, "How can I help you out, Naruto?"

"Tomorrow, I have an important meeting with a few people. It starts before breakfast and may last around noon. I request if I may leave your castle for said meeting."

"O-oh." he said, not expecting such a request, "Who do you have to meet with?" he asked.

"Sorry, but that has to remain confidential." answered Naruto, "It's for a project I'm working on and I'd like to keep those involved secret." he could feel Esdeath's suspicious eyes on him, but he ignored her again in favor of focusing on Honest.

Again, Honest seemed hesitant about the idea of Naruto leaving, but he didn't want to be rude. "Well…I do understand those damned meetings getting in the way of things…" he muttered, "But I guess I can allow you a small recess. Just make sure you come back on time."

"Thank you." said Naruto. He then stood from his seat, surprising everyone again with his actions, "The meal was enjoyable. Thank you for serving us, and please tell the chiefs that as well." he said to the servants in the room.

Never being thanked before for their jobs, Naruto words caught Honest's servants off-guard as well. Honest himself was looking at Naruto weirdly, not understand his clansman's action. "Uhh…Young Naruto….are you feeling well?...and are you about to go somewhere?"

"I'm feeling just fine, Honset-sama." he confirmed as he pulled Esdeath's arms off of him, "I was going to meet with some of your servants here…they're friends of mine during my solider days I'd like to catch up with. I'll see you all later." he said with a bow, leaving the bewildered peerage and servants in the dining hall.

After a few seconds of Naruto's departure, Honest's puzzled eyes shifted; now holding a cold-stone glare as he glanced over to Esdeath. Feeling his eyes on her, Esdeath matched his glare with one of her own. "What?" she said simply, not in the mood to deal with her [King].

"What I want to know is what's going on with him." he said sternly, his attitude a complete 180 compare to his usual happy self, "Do you know who he's meeting with? And what happened today? I thought you told me this morning under the guise of you retrieving your rapier that he had given up all hope. He looks perfectly calm to me!" he shouted in anger, slamming his hand on the table.

"I thought so as well, but as the day progressed, he seemed at ease with himself... Not too long ago, he told me that he had accepted everything I told him last night, which caught me by surprise." said Esdeath without hesitation, not fazed by Honest's anger, "That man is unpredictable, which makes him dangerous…and I have a feeling he's up to no good."

"So you think he's found a way to break the arranged marriage?" asked Leone, disregarding her food in favor of the conversation at hand.

"No…there is now way for him to stop the marriage." said Honest with a huff, "It's impossible. He's been stuck in a seal for over 500 years. He just got out only a few months ago. There's no way he's built up the political power to pose a threat to the Bael Clan."

"Then what's the point of this marriage?" asked Akame, "It doesn't make sense to go to such lengths just to control one man."

"The point of this marriage, Akame," Honest said with a growl, "is to prevent a 'possible' threat. Never question me again."

"Yes, Honest-sama." she said with a bow of her head, "Forgive me for talking out of turn."

"Should we stop Naruto-sama from talking with the others?" asked Run

Honest hummed in thought, thinking the idea over. "No…I think it'll be best if he does communicate with some of my servants." he answered, "Everyone in this castle knows why Naruto-sama has been with us these past two days and I gave out the order that they treat him as an honored guest. Knowing some of my servants may make him feel comfortable…"

"Yes sir." replied Run.

Honest grunted as he stabbed his fork into another large piece of meat, "I'll show him…" he muttered, taking a rather large bite out of his favorite food, "That damn, Naruto Bael….you won't outsmart me…"

 **With Naruto**

A thoroughly lost Naruto wandered the halls of Honest Beal's castle. While Esdeath did give him a tour of the massive castle yesterday, he wasn't paying attention for most of the tour since he didn't care and was getting tired. Because of this, he had absolutely no idea where he was.

"It would have been a smart idea to make a meeting place, Tenzo." Naruto said, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance as he continued to his stretch through the long hallways.

After another few minutes of useless wandering, Naruto was going to give up his search until a maid approached him, "Uh, Naruto-sama. I've heard from Tenzo that you two are friends. You're looking for him right now, aren't you?"

"Yes!" said Naruto with happiness, hugging the woman that would end his suffering, "Finally, someone with sense!"

"Th-thank you, Naruto-sama," said the red-headed maid, a little uncomfortable with his invasion of space, "but why didn't you ask any of the other servants for help? We know each other pretty well, or at least, we could have asked someone else if they knew of Tenzo."

The realization of his stupidity caused the blonde Bael to sweat drop, "I really wasn't using my head…" he said depressingly.

The maid giggled cutely at Naruto, "I'll show you were Tenzo usual spends his time at. Please follow me."

With a nod, Naruto silently followed the nice maid through the halls of the castle. Throughout the walk, he would slightly remember some of the places from the tour with Esdeath yesterday. The walk, while quiet, was not awkward as Naruto took the time to absorb the sights of Honest's castle once more.

After their long walk, Naruto recognized that they were at the east wing of the castle, something he recalled from yesterday. The maid stopped in front of a door in yet again, another hallway, but this one didn't have as much décor. "This is a lounge for the servants of Honest-sama we use for our breaks. Tenzo usually stays here for a while to talk with a few of his friends after work. He should be here."

"Thanks for the help. I owe you one!" said Naruto with a grin, "What's your name, anyway?"

"Kiyomi…" said the woman with a serene smile, "You don't owe me anything, Naruto-sama. It's my job to help."

"Well, you've got a Naruto-favor from me." he said while patting her on the back, "Thanks for the help!" he said as he entered the room, leaving the woman in the hallway. _'Hmm…she reminds me of somebody…'_ thought Naruto, but didn't believe it was anything important.

Closing the door behind him, Naruto entered a luxurious break room filled with couches, a snack bar, and a large television on the wall for everyone to enjoy. There were quite a few servants lounging about in multiple areas in the large break room, so Naruto's presence mostly went unnoticed.

"Is dat' whose I think it is?" said a loud voice that quickly made Naruto smile in recognition.

"It is if that's Joey Wheeler who's speaking?" he said to the approaching blonde haired man who wore a blue denim jacket with a white tee underneath and blue jeans, leading Naruto to assume that he was off work.

"Ya' god dern right it's Joey Wheeler!" shouted Joey with a laugh, "Come here, squirt!" as he clasped Naruto's hand, pulling him into a manly hug, "It's good to see after all that time! Where'd ya go, huh?

"Let's just say I went on a little trip.." Naruto replied with a laugh as the two split, "It's good to see you doing well, Joey. Where are the others?"

"Tenzo was out looking for you! I'll call 'em real quick." he said while creating a magic circle next to his ear. Grabbing it, he pulled it to his mouth and screamed, "YOU DUMB TWAT! NARUTO'S ALREADY HERE! WHERE DA HELL ARE YA'!"

"Damn it, Joey!" Tenzo yelled over the phone. A few seconds later, Tenzo appeared next to Joey via magic circle and slapped the blonde, "What the hell, man!? You know your loud ass voice is deadly!"

"It's not like you're any louder!" Joey countered; shoving is face into Tenzo's. The two growled at each other as if they were going to fight, but Naruto quickly calmed the situation by splitting the two up with his telekinesis.

"It's like you two haven't changed over the years." said Naruto with a laugh.

"Hold da' phone…how'd ya' do that, Naruto?" asked Joey, awed by Naruto's magical capabilities.

Naruto shrugged, "Because I'm cool?" he answered.

"Ooohohoho! You've definitely gotta teach me that one!" said Joey.

"Sure…anytime I'm free, I'll show you a few tricks, but where are the others?" he said, remembering that there were a few other people he wanted to meet.

"Oh! They're back there in our usual section!" said Joey, pointing to the back corner of the room where a few couches were. There were three women sitting on the couches, with one of them, a attractive brunette, waving at them. "Come on, Naruto! Everyone's dying ta' meet ya'!"

The group marched over to the back corner of the room to the waiting women. Once he made it over, the brunette, dressed in a maid outfit, glomped Naruto on sight. If he were a lesser man, he would have drooled over the feeling of the woman's large breast pushed against his stomach when he caught her. "Naruto!" she said happily, "It's been so long!"

"It has, Veronica." Naruto said with a laugh, "Still as hyper as ever."

"Now that you're back, she can annoy you instead of me." said a monotone voice. Said owner of the monotone voice was a petite, small girl in a maid uniform just like Veronica's. The little girl had black hair and dull red eyes, seemingly as lifeless as the vibe she gave off.

"Come now, Aiko." said the pink-haired woman with a laugh, "I'm sure you're just as excited to see Naruto on the inside."

"Exuberant …" Aiko answered, reaching for her drink that rested on the small coffee table in front of her.

"Aiko. Hayami. It's been too long." he said while prying Veronica off of him.

After escaping Veronica's death hug, Naruto hugged Hayami and Aiko as well. While Hayami responded naturally to the gesture, Naruto had to pick up Aiko's small body to hug her. The girl acted as if she didn't care for Naruto's appearance, but everyone saw the small smile on her face as the Bael hugged her.

Naruto settled down next to Hayami and Joey while Veronica and Tenzo took their seats with Aiko on her couch. On the coffee table was a variety of snacks and drinks for the group to enjoy while talking. Hayami handed him a canned pop as she spoke, "It's so weird that I'm this close to a superstar! And that superstar is my war friend!" she said happily.

Accepting her offer, Naruto grabbed hold of the can and opened it, "Thanks, and I'm not a superstar. Just a little popular." he said with a shrug before taking a sip.

"Yea! How can he be a superstar when he's dressed like that!" laughed Joey, pointing at Naruto's cloths. One thing that Naruto hadn't noticed was the fact that he was still in the same closed he wore during his fight against Tannin, so they had a few tears in them.

"Oh yea….I never got to change outta these…" muttered Naruto, pulling as his orange shirt, "Guess I never noticed."

"Honest-sama has a tailor here in his castle. You're about the average height, so it would be ease for him to make another set if you want. I can call him now if that's alright?" suggested Tenzo, creating a magic circle next to his ear while doing so.

"That'll be appreciated, Tenzo. Thanks." said Naruto, giving him the okay.

While Tenzo whispered into his magic circle, Veronica decided to continue the conversation, "Naruto, I must say that what you've done during the past few months is incredible! You've taken the Underworld by surprise with all your victories in Rating Games. You're showing everyone just how powerful Legion 56 is!"

"Thanks, but I'm not doing it for Legion 56, but for Low-Class Devil as a whole." he answered, "Coming from where I was, it was hard growing to where I am now. I just want to show that's it's possible to be successful, regardless of class."

"You're an inspiration to all Low-Class Devils, like Rudiger Rosenkreutz, the reincarnated magician that became an Ultimate-Class Devil." said Hayami.

"I bet ya' Naruto can take em'!" said Joey, flexing his muscles, "He just beat Tannin, one of the Top Ten and only lost one member when he did. He can beat that Rudiger-dick head no pra-bla-mo."

Naruto laughed at his old friend's antics, "Seems you have a problem with Rudiger, Joey."

"He's mad that he's just better than him." answered the monotone Aiko.

"Hey! That's not true at all!" he yelled in defense, but everyone excluding Aiko laughed at the angered Devil man.

"It's true though, Naruto." said Tenzo, dispelling the communication spell with the castle's tailor, "My kid talks about you all the time. We watch your Rating Games together."

"Mines do as well…" muttered Aiko, causing Naruto to spit out his drink in disbelief.

"Aiko has a kid!" yelled a frantic Naruto, not believing that the doll-like girl would ever have children.

"Kids….I have three….and why is that so hard to believe…." her eyes slightly narrowed, causing everyone to shiver at the ominous presence surrounding the girl.

"UHhhhh…. Nothing! Nothing at all!" he said while waving his hands in surrender. Aiko gazed at Naruto for a few moments before focusing on her snacks.

"I also see that Naruto's got himself a girlfriend…." said Veronica, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, "How's life with Esdeath-sama?"

"Uhhh…..I have a girlfriend already…." said Naruto, weirded out by the beauty's snake-like eyebrows, "The marriage between Esdeath and I was thrown on me yesterday…."

"Woah…" said Veronica backing away from him, "I...didn't know….Sorry…"she said with guilt.

Naruto tried to comfort her guilt with a smile, even if it was forced, "It's alright; it's just something I don't really want to talk about when I'm finally with you all. I'd like to catch up, see what's changed about everyone."

The group, even Aiko, smiled at Naruto. Even if they're long-time friend was going through struggles, they were glad to see him and chat like normal people. "Alright, Naruto. Just know that we're glad that you're back."

"Thanks." Naruto replied with a nod.

"Well now that we're all friends, tell me how ya' kicked that big dragon's ass so I can be the next to do it!" shouted Joey, causing another round of laughter as the group began a long, overdue conversation amongst allies.

 **Timeskip – Night**

"Alright, Naruto. We'll see you later!" said Tenzo. It was time for the others to retreat back to their individual homes after almost a two-hour conversation filled with laughter and fun. They were currently the only people in the lounge room, not even noticing how fast time past.

"Make sure ya' remember to teach me some of those moves you used!" said Joey.

"I've gotcha', Joey." Naruto replied with a thumbs up.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Naruto." said Hayami as she disappeared via teleportation seal.

"We'll continue our conversation tomorrow after work!" said the ever-hyper Veronica as she too, followed suit. Aiko didn't speak, but waved as she left the lounge room with the others, leaving Naruto alone inside the now empty room.

Naruto exhaled a satisfying breathe with a smile. He thoroughly enjoyed the past few hours with his old war friends. "That felt real good…" he said to himself. The last time he untwined and took a break was with his date with Gabriel over a week ago. Talking to his friends really took his mind off of his stress-filled predicament, doing wonders on his mental state.

However, his periodic happiness withered away when he teleported outside of Esdeath's room. "Back to reality…" he muttered as he pushed open the doors to his fiancée's room.

Waiting inside for him was Esdeath herself. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, seemingly deep in thought, but perked up when she heard the noise of her doors opening. She smiled at the sight of her fiancée, the light of her world and the only person she truly cared for. "Hello, Naruto…" she greeted.

"Yo." he said, closing the door behind him. His eyes drifted to the couch, noticing a copy of his usual get up: an orange shirt with a black fire-insignia on the front and a red Bael Clan-symbol on the back, followed by his usual black joggers. "That was quick…" he said, inspecting the clothes and feeling their quality.

"I assume that you had…fun… with your friends?" she asked with a bit of hesitation.

"Yeah, it was cool. Catching up with everyone was something I needed…" Naruto stretched his arms out as he released a long yawn, "…and it left me….a little sleepy…"

"Then you should rest…" said Esdeath, patting the spot on the bed next to her. She had already changed out of her daytime attire, now in the oversized white-dress shirt she wore to bed.

Naruto rose an eyebrow at the blue-haired beauty, "You alright? Why are you acting so nice?"

"I just want to make you comfortable."

Naruto lightly chuckled, "Yeah, right…." Esdeath frowned at his words, but didn't vocally reply. "I do need a favor, however."

"And that is?" she asked, hoping to be of assistance to her fiancée.

"For my meeting, I need to be clean…and I haven't taken a shower in a while, hehe.." he said with a grin.

Esdeath's eyes rose before a sultry smile grew on her face, "Oh? And will you need any assistance while taking a shower?" she said with a lick of her lips as she looked at Naruto in hunger

"Nope! Thanks!" he said, grabbing his new cloths running into the bathroom. He made sure to lock the door and apply a few security seals as well, just to make sure that Esdeath didn't get any ideas.

Once Naruto left Esdeath alone, her smile flipped into a frown. She groaned as she fell back into the bed, her hair sprawled in every direction as she stared at the ceiling. ' _He's so calm…it's like he doesn't even care about marrying me anymore….but what he said earlier today…'_

" _ **I don't need to marry someone that's exactly like me."**_

Esdeath ran her hands through her hair as she processed the words as they echoed in her mind repeatedly. _'What could he mean by that? We're perfect for each other. The same in everything…why wouldn't he want to be with me! It doesn't make sense at all!'_

She growled as her magic fluctuated within her and the temperature of the room dropped a few degrees. _'He doesn't like me…but he calls those Low-Class Devils friends…he probably thinks that I'm the enemy, but I shouldn't be! I'm his wife….his one and only…..and even if this marriage will happen, I want it to be true in his heart, but I don't know how….….I don't know…'_

The [Queen] of Honest sighed as she rubbed her temples, calming herself. _'No. Getting mad won't solve anything. He'll soon realize that everything I said is true. Once that damned Seraph of his leaves him, I'll be there and he won't deny me. It's only a matter of time, Esdeath….'_

Esdeath continued to hype herself for a while until she heard the shower stop inside of the bathroom. A few minutes later, Naruto exited the bathroom, wearing the new clothes made for him. He was holding his sandals in his hands as he walked across the room barefoot.

"You didn't take long…" answered Esdeath, feigning confidence as she laid out on their bed.

"Even with the locked door and security seals, I still thought that you would've broken in anyway." he answered, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I wanted to get in and out….but I wasn't expecting to have soap and towels already set for me."

Esdeath smiled as propped her head on her crossed arms, "I knew you were coming so I prepared in advance. But now that you're clean, you can join me in bed…"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the woman, but did as she said, pulling back the covers and got comfortable. Esdeath scooted next to him, but made sure to keep some space between them. While she wanted to cuddle with him, she knew he wouldn't allow it. She did, however, turn her body towards him, now gazing into his deep blue eyes that she always got lost in.

"Uh….." he said awkwardly as she continued to stare at him, "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine…." she whispered, "I just love your eyes, along with everything else about you."

"No long talk tonight, huh?" he said with a cocky smirk.

She chuckled lightly, "No, I don't have much to say…even though you're performance at the coliseum today did intrigue me. You must had a lot of pent-up aggression for that boy…It's almost as if you changed into a different person…something that I liked…" she finished with captivation for the blonde.

"Think nothing of it… it was something I had been dealing with internally that needed to be solved." he answered, "It wasn't that serious."

"Oh, but it was." she answered, taking the risk at scooting closer, "It was a glimpse of that darkness I mentioned…the same darkness with both share, my dear~" she cooed, "It only proves that everything I said was spot on last night…but you've accepted that."

"Yup," he said, "but I told you today that I don't need somebody t-

"I don't care." she interrupted sternly, surprising him with her sudden switch of emotion, "I don't care what you say. I know what's best for you. If I gave up after hearing you say that, then I never loved you in the first place. You did confuse and hurt me with those words, but the only person that creates these unknown feelings in me is worthy of me. I will never give up on you….and you'll see things my way soon." she stated with confidence, "It's only a matter of time, my husband."

"It sure is…." he replied, knowing the hidden implications of his words.

She smiled at the Bael as she moved her hands to his cheek, rubbing his whisker marks with glee. "You should rest. You have an important meeting tomorrow, no? You'll need your energy since I know how boring those meetings can get."

Her heart flared at the sound of his snickering, "You're right. Goodnight." he said as he rolled on his side, showing his clothed back to the woman.

' _Soon…we'll be together….'_ she thought as rolled on her side as well.

"Goodnight."

 **Timeskip – Morning**

Naruto's eyes snapped open as his mental alarm clock went off.

' _Time to work.'_

Sitting up in the rather large bed, he yawned while stretching his arms, his daily routine before pulling the covers back and sat on the edge. Looking behind him, he saw that Esdeath wasn't disturbed by his movements. Putting his black sandals on, Naruto cracked his fingers, back, and rolled his shoulders a few times before standing up with another full body stretch.

Walking over to a large mirror Esdeath had in one of the corner's of the room. Checking out his attire, he saw that his clothes wrinkled during his sleep, but he wasn't concerned about them at all. ' _I'll handle those later…'_ he thought as he ran his hands through his spiky blonde hair, wiped the sides of his mouth and eyes, and picked a bugger and flicked it on the ground. ' _Hehehe…'_ he internally laughed as his devious deed.

"Time to go." he muttered as he marched towards the door.

"You were going to leave without saying anything to your wife?" Esdeath's voice rang out as he had the door partially open. She was still in the same position as she was earlier with her back facing him, so he couldn't see her face.

"The only people I see in here are you and me." he replied, "I'm not married."

He heard Esdeath snicker as if he were telling a joke. "Whatever…" she muttered as she closed her eyes once more, "Have a good meeting…"

"Thanks." were his last words as he exited the room, closing the door behind him. He grinned as he summoned a teleportation seal, feeling the freedom of being able to go wherever he wanted without consequence. "I'm so damn smart." he said as he teleported out of Honest's Castle.

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Appearing in his living room, Naruto was greeted to the sight of all of his peerage members sitting on the various couches that littered the room. "Sup!" he said with a wave.

"HOLY SHIT, YOU'RE ALIVE!" using his insane speed, Kisame seemingly teleported next to Naruto and expected his body. "Did that bitch do anything to ya? She didn't freeze your nips off, did she? OH SHIT, DID SHE CUT OFF YOUR BALLS!? PLEASE TELL ME SHE DIDN'T TRY TO CUT OFF YOUR BALLS!"

"….Uhh…I still have my balls…." responded Naruto very uneasily.

"Sorry about Kisame's surprising enthusiasm, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, "He was one of the ones that worried for you the most." the snake man said with a chuckle.

"THAT'S ABSOLUTLY NOT TRUE-IDIOT, DON'T BELIEVE HIM!" shouted Kisame, "I just know what you're crazy ass fiancée is capable off!"

"Heh, thanks, Kisame." Naruto said while patting his [Knight] on the back.

"It's good to have you back. It's been a while since we've lived without you around." said Anna, "I'm sure your time with Esdeath was fun." she said with a voice filled with sarcasm.

"Anything but that…" laughed Naruto, "They're nowhere near as cool as you guys."

"YOSH! We are glad that you have arrived safely, Naruto-sama!" shouted Lee as he glomped his master. His eyes rained with tears as he comically cried in his shoulder.

"Jeez, you all must have really missed me. It was only…like two days…" he muttered as he rubbed Lee's back in comfort.

"TWO DAYS TOO MANY!" cried out the [Rook].

"Lee was really upset while you were gone, Naruto-sama." said Yoh, "We're glad to have you back.

"And now that you are back, we have all the necessary pieces to take back control." said Hao.

"Right." nodded Naruto. Looking around the room, he raised an eyebrow when he noticed the lack of a certain Nekoshou. "Where's Kuroka?" he asked.

Kisame, who was secretly (to himself) glad that Naruto was back, grinning face instantly morphed to a scowl at the mention of Kuroka's name. "You mean the pussy? She's locked herself up in her room. I say let her stay in there! We can get more work done without her!" he said arrogantly, finishing with an "hmph!"

"Don't say that." denied Naruto, "Kuroka is an important part of this team. I need to see her as well."

At that same moment, the group heard a crash come from the second floor, followed by the sound of feet tapping against the floorboards. Kuroka, jumping down from the top of the stairs, landed perfectly and her golden orbs gazed towards Naruto. Relief filled her body when she saw his smiling face and jetted towards him with vigor. "Naruto!" she shouted with outstretched hands.

Dropping Lee, Naruto caught the flying Nekoshou and used the momentum to spin her around with a laugh. "Kuroka!" he said with a smile as he hugged her to his chest, "You've gotten heavier…"

"S-shut up…" she said while wiping her tears away with her hand, "It took you long enough to come back…."

"Sorry about that." he answered. He then narrowed his eyes as held up in the air, "What's this I hear of you being anti-social while I was gone?"

"I…." Kuroka glanced towards Kisame, who quickly flashed her the middle finger, "I just had to accept something…and had to distance myself from everyone…"

"Oh. I understand." he said, lowering his [Queen]'s dangling body back on the ground, "I had to do something similar not too long ago."

"Something must have happened, master." said Orochimaru, "You're calmer now…and you aren't smiling as much as usual."

"Yeah…it's something I decided to stop." answered Naruto, surprising his peerage members, "It was a façade…a way to hide my hurt that was eating me on the inside. I didn't want to look weak anymore, so I always wanted to look happy as if I were strong. I'm sorry for lying to you all for so long…but I'm not okay…"

"It's alright, Naruto-sama." said Yoh, placing a comforting hand of support on the Bael's shoulder, "We're here for you."

"Absolutely! Just come to us when you're feeling down!" shouted the ever-hyper Lee.

Naruto grinned at his [Rook], "Thanks, Lee, "he said with a smile, "Now let's settle down so I can explain everything to everyone."

After taking their seats, Naruto started things off, "Alright, as of now, Honest thinks that I'm at a confidential meeting right now. I didn't exactly tell him when it would start, which gave me time to come here first and regroup with you guys." glancing over to Orochimaru, he continued, "Did everything work out?" he asked.

"Surprisingly, it did." said the snake man with his raspy voice, "Even under such short notice, I was able to inform the Sitri of your request for the meeting to happen today. They were a little hesitant, but also agreed to inviting the Gremory, The Four Satans, The Satan's Council, and Lord Agares to today's meeting. We all spread out and informed everyone of today's events and have all confirmed that they will be in attendance."

"It sure was annoying being sent out on a mission in the middle of the day like that." said Anna, "It took a while for Orochimaru's snake to return with the message your wrote with your instructions, and even longer to track down everyone you requested."

"Thanks for the hard work, guys." said Naruto with a smile.

"So what now?" asked Hao, "With this meeting, you will finally the Sitri of their punishment for their acts of treason by altering three of the Four Satan's memories. What do you plan on doing to them?"

"Making them our allies." he answered, "While I have disdain for the clan, I can't deny their power. With their help, I'll have enough political backing to be considered a threat to the Bael Council…and the opportunity to break out of this dumb arranged marriage becomes possible."

"And what happens to you after this fucking meeting with those water-squirting Sitri's?" asked Kisame, rubbing the purring Samehada under its chin.

"It's back to staying with Honest and Esdeath until tomorrow, the day I inform the Bael Council as to whether or not I agree with marrying Esdeath." he answered, "Even if I say no, they'll still force me with her. That's when I put my foot down…."Naruto grinned as his coated his clenched with his Power of Destruction, "…and start my revolution."

"Damn right, nya!" said Kuroka, glad that they were finally making progress.

"All of you will come with me to the meeting with the Sitri, so get ready! We leave in twenty minutes!"

"Hai!/HELL YEA!" shouted everyone, with Kisame having a distinct form of agreement.

 **Timeskip – Sitri Mansion**

The peerage of Naruto Bael appeared in the front yard of the massive mansion of the head family of Sitri. Servants were at the right and left of the group in two long straight line that stretched through the front yard, up the stairs, and stop at the front door of the mansion. Standing over the first set of stairs were Sigil and Amur, the Lord and Lady of the House of Sitri.

Naruto couldn't hold back a smirked as his eyes gazed over the duo, "It's been a long…long time, Sitri…" he muttered as he lead the long march in-between the two lines of servants that lead to the entrance. His group followed his lead, walking confidently as they strolled towards the awaiting Sitri.

Starting their walk up the many stairs, Naruto continued to stare up at the two parents of his former lover. The pride he felt as he made his way up the stairs that was covered by a royal blue carpet with his peerage members was indescribable. _'After all that suffering, it's finally paid off…'_

Halting a few steps away, Naruto finally stood in front of Sigil and Amur. He inhaled a deep breath of air before sighing, "It's been a while…" he said to the duo.

"Good morning, Naruto-san." said Lord Sitri, bowing in respect to him, with Lady Sitri following. However, Naruto didn't bow back-as if he had to. "It has been a while."

"You know, "started Naruto, "if things went _wrong_ …I'd be calling you two Father and Mother." he internally grinned at their visible flinch, "Good thing you two hated the fact that a Low-Class Devil was who your daughter fell in love with all those years ago…which was the cause of today's events."

"Naruto-san, we ask of your forgiveness for what happened then." said Lady Sitri, "We'll do anything to please you and restore the name of Sitri."

"I'll forgive you when my demands are met." answered Naruto, "Now…let's proceed inside, shall we?"

"Of course." said Lord Sitri, "Please follow us to the meeting room. Everyone is awaiting your presence."

With a nod, Naruto and his peerage followed the leaders of Sitri inside the mansion. A wave of nostalgic washed through Naruto's body as he walked through the front door and entered the mansion. Past memories of dropping Serafall of at the exact spot after their dates flooded his mind. The memories continued to flow as the group delved deeper into the mansion.

A sick idea popped in Naruto's head when he pasted by a particular closed door. Nudging Kisame behind him, Naruto spoke, "Hey, Kisame."

"What's up?" he asked, a little confused as to what he could want from him.

"I almost fucked Serafall in that room over there…" he said, pointing his index finger to a closed door.

"Oh…" Kisame grinned when he saw both Sitri's body tense up at Naruto's words but continued to lead the group down the hallway, "Ohhhhhhhhohohohoho…..I didn't know you got down like that, idiot. In the broom closet?"

"In the broom closet….It got a little hot in there…." said Naruto with an equally large, shit-eating grin, "Don't tell her parent's, though. There's no telling how they'd react…"

"I won't tell a soul." said Kisame, dapping Naruto's awaiting fist.

"Idiots…." muttered Orochimaru, face palming at the duo's disgusting antics.

After weaving through a few more hallways, the group stopped in front of a set of doors guard by Sitri servants. Seeing that the guest had arrived, the servants opened the doors to the group, revealing the massive meeting room that was filled with Devils. In the middle was a four long tables, which is where the Sitri, Gremory, and Satan Council seats. Zeoticus and Venalana had two special seats at the top of the Gremory Council's table. Towards the back were two thrones for the leaders of Sitri, and overshadowing them were the thrones of the Four Satans, watching over the room at a higher elevation.

"You're seats for you and your peerage." said Lady Sitri. In front the tables where the Sitri and Satan Council sat was a long, horizontal table for Naruto and his peerage. Lord Agares was already seated, waiting for Naruto to make his appearance.

"Good to see you alive." said Lord Agares, shaking Naruto's hand, "I didn't know what to think when it was revealed you were to bewed Esdeath of all people."

"Shocked me too." said Naruto, taking a seat next to the leader of Agares, "You ready?"

"I would have been better prepared if this meeting didn't happen so early in the morning." he said with a small glare centered at the smaller Devil.

"Sorry about that," he said with a grin, disregarding Lord Agares' glare, "but it'll be worth it. I promise you."

The hushed murmurs of the large hall ceased the moment Sirzechs stood from his throne, his presences demanding attention from all of the Devils within the room. "Thank you all for attending this meeting called by Naruto Bael under such short notice." he said, "The purpose of this meeting is to decide on a proper punishment for the Sitri Clan for committing treason. The suggested punishment shall come from Naruto Bael, who was affected the most by the Sitri Clan's traitorous tactics, and the Four Satans shall judge if said punishment is acceptable. However, I was told that Naruto would like to explain a few things that correlate with his final decision. You have the floor, Naruto." said the red-headed Satan as he took his seat.

"Thank you, Lucifer-sama." those familiar with Naruto quickly took notice to the added '-sama' and the fact that he called Sirzechs by his title and not his real name. "I'd like to also thank those who came even with such a short notice, but drastic times calls for drastic measures. These past few days have probably been the most deranged and demented of my life. It'll take a while, but it will all make sense when I finish."

"A quick question, Naruto." said Falbium Asmodeus, wide awake for the meeting instead of sleeping through any formal setting like usual, "Why is Lord Agares with you? Is he an associate of yours?"

"Yes sir." he confirmed, "Agares has helped me with a secret project that I'll reveal to you all now. The two of us became allies after my fight against his clansmen, Rai Agares, after we both talked about the displeasures we have with the Underworld…particularly the Bael Clan."

From across the room, Venalana's eyes narrowed at Naruto as he continued speaking, "There is a gap in power, and while it is a justified power gap, it's hard to govern a society when its ruler is arrogant and presumptuous. Hiding behind his title of The Great King, Lord Bael and his little minions is a massive road block that stops the Underworld from growing into an even more successful society than ever before seen. I know that the Four Great Satans and the Satan Council have trouble conjuring progressive laws because of the Bael's influence, and Devil Clans feel as if they must suck up to the Bael Clan in order to be in good standing with them…that type of thinking is why Zeoticus Gremory agreed to help the Bael's and Sitri with my sealing so long ago. Basically, it's hard to run a government when a large part of its power doesn't have the Underworld's prosperity as its main priority. Rather, the Bael Clan focuses on making itself stronger, monopolizing the Underworld and crushing smaller, less powerful Clans in a death grip."

"The Bael's have been a pain in our sides," said Ajuka, the Beelzebub Satan, "but it surprises me that a clan member is in such doubt of their own clan. Even though they did put you through a lot, Naruto, it sounds like you plan on rebelling."

"Not rebelling, Beelzebub-sama," answered Naruto with a finger wave, "just making things right." He took in a deep breath before dropping a bomb on his listeners, "After my fight with Tannin, it was revealed to me that the Bael Clan has forced me into an arranged marriage with Esdeath, [Queen] of Honest Bael's peerage…"

Serafall, who was silently listening to Naruto since the start, eyes widened when he revealed his current predicament. _'He's getting married…to her!?'_ she thought as an image of a smiling Esdeath appeared in her mind. She gripped the sides of her skirt as she controlled her anger. ' _No…h-he doesn't deserve that…He's been through too much…I've put him too much…he needs help…'_

The hall was filled with murmurs at Naruto's revelations, but everyone quieted when Serafall, surprisingly, was the first to speak, "Why would they do that to you? Haven't the Bael put you through enough as it is...along with a few others…" she said, not wanting to throw all the blame on the Bael Clan.

"They see me as a threat." answered Naruto his former lover without hesitation, "The Bael's are a prideful clan of Devils. Seeing a Devil rise from the lowest of the low in their clan and rising to the point of defeating one of the strongest peerages in the Underworld makes them uncomfortable. They see me as a loose cannon and needed to get rid of me. They failed their first time when I freed myself from my seal, but they plan to make sure they finish the job this time by tying me down by marriage."

Serafall rested her chin on top of her laced fingers as she continued to break down Naruto's arranged marriage, "How did the Bael tell you about your marriage with Esdeath? And did they give you a option to reject the proposal?"

"It was right after my battle against Tannin when Esdeath scooped me from the hospital room in Serafall Memorial Hospital my peerage was assigned too." he began, "She placed a collar around my neck that had a synchronizing spell, which sync our teleportation spells together. She then brought me to Lord Bael's castle, which was where I meet the entire Bael Council and Lord Bael himself. They explained to me the power struggle between the Bael's had with Four Satans and Ultimate-Class Devils. They offered me a spot on the Bael Council if I agreed with the marriage. However, since my political backing is nowhere near the Bael Council and that I am a clansman; they have all the right in the world to force me into the marriage if I were to deny the proposal."

"Shit…" muttered Ajuka with a head scratch, "This is all messed up…it's like being stuck in a rock and a hard place…"

"Actually," said Zeoticus, surprising everyone since he wasn't expected to say anything for this meeting, "There is a way to stop this marriage: a Rating Game." said the Lord of Gremory, "However, your problem, Naruto-san, is that you are weak in terms of political power, so you can't properly combat against the demands of the hierarchy." He narrowed his eyes as the dots in his head started to connect, "But…taking in the way you introduced the meeting with your description of the Bael and their faults…"

"…you're pushing for a plan to overthrow the Bael's, aren't you?" said Amur Sitri, Lady of the House of Stiri, using her smart deduction skills to figure out the true meaning of this meeting.

"Precisely." said Naruto with an Orochimaru-like grin.

The entire hall was deathly quiet as the mesh of councils processed Naruto's claim. Such an outlandish idea would make anyway laugh, but everyone in the facility knew how capable the blonde Bael was, having freed himself from a seal created by three powerful Devil clans, keeping a strong winning streak of Rating Games against prominent peerages, becoming an inspiration for the Low-Class Devils with his sudden rise to fame, and now has the future of the Sitri Clan in the palm of his hands. The confidence visible on Naruto's face all but confirmed that he was serious about his quest to become Great King.

Lord Sitri rubbed through his beard as he voiced his thoughts, "That…is a very bold…and very risky claim, Naruto-san. While clans like Sitri would benefit from a…better relationship with the head of the Underworld, I question how you plan to accomplish such a task given that you're already dealing with your arranged marriage."

"To be honest, it all ties in together quite conveniently." said the Bael, "I know of the Bael Council's weaknesses thanks to an ally of mine." a flash of Misla Bael, Lord Bael's abandoned wife and his next door neighbor, appeared in his head, "The Bael Clan stresses power and strength. Those that are weak conform to the strong. The Bael Clan has grown arrogant, flaunting their wealth and believing they are superior because of the clan's ability, the Power of Destruction. I've received word that the some of the Bael Council also dislike Lord Bael's reign and wish to overthrow him, but only for their own selfish desires to be crowned Great King."

"I am strong…strong enough to face the Bael Council one-by-one." Naruto stated sternly, "Like dominoes, I'll exert my strength on each council member that tries to stop my accession…and they shall fall. Their own arrogance to prove their strength against one of the most popular Devils in the Underworld is the only thing I need to manipulate them…their ideology that the strong rule will be their downfall when I defeat them."

"And if some Bael Counil members are too annoying…well..." Naruto chuckled darkly before saying, "…all deaths within Rating Games are counted as accidental, no?"

Naruto grinned when he saw the council members talking amongst each other; most were agreeing to Naruto's plan, not seeing any faults in it at all. Even the Four Satans seemed to think that Naruto's plan was well thought out. Looking over to Lord Agares, he smiled when he nodded at him, "You're doing good…" he whispered to him.

"I slept on what I was going to say last night." Naruto whispered back with a shrug, "Now we hit them with the big reveal…" he got out before he noticed that Lord Sitri called for attention.

"This plan of yours," said Lord Sitri, "It's solid, I must admit….but what does this have to do with determining a punishment for us?" he said, referring to the Sitri Clan.

"Lord Sitri, everything I've said to this point has to do with your clan's punishment." said Naruto, confusing the Lord and Lady of Sitri, "What I want is simple: the Sitri's support in my conquest of the Bael Clan!"

To say that Amur and Sigil was shocked was an understatement. Never has anyone seen the ever-calm Lord and Lady Sitri startled towards anything, not even Serafall. "Y-you want our help? That's truly what you want?" asked Amur, "Even after everything we've done to you?"

"I cannot lie, I still hold some resentment in my heart for the House of Sitri," admitted Naruto, "but I won't use this opportunity to enact revenge, but to build bridges. With your support, my political power will rise more, adding to my already threatening appearance to the Bael Clan. I'm not even demanding you to join me," he said, his words continuing to surprising all of the Sitri in the room, "I'll give you the choice in siding with me. If so, you will be one of many that have already agreed to help me."

"You mean there are more clans that know about this plan of yours?" asked an interested Sirzechs.

"There is, in which my associate, Lord Agares, shall inform you of." he said, causing all the eyes of the councils, Lords and Ladys, and Satans to shift to the Lord of the Agares Clan.

Coughing into his fist first, Lord Agares produced a small list from a magic circle. "I was the first person that decided to help Naruto's plan, seeing as I was frustrated with how the Bael Clan is currently ran. My clan, the House of Agares, job is to act as a moderator between the Bael Clan, The Four Great Satans, and the remaining Noble Devil Clans. However, because of their arrogance, the Bael's feel as if they can do whatever they want, disregarding the needs of the other clans and Satans for their own advancement. With my help, Naruto-san and I have reached out and have the backing of the following Devil Clans: Agares, Vassago, Gaigin, Barbatos, Beleth, Purson, Shax, Berith, Uvall, Asmoday, Furcas, Balam, Gamigin, Forneus, Oriax, and Dantalion."

"Also," he continued, "we have reached out to the Extra Demon Clans: Abaddon, Belphegor, and Nebiros. Because they are hesitant in with anything political, the Extrea Demon Clans have agreed to support if we gain support from the Four Satans. Future prospect clans I was aiming towards were the Phenex and Astaroth. While we believe the Phenex will take some time to join our cause, it's almost certain that the Astraoth will accept, willing to do anything to recover from the actions of their former heir, Diodora Astaroth, bringing shame to his family's name by accepting help from a member of the Chaos Brigade to heighten his chances of winning the Devil Exams. Finally, we have high-ranking Devils, like Tannin, who either are successful in Rating Games or own profitable business here in the Underworld and the human realm. That is all." he finished.

"Incredible…" said Sirzechs reveling at all the work Naruto and Lord Agares have done under his nose, "You all recruited almost half of the remaining 72 Pillars in secret? Even going as far as to allying yourself with the Extra Demon Clans? We've tried numerous times for those clans to rejoin us, but have failed every time."

"Aren't some of you apart of the clans Lord Agares mentioned?" said Ajuka to the Satan Council with suspicion.

"Forgive me, Beelzebub-sama," said a female councilwoman of the Satan Council. Naruto recognized her as Natalia Berith, the representative of the Berith Clan who was present at the last meeting he had with the Satan Council, "but I, along with a few others, we're told to withhold this information from the Satans until Naruto-sama publicized his plan."

A few other members of the Satan Council agreed, having been told the same by their individual clan leaders. Ajuka stared at the council in disbelief before sighing, "It seems like we were the last to find out about this grandmaster plan, huh?"

"Kinda..." said Naruto with a head scratch, "I'm asking the Sitri, Gremory, and the Four Satans for help. It may sound risky going against the Bael Clan, but I can assur-

"I'm with Naruto!"

All eyes shifted to Serafall, the Leviathan Satan, who had slammed her small fist into the arms of her chair, denting the solid material under the physical strain. "If anybody can do it, it's Naruto! He's a full-blooded Bael Clan member, has the Power of Destruction, and is the only person we have on the inside. It's time we do something about the Bael's and this maybe our only opportunity. I believe that Naruto will work with us, the Four Satans, as the Great King to create a better Underworld, unlike how the current Great King is doing now. I, Serafall Leviathan, fully support Naruto Bael in his efforts to overthrow the Great King!"

Naruto and Serafall's eyes met, and for the first time in a long time, his eyes didn't hold any anger or hatred, something that she noticed. He smiled at her, glad that he had her support. "Thank you, Leviathan-sama." he said with a bow.

"Please….call me Serafall…" she replied with a soft smile.

"Weellll…if Serafall believe in him, then so do I." said Falbium, "You have my support, Naruto."

"We, the Sitri Clan, shall back you in your endeavors, Naruto-san." said Sigil, bowing to the blonde Bael, "Even though you could have forced us to do so, you gave us Sitri the choice to join your cause, which is all the proof I need to see that you'll be an excellent Great King."

"Just tell us what you need and we'll be there." said Amur, backing her husband.

"I'm with them. The Gremory shall help as well." said Zeoticus, surprising his wife.

"What?" said Venalana Bael, "Wa-wait, Zeoticu-

"The Great King abuses his power," said Zeoticus, speaking over his wife, "I helped the Bael's seal you, Naruto-san, because of my fear of their power. But no longer will I fold under the Bael's power! It's time for a change and you are that change, Naruto-san! The House of Gremory is with you." he finished.

"Thanks, Zeoticus." replied Naruto with a thumbs up.

"Well, since everybody else is cool with it…I guess I'll join in." said Ajuka, "Just promise me you won't do anything too wild when you have the title 'Great King', okay? You can get a little crazy sometimes, Naruto."

"Not anymore I won't," the Bael said with a laugh, "but thanks anyway."

The last Satan that hadn't agreed yet was Sirzechs. All eyes were on him as everyone waited to hear his decision. Sirzechs had his eyes closed; silently thinking to himself on whether or not he should join Naruto.

Said Bael felt the pressure of the world land on his shoulders as he waited for Sirzechs. The leader of the Four Satan was a crucial part of his plan; when talking to the other Devil Clans that didn't know about Naruto's plan yet, having Sirzechs on his side would almost guarantee their support.

Finally, after a long wait, Sirzechs stood from his throne, having coming to a decision. "Naruto Bael….this plan of yours will take a lot of work…are you sure you're up for the task?"

"As if you had anyone else available for the job…"

The large crowd of Devils lightly chuckled at Naruto's joke. Even Sirzechs couldn't hold back the few snickers that escaped him. "There's that wit we're used to. I thought you were a different person by the way you were talking. You were acting like a professional that actually cared for once."

"Eehh, I decided to use my brain for once." he said, knocking on his temple like it was door, "Sometimes, you've gotta get serious to show that you truly mean what you say, ya' know?"

"I understand," replied the Red Satan, "and you also have the support of the Great Four Satans!" he yelled, being the start of a massive applause in the meeting room from all the different councils.

"HELL YEA!" a blue blur suddenly dashed next to Naruto. An arm wrapped around Naruto's neck and fist viciously rubbed into his head, "That's my boy! We've got the Satans on our side!" shouted an excited Kisame.

"Yaayy! Celebratory group hug, nya!" Kuroka said, hugging Naruto's waist.

"YOSH! GREAT JOB, MASTER!" shouted Lee, getting in on the group hug.

"Woah, now!" laughed Naruto as Lee wrapped himself around him, almost losing balance.

"Hey…they're doing the group hug thing." said Yoh, tugging on Anna and Hao's sleeves, "Ya wanna join?"

"No." replied Anna.

"Absolutely not." said Hao, not care for the groups antics as he checked his nails for any dirt.

Silently, two red arms grabbed both monotone Devils and pulled them into the group hug. "Stop being depressing and get in here!" laughed Naruto. Yoh chuckled as he walked over to the group and leaned on Anna, 'joining' the group hug.

"Mr. Orochimaru! You too!" said Lee.

"I will NOT do so, especially in front of a crowd of people." said Orochimaru. Noticing a red arm inch closer to his back, Orochimaru opened his mouth, revealing a multitude of hissing snakes directed at Naruto, the creator said arms.

"Alright! Damn…" said Naruto, dispelling his arms altogether at Orochimaru's threat, "Such a meanie!~"

"You deal with that all the time?" said Lord Agares with his usual deep voice.

"I don't know how I've gotten used to it…" sighed Orochimaru.

"Now that we have that settled," said Sirzechs once Team Naruto finished its moment and returned to their seats, "when will this plan of yours start, Naruto?" asked Sirzechs.

With a shit-eating grin, Naruto held out both of hands. In his palms hovered two of his orange, astral orbs he used to communicate with his peerage members while stuck in his seal. As quickly as he created them, both fizzled away via teleportation seal. "It all starts tomorrow…"

 **Timeskip**

 **Bael Territory – Honest's Castle**

Appearing out of a teleportation seal was one Naruto Bael with a beaming smile. He decided to teleport right outside the front door of the massive castle to alert the servants of his return.

"I'm bbaaaaaaaaaaaccckkkkk!" he sang to the servants guarding the front door.

"Na-Naruto-sama! We were informed that you had left for a meeting. I assume that everything went well?" asked one guards.

"Sure did." replied Naruto, "Do you know where Esdeath is?"

"Yes sir. Esdeath-sama retreated back to her room after breakfast this morning." Informed the guard.

"Thanks." said Naruto, entering the castle and heading to Esdeath's room.

After the long journey through the castle, Naruto finally made it to his fiancée's room. Knocking a few times, Naruto alerted his presence, "Hey, Esdeath? It's okay if I come in?"

He heard some shuffling coming from inside the room before he heard Esdeath voice, "Come in!" she said, giving consent.

Entering the room, he saw Esdeath sitting on the bed, cloth in her usual general's uniform. "I hope your meeting went well." she said to the blonde.

"It did go well…in fact; it went so well that I'm in a good mood right now. Is there anything fun to do here?" he asked.

"Fun?" said Esdeath with a raised eyebrow, "I…I'm not sure what counts as fun….maybe...training?" she suggested with a cute head tilt.

"No, no, no…something else to relieve stress." he said.

Esdeath hummed in thought for a few seconds before an idea hit her, "Well, Honest does have a few private masseuses here in the castle…"

"Massages?" asked Naruto.

 **A few minutes later…**

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh…." sighed Naruto in satisfaction and pleasure as his masseuse massage his naked back. He was lying on a massage table with Esdeath to his left, receiving her own massage. "This is the lifffeeee…" he muttered, his eyes rolling to the back of his head when the woman's smooth hands massaged the top-right corner of his back.

Esdeath giggled at the blonde's antics, but couldn't help but agree. "I've never seen the need for a massage, but now that I know what it feels like…" Esdeath hummed out a tune as the kinks in her back were massage into nothingness, "…I think I'll do this more in the future…."

"Ya got that right…" grinned Naruto, flashing his pearly whites at the blue-haired beauty.

Seeing his grinning smile caused a small blush to creep on Esdeath's cheeks. She hid her face with her arms, but continued to stare at Naruto, who had fully succumbed to the pleasure of his massage. _'What's going on with him? He's so happy and easy to talk to now…'_ she thought, _'Not that I'm complaining….maybe he's really okay with staying here…'_

"Alright-oof!-what is can we do today, Esdeath?" asked Naruto.

His question puzzled the [Queen] of Honest Bael once more, "You want to do something else…with me?"she said with uncertainty.

"I don't see why not?-OH! Sweet Lucifer, that's the spot…,." he groaned as his masseuse's divine hands now worked on his lower back.

Esdeath couldn't hide the full-blown blush that covered her face in a blanket of red. "O-oh….that's nice to know…" she mumbled, "Well, there is a movie theater located on the east wing of the castle."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "Movies?"

 **Timeskip…**

" _Ogres are like onions._ "

" _They stink?_ "

" _Yes-No!_ "

" _Ohhh, they make you cry._ "

" _No._ "

" _Ohh, you leave 'em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs._ "

" _NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers…You get it? We both have layers!_ "

"Hehehehe!" laughed Naruto as his hand burrowed into the large bowl of popcorn he shared with Esdeath. Sitting on the front row of the theater, the duo had on 3D glasses as they enjoyed their private movie together.

"This movie makes no sense…a real ogre would have killed that talking donkey by now." said Esdeath, but she couldn't deny that the movie was entertaining as it made her laugh multiple times, "What is this again?"

"One of the greatest animated movies ever-Shrek!" said Naruto after munching on his popcorn, "My [Knight] introduced me to this thingy called 'Hulu', and it has all of these human-made movies on it! The best invention in the world if you ask me..."

"Interesting…" she whispered. While Naruto was watching the movie, Esdeath's focus was on Naruto himself. While she was enjoying herself, his lack of depression and anger continued to confuse her. _'This almost feels like another date…and we aren't even arguing like yesterday….'_ Looking at his shoulder, Esdeath took the chance and rested her head on it, testing to see his reaction.

What surprised her was the lack of reaction from the blonde Bael, still laughing at the movie as if he hadn't notice the increased weight on his shoulder. _'Even though something's going on…I'll just enjoy it for now…'_ she thought as she snuggled into his side.

 **Timeskip...**

"Delicious!" Honest muttered as he gobbled down his supper, "Truly delicious. Ahh! One of the perks of having money: eating good food every single day! Ahahhaha!"

"Right there with you, Honest-sama!" shouted Leone with a large smile as she inhaled all of the food on her plate, "Man, its great being rich!"

"YA GOT THAT RIGHT!" everyone, even Budo, who had joined the team for dinner for once, all stared at the happy Naruto as he devoured bowls of ramen. Currently, he had two tall stacks of empty bowls that he already cleaned. "This ramen is delicious! I could get used to this!" he said before slurping on his noodles.

Honest stared at Naruto, not sure of what to say. Usually, Naruto ate slowly and with manners, but now he was eating even worse than him! _'What in the hell is going on…'_ thought Honest as he glanced over to Esdeath, hoping to receive an answer. The only thing he got from the ice queen was a small shrug, clearly not knowing herself as to Naruto's sudden happiness.

"Uh…is everything okay, young Naruto?" asked Honest.

"Yup, yup, yup!" said Naruto with an eye-smile, "Everything's peachy!"

"W-well then...I'm glad that your satisfied." said Honest with nod, "You know, tomorrow is the day you inform the Bael Council on your decision. Any spoilers on what you plan to say?"

Everyone at the table focused in on Naruto, who slurped up the remaining noodles in his 19th bowl of ramen. "For tomorrow…I think I know what I'm going to say…" he started, feeding into everyone's interest.

"And that is?" asked Honest, keeping his composure as he awaited Naruto's answer.

With a smirk, Naruto spoke, "I'm sure that my answer tomorrow will make you a very happy man, Honest." he replied before diving into another bowl of ramen set by one of the servants.

' _It will make me a happy man? So he'll say yes? Because I would be a very happy man if he says yes.'_ thought Honest, "If that's the case…then let's eat to celebrate!" he said as he continued to cut through the large piece of meat his was eating with his brown teeth.

 **Timeskip…**

Poking her head through the slightly ajar door, Esdeath scanned for her fiancée in the lounge room meant for the servant's use during their breaks. Hearing her loves distinct laugh; she located Naruto in the back corner of the room talking with a few servants.

"-and then I slammed him into the ground with my foot and said, "I was nothing but nice to you, Hao," he started, his voice that was once filled with excitement switched into one of a dark tone as a shadow casted over his eyes, giving him the look of a villain, "I waited eight years for you, and this is what I get…...and then I destroyed more than half of the nutrients and water in his body, turning him into a raisin! hehehehehe!" he laughed.

"Woah…I didn't know you were so hardcore, Naruto…" said Tenzo, "You really did that to one of your peerage members?"

"Shoot, I woulda' did the same thang! If they're disrespectful, hit em' where it hurts!" shouted Joey, slamming his soda can on the table for added effect.

"That sounds a little scary, though…" said Veronica with a shudder. Naruto's story of his fight against Hao really showed the colder side of the Bael; the side that reminded her of his time in the war.

"It's called building character, Veronica." muttered Aiko, snacking on a chocolate bar, "I discipline my children the same way…."

Hayami gazed at the petite woman with uncertainty, "You mean…you beat them up?"

"They take up from their father. I must show my dominance." whispered the girl. Tenzo and Joey scooted away from the Aiko, who was emitting a dark aura while snickering.

"An-anyway, Hao and I are cool now, so everything all good." said Naruto, slightly disturbed by Aiko's pressure.

"That's nice. Maybe one day I'll have a peerage!" clapped Veronica, her bubbly attitude returning at full force.

"It's a lot of work, but making a peerage is the best idea I've ever had." grinned Naruto, "They've really helped me…."

"Awwww! Is Naruto getting soft?" mocked Joey.

Naruto chuckled, "Maybe…but that's the effect they have on me…"

 **Timeskip…**

"Whewww…" sighed Naruto as he sat down on Esdeath's bed. He had changed into a pair of gym shorts provided by the servants when he requested it earlier in the day. "Today was pretty good…"

"It was." replied Esdeath, slipping under the covers in her usual oversized dress shirt, "I never used some of the attractions here in the castle because I always considered them incompetent and a waste of time. I'm glad I got to experience those with you."

"I assume that your life was pretty bland before meeting me…" said Naruto as he followed suit, sliding under the covers, "Aahh….this feels nice..Ooh! and warm!"

"You are warm." said Esdeath, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulders.

"Aht! Nope!" Naruto said in distress, flicking his finger on her forehead, "I have a girlfriend."

She wined in pain as she scooted away from the blonde, rubbing her searing forehead, "I leaned on you while we were watching that movie! Why can't I do it now?" complained Esdeath like a girl being scolded by her parents.

"There was nothing 'funny' going on at that moment." explained Naruto, "I'd let my [Queen] lay on me whenever because I understand nothing's going on between us. However, this is different. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day." he said, signaling the end of their conversation by turning around, his back facing the blue-haired beauty.

Esdeath pouted, but obliged nevertheless. _'Tomorrow is a big day….the day you become mine…'_ were her last thoughts as she succumbed to her fatigue.

 **Timeskip – the next day**

 **Lord Bael's Castle**

' _This is it…'_ thought Naruto as he took in a long breath, _'It's finally time….'_

"Are you ready, Naru?" asked Esdeath. She was next to him, standing right outside the meeting room of the Bael Council.

Exhaling, Naruto opened his blue eyes as a fire of determination lit in his heart. "I was born ready…" he answered as he pushed open the doors.

All eyes were on them as they entered the room filled with Bael royals. Sitting atop his throne was Lord Bael, grinning at the sight of Naruto and Esdeath. "Naruto…Esdeath…Glad to see you two…"

"You as well, Lord Bael." Esdeath replied with a bow in respect. Naruto let Esdeath do the talking and followed her with a bow of respect. After that, the duo sat in the same seats they were in four days ago.

Naruto saw that Lord Agares and Magdaran were both present as well. _'Good…'_ he thought to himself.

"We've heard good things from Honest." said one of the older members of the council. Honest himself was near the middle of the table, shooting a quick wave at the couple. "How would you describe your time living with Honest, Esdeath, and his peerage members?"

"I…I enjoyed myself." answered Naruto. Some of the council members visibly reacted to Naruto's words, satisfied as to what they were hearing. "It was a little awkward at first, hehe…but, overall, a pleasurable experience."

"Interesting…" said another member, "And you, Esdeath? How would you describe being Naruto-san these past four days."

"The best in my life, of course." she stated with a smile, "Being with him fills the void in my heart. He's who I've been searching for all this time."

"Good." said Lord Bael, "It sounds like your four day test was successful," he said to Naruto, "So, have you made a decision to my offer? Will you marry Esdeath and join the Bael Council?"

…

…

…

…..

Naruto's silence puzzled the council, including Lord Bael. "Naruto?" he said again, wanting to hear the blonde's choice.

"Hehe….can we drop the act now?"

Lord Bael's eyes slightly widened at Naruto's words, before a small grin grew on his face. Leaning back into his throne, the leaders of Bael's violent eyes were filled with playfulness as he rests his head on his open palm. "I was wondering when you were going to grow some balls…" he said with a chuckle, his deep voice reverberating in the large room.

"I've always had them," replied Naruto, staring down Lord Bael without fear, "and I'm pretty sure mine our bigger than yours."

"Wa-wait." said one of the council members, "What's going on here?"

"Please, you don't have to do that anymore." said Naruto with a disregarding wave, "I know that you all hate me. This marriage is nothing but a ploy to tie me down because you fear my strength. Offering me a position on the Bael council….me marrying Esdeath...it isn't the same, but you're trying to lock me up again…just like last time…"

In an intense, the calm atmosphere of the room morphed into that of an intense courtroom. The council members glared at Naruto, their smiles long gone as their true intentions behind the arranged marriage were brought to light. Esdeath, however, was frowning. She gripped the sides of her skirt under the table, but didn't voice her opinions. Rather, she kept silent as Naruto cracked his neck, "There's the council that I know…" he said with a wide smile, "It's nice to meet all the people that put me in a box for over 500 years. What's new with you?"

"It doesn't matter if you chose not to marry Esdeath as we, the council, have the power to force you into it." said a blonde councilwoman, "You are still a member of Bael, so we will do with you as we see fit."

"I don't think so, lady." replied the ever-confident Naruto, "I think I'll do whatever I want."

"Ha!" laughed Lord Bael, "You think it's that simple? I can easily through you into a dungeon and wait until it's time for you to marry Esdeath! In fact, I think that's what I'm going to do now."

"You can….but never would have thought that the Bael Council was too pussy enough to get their hands dirty."

The glee that was once in Lord Bael's eyes quickly vanished, replaced by a raging anger. "What did you just say to me, boy?" he asked/demanded.

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders, not bothered by Lord Bael's **KI** spike, "All I'm saying is that you all should be able to handle me yourselves, right? 'The all-powerful Bael Council'," he mocked, "Tch…If this is how you handle things, then maybe you all are just weaklings hiding behind your titles."

"Enough of this!" shouted an elder, slamming his hand on the table, "You are out of line, simpleton! You shall do as we say!"

"I won't be marrying, Esdeath." said Naruto, not caring that she was sitting right next to him, "I will no longer be controlled by anybody. I will fight for my freedom with my strength." His eyes flashed red as his magic fluctuated, "I challenge Honest Bael to a Rating Game. If I win, I'll be freed from this arranged marriage. If he wins, I'll marry Esdeath the next day if I have to! Even if I can't face Honest now, I'll go through each and every single one of you, knocking you off of your pedestals by force if necessary!

"I declare war on the Bael Council…"

Naruto's words were only met with laughs. Even Lord Bael laughed at Naruto's declare, "My, my, little boy. I didn't take you for a clown!"

"What is he thinking?"

"War on us? It such a thing even possible!?"

"Hehe…"

"I knew he was an idiot for getting himself sealed, but this tops the cake!"

"War of the Bael Council? Hahaha! Preposterous!"

"Hehe…hahahaha!"

"Such a…..a…idiot…"

"AAAHhahahahahah!"

"Wha….what's he doing…"

"I'm laughing, you idiots!" cried out Naruto, holding his stomach as if he was in pain, "It's..hehehe! It's just too funny! You all really think that I'm playing?"

Lord Bael growled at Naruto, not liking that he wasn't fear-stricken given his current predicament. "How is this funny, you damned buffoon? We have the power t-

"Currently, I have 18 Devil Clans on my side." interrupted Naruto, "All of these clans hate how the Bael Clan acts superior, faulting its wealth and forcing the hands of weaker clans. That number shall increase after this meeting, seeing as I also gained the support of the Four Great Satans, who actually care about the Underworld, unlike you all. Following that, I have received word that Abaddon, Belphegor, and Nebiros, all Extra Demon Clans, have decided to join the political Underworld now that I have the Satan's on my side. I believe I have more than enough political power to at least demand a challenge for my freedom. Plus, wouldn't it be safer to deal with one little Devil compared to going to war with half of the Underworld, because we all know how that would end for you..."

Lord Bael's face was twisted with ferocity; his anger increasing the more Naruto spoke. "You bluff! None of that is true!" he shouted.

"No, you're the only bluff in the room, Lord Bael." smirked Naruto, causing a wave of uncertainty to wash through the Great King's body, "The Bael's respect power. Seeing as you are the Great King, you should be the strongest Devil in this clan, right?"

"I am…" he growled.

The blonde Bael laughed at the King's claim,"That….was a lie…" said Naruto, his confidence represented by his cocky grin, "Plus…how can you be the strongest Bael….when I am also a Bael? Heheeheh!"

"Are you referring that I am weaker than you?" asked Lord Bael, but with the tone he used, he demanded an answer.

"I'm saying that Mr. Honest over there," Naruto pointed to the surprised man now that everyone's eyes were on him, "can beat you. Isn't that right, Honest."

Honest's mouth was ajar in shock at what was transpiring. However, he recovered out of his shock and started to chuckle, "Young Naruto…you are a very smart man."

"I take up from my mother and father." he replied with a shrug.

"Honest!" shouted the Great King, "What is going on! Explain yourself!"

"There isn't that much to explain, 'Your Highness'." mocked the fat man, enraging Lord Bael further, "Let's be honest, you aren't that strong. While they haven't been promoted, I have two servants with the skills of an Ultimate-Class Devils in my peerage, and I am starting to assume they can both defeat you individually." he laughed, "You've never even participated in a Rating Game since you never had to prove your strength-It was just assumed that you were the best because you were born into the royal family. However, I believe that to be a bluff. Just like how Lord Zekram, the first Great King, fought for his position, we live under those same rules: Power is everything."

"You actually believe this fool, Honest?!" shouted the same female council member, "You really think he has half of the Underworld supporting him? We would have heard about this if it is true!"

"Oh please, Bianca-chan, you don't know Naruto like I do." said Honest, "He isn't lying when he says that half of the Devil Clans and the Satans support his efforts for what I assume is the throne, no?" he asked the blonde.

"Yup, yup, yup." replied Naruto.

"Then if he thinks he can do it, I know I can defeat you, Kyurem, and become Great King!" Honest laughed.

"Don't just assume you won't have a challenge to get there, Honest-san." This time, it was another councilman who spoke. He had the clan's famous black hair and violent eyes, and wore a royal white rob that covered his entire body, "This is my chance as well."

"Oh, please, Azelf-san." said Honest with an eye roll, "You think you can beat me? I didn't take you for the comedic-type.

The council went up in an uproar as another one of them betrayed Lord Bael. However, there was one Bael that didn't partake in the arguing. Magdaran Bael continued to hold his silence, not even interested in the chaos happening around him.

" _Hey there, little fella! "_

Mag's violent eyes looked towards Naruto, who was already staring at him with a wide-smile, _"You ready?"_

" _I am…"_ Magdaragn replied back with the mental link he shared with Naruto, _'Just tell me when…'_

"People! People!" clapped Naruto, catching everyone's attention, "First of all, I'm so happy that you all take me seriously now. Already, I've knocked down two important dominoes in the race for Great King."

"Oh, no, young Naruto." said Honest with an eerie grin, "I plan on destroying you as well. Then, my [Queen] will be happy. You are still a threat, and that arranged marriage is still active unless you beat me."

" _3…"_

"Then I suppose that is a challenge, Mr. Honest?"

"That is enough!" yelled the newly named Bianca, "I cannot tolerate anymore treachery! Honest! Azelf! If you truly plan on betraying Lord Bael, then leave this instant!"

"I might as well." shrugged Azelf as he stood from his cushion, "There's nothing here I need anymore. Just know that I'm coming for you, Great King…" muttered Azelf, staring daggers at the now quiet Great King.

" _2…"_

"I wanna go eat some meat anyway." grumbled Honest, "This meeting was probably are most enjoyable meeting we've had in a long time, though. Too bad this will be the last one."

"Wait! Wait-wait-wait, guys!" said Naruto with a playful grin, "You're gonna miss the best parrrrrtttt!"

"The best part?" said Honest, "What could be better than knowing my victory is assured in battle?"

" _1…"_

"Welllll…" said Naruto, stretching out his words, "Let's say you do defeat the big guy up there? What about his heirs?

" _Now."_

Magdaran, filled with determination, stood from his seat as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "I-

The doors of the meeting room burst open, shocking everyone. Pushing off the guards that tried to stop him, one Sairaorg Bael, in all his glory, stomped into the room. "I, Sairaorg Bael, renounce my name and claim to the throne of Great King! I'm through with this family!"

' _Br-brother!?'_ thought Magdaran, not believing that his own brother invaded the castle only to renounce his family name. However, after glancing at Naruto, who was smiling the entire time, he understood that it was all planned.

The shock at seeing his first born son lasted only a few seconds before Lord Bael recovered, "Tch…good riddance then. I was plotting on a way to get rid of you anyway, Sa-

"I, Magdaran Bael, re-renounce my name and claim to the throne of Great King!" he stuttered, but his message took effect as another round of gasp started.

Honest chuckled at the unpredictable turn of events, "Hehehe…would you look that…"he said, reveling at the sight of a shocked Lord Bael, "Even your heirs betrayed you, Kyurem…such a bad look for the Great King…all the more reason for me to take up the mantle."

"Hmph. I am done here." said Azelf, conjuring a teleportation seal, "Now that the stage has been set, I'll be making my challenge to one of you soon, since you loyalist will try to defend your King. Let the war begin." was his last words before disappearing.

"Let's go, Esdeath." ordered Honest, creating his own teleportation seal, "We've got some planning to do."

Esdeath, who had remained quiet, turned to Naruto for the first time since the meeting started. Her eyes, surprising enough to Naruto, were filled with glee as an evil smile etched itself on her face. "You seem happy." said Naruto.

"I am, because this way, I'll force you to marry me." she started, "You may not love me now, but when I defeat you and your peerage, I'll make you love me, even if I have to do some rather unruly things until my feelings to be reciprocated."

Naruto snickered, "Then fight, Esdeath. Fight me like I am one of your enemies in the Civil War. We'll leave it all out on the battlefield."

"And I shall." she said, standing to her feet, "Let's go, Honest." she said, not looking back at her fiancée.

"Thanks for making this possible, young Naruto." laughed Honest as the duo was consumed by his seal, "You'll regret ever giving me the chance…"

"Bye-bye." Naruto waved at them as the [King]/[Queen] duo disappeared. "Whew….gotta make sure I kill those two…."

"How dare you…" Naruto's gaze shifted to Bianca, whose face was red with rage as she stared at the blonde Bael, "How dare you destroy the solid foundation of the Bael Council! This is all your fault!"

"Hey! A minute ago, you were laughing at me because you didn't believe me? And how is it my fault that those two already planned on betraying this shitty social club, hehehe!" he laughed.

"If you want to destroy us so badly…THEN I'LL BE YOUR FIRST MATCH!" shouted Bianca, "I challenge you, Naruto Bael! I may not have a peerage, but I can fight you in a 1v1 match!"

"Then let's do battle…" said Naruto with an insane grin. Stomping on the table, he leaned closer to the enraged, platinum blonde Bael, "…and remember, death is considered accidents in Rating Games, hehehahahahaha!"

"Then I won't be blamed for your death by my hand." uttered Bianca with conviction.

"Hehehe! I like this one. She's got some spunk in her." laughed Naruto, "Sairaorg! Mag! Come next to me." said Naruto after he finished his laughing spree. Both Bael youths listened, moving to either side of Naruto, "Whelp, this was fun. And remember, Lord Bael, I'll be going through each and everyone one of you like dominoes…it may take some time, but I will knock you off."

"LEAVE MY CASTLE IMMEDIATELY!" Red aura washed over Lord Bael's body, destroying his throne as his Power of Destruction ran rampant in response of his anger.

"I will when I want to, Kyurem." muttered Naruto. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, controlling his insanity and lust for battle. His wild thoughts calmed down as his body relaxed itself. _'Good job….you did good, Naruto….'_

Releasing his breath, Naruto opened his eyes, revealing that they were a calm, soft, ocean-blue. Nothing like the insane look he had a few seconds ago. "Forgive me, Kyurem, that it had to be this way, but that's how the world works. I'm sure you understand, though."

"I said leave, Naruto, before I kill you, along with those things beside you." growled the massive man, referring to his two sons.

"Hmph…your threats mean nothing to me." said Naruto, "This is just the start. I will attack you from every direction, oh Great King of the Underworld. I'll have you on your knees, succumbing to the pressure I exert on you and this council as I tear it down one piece at a time. You'll see what I'm talking about soon…"

Glancing over to Bianca, who was shooting him a glare packed with so much **KI** , a Low-Class Devil would have fainted, Naruto grinned, "Three days…I'll make the arrangements."

"I can't wait." she said.

"Let's get outta here boys." Naruto said to the Sairaorg and Magdaran as he created a magic seal beneath them, "Remember, this is war, Bael Council members….the next time we meet will be on the battlefield…." was his last words as they disappeared.

… **..**

…

… **..**

…

…

 **And with that, we've entered the final arc of BreakThrough**

 **Man, oh man…that was a big one.**

 **I guess I'm just addicted to making long chapters. Even though I keep saying I won't make long chapters, they just keep coming out.**

 **Anyway, I really don't have much to say for this chapter. I left everything on the table and it's for your to decide whether or not you like what's going on. I told you all that I had a plan, so bearing through the last two chapters lead to this. Thank you for those that decided to stick it out.**

 **I took this chapter to really get into the dynamic of Naruto and Esdeath. I'm pushing Esdeath's philosophy that they are both the same, which troubled Naruto at first, but he's come to accept the fact that they are very similar, and has already pushed pass that-confusing Esdeath, who has lived her life following one mantra and never needing to change. Of course, I made the two go through different scenes with each other: some when they were having fun, some when they were angry towards each other, and some when they were neutral. The two are placing all of their beliefs and morals into one fight-which will be the deciding factor of their one-sided relationship. I hope those that hated the Esdeath's character in Chapter 26. Again, Esdeath is the villain. Hate her. Love her. But she isn't the nice guy...girl...**

 **This war isn't a massive-scaled one. It'll be a small one amoungst the top Bael's: Kyurem's (the name I gave Lord Bael. I'm playing off of the Pokémon names since the first Great King, Zekram, is named after the legendary pokemon Zekram) loyalist, the Bael Council traitors, and Naruto himself. I hope you all like what's going on.**

 **Also, I've finished My Hero Academia and read up to the latest chapter of Seven Deadly Sins. While I enjoy both, watching My Hero has really inspired me and that story idea I had is really good! Too bad that I won't make it into a story! My second year of college is slowly approaching and I won't have the time to deal with another story….but man….this idea is really good…it's keeping me up at night, the same way the idea for BreakThrough did before I actually decided to just put this shit out…**

 **But yeah, this is probably in contention for the longest chapter ever. I'm not even gonna say this is gonna be the last super long chapter, cuz I'm probably lying. I really do hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and for those that didn't like how Naruto was acting like a 'bitch'…well, he was savage to me in this chapter.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	29. GrowingMomentum

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutuPlug, still smirking at my amazingness that is Chapter 28.**

 **I TOLD YALL, I TOLD YALL, I TOLD YALL! Maannnnn, it's crazy how people literally dropped BreakThrough because they couldn't make it through either chapter 26 or chapter 27 because of Naruto's forced engagement and other things. Listen, I consider myself to be a humble person, as most of you all will back up as I respond to almost all of my reviews to thank you for supporting me (if you review on BreakThrough a lot and don't check your Pm, check them because you've probably missed messages from me), but that last chapter tho…damn man…just damn…**

 **I really-REALLY-put in a lot of work into the last chapter. I wanted to describe everything and make it a long read so you all would feel satisfied with everything going on. From the minor to major characters, I wanted every interaction Naruto had in chapter 28 to be important and make it a good read. Based on the feedback I'm getting, you all really enjoyed the last chapter and now feel good about the story again.**

 **Whew….glad I dug outta that hole…I got a little scared for a second…**

 **BUT MY AWESOME CREATIVITY (again, a humble brag) PULLED THROUGH AGAIN! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! IT'S GREAT BEING ME!**

 **And it's great having an amazing fan base that actually enjoys my crazy imagination in print. Thanks for everything, guys and gals.**

 **Also, a lot of you were wondering about that My Hero Academia idea that I had and whether or not I'll do something with it….**

 **Probably not…I think after BreakThrough is over with, I'll be leaving FanFiction…..**

 **But with me…you never know…hell, even I don't even know…I think about the story premise a lot, just like how I used to think of BreakThrough's story premise a lot a year before I even made the story. All I'm saying is that you never know what may happen…**

 **I maybe in the works of making the story now…**

 **Or I could be writing this chapter to get away from doing a scholarship essay I haven't even started that's due August 1 (today is July 30) while watching YouTube…..**

 **Hmmm….Question that needs to be answered….**

 **Again, thank you all for the love and support.**

 **Let's continue the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **GrowingMomentum**

 **Two Days Later…**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"Wheewweee….I haven't slept like that in a while…" yawned Kisame, walking down the stairs in nothing but his purple boxers. Behind him, Samehada lazily rolled down the stairs on its side, too tired to shuffle down them like it usually would. "And now for the best way to start the day off: orange juice." he mumbled, scratching the small, unshaved hairs on his chin as he made his way to the kitchen-specifically, the fridge.

Opening the large fridge, Kisame grunted as he pushed through all of Lee's protein shakes, Kuroka's various cartons of milk, and other package goods for all of the Devils in the large household. "There she is…" Kisame said with a grin as he retrieved of his orange juice from the back of the fridge.

Slamming the door of the fridge shut, Kisame, with his living sword following him, exited the kitchen and entered the living room. "Oof!" he said as he jumped into his recliner. Samehada, using its scales, climbed up the sides of the chair and sat on Kisame's lap.

"Good girl." he said to his sword and used its body as an arm rest. Unscrewing the top of the orange juice carton, Kisame took a few gulps of the liquid with satisfaction. "Ahh! Damn, that shit is good." he said as he grabbed the remote to the TV, "Hopefully their talk about something interesting today…" he said as he turned the TV on.

" _-and he think that he can just take over the damn Underworld just by fighting the Bael Council!"_ shouted a blond haired woman, _"Well, I call bullshit. While there are things that could be fixed in the Underworld, we're going to give a man that disappeared for over 500 years and wears jeans at high-class functions the most powerful position in the Underworld?!"_

" _It's not like we can do anything about it, Tomi."_ said a tan-skinned man man sitting at the large desk with her, _"This is Bael Clan business. The Satan's can't get involved nor can any of other Noble Devil Clans. Not even URGA, the Underworld Rating Game Association, has any control towards the rules of the match with Naruto Bael and his first opponent, Bianca Bael. They've only been giving permission by the Bael Clan to film their fight as a means to publically humiliate Naruto Bael if he loses-_

" _And I hope he does!"_ she interrupted rudely, _"Looking at everything he's done, Naruto Bael is a selfish, unworthy, insanely stupid, and a unfit member of this society that Devils have worked so hard to make! All this cry about him being an inspiration to Low-Class Devils…if I was a Low-Class Devil, I'd ask myself what has Naruto Bael ever done with for me? The answer is nothing!"_

" _Nothing but express his frustrations about how Low-Class Devils have been treated?"_ asked the man, which garnered a applause from the audience, _"Like, every time he interviews after a Rating Game, he says that he does it to show that Low-Class Devils can become even stronger than High-Class Devils given they are supported and in a healthy environment, something some Devil houses don't provided to their peerage members and servants. And, not to piss on everything you've said, even though I'm going to anyway because I'm that type of guy, but he has half the Underworld backing him in his efforts to overthrow the Bael's."_

" _Then half of the Underworld are idiots."_ said Tomi, getting a collective gasp from the audience, _"Trevor, you do realize that if he loses ONCE, it's over for him. The Bael's will literally kill him under the act of insubordination and hurting the clan…THE BAEL CLAN!"_

" _Sweet Lucifer, woman. How can you be so loud?"_ said Trevor, rubbing his ringing ears from Tomi's voice _,_ getting another round of laughter from the live audience.

"Lame." said Kisame, switching channels after hearing enough of the debating duo.

" _SKkkkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppppppp!"_ stretched out a large, dark-skinned man in a nice suit, _"You can't tell me-CAN'T TELL ME!-that Naruto Bael ain't the truth! The dawg-on TRUTH I TELL YA'!"_

" _This again…."_ groaned Skip.

" _Hehehe!"_ giggled Shannon, _"My boy going to the top! The tip top! GREAT KING TOP, SKIP!"_

" _And you really think that he's going to fight each and every single one of those High-Classed Bael's and win every time?"_

" _He's gonna win and then some, SKIP!"_ shouted Shannon, _"You just a hater. Just hatin on my boy! Them old geezers ain't hitting on nun like Naruto and his peerage is!"_

" _I don't know…"_ muttered Skip, " _Honest Bael does have a mean group of peerage members with him...I've heard a thing or two about that Budo guy he has-_

" _Budo-BOOTY! He BOOTY!"_

"He's funny, but he screams a lot…and he's not talking about me." said Kisame, flipping to another channel.

" _-and the pictures taken discreetly by those at the famous Battle Coliseum's of Reshiram in the Bael Territory of Naruto Bael and Esdeath, Honest Bael's [Queen], it seems that the two knew of their engagement before it was made public after Lucifer-sama's explained everything at his press conference yesterday."_ said a female reporter, _"Here is a snippet of Lucifer-sama's press conference explaining the relationship between the two."_

" _Naruto Bael and Esdeath are planned to bewed because of a marriage contract made by the Bael Council."_ The screen switched to Sirzechs behind a podium with various microphones surrounding him. Cameras were flashing all around him as reporters took pictures and recorded the Red Satan. _"According to Naruto-san himself, the marriage is a ploy to tie him down to Honest Bael's [Queen]. The Bael Council sees Naruto-san as a threat and had to find a way to contain him. Naruto-san has challenged and will face Honest Bael sometime in the near future."_

" _With the support of the Satans and half of the Devil Houses, what do you hope for Naruto-sama to accomplish with this so-called 'war' with the Bael Council and what will you benefit from it, Lucifer-sama?"_ asked a reporter.

" _This 'war' is solely fought by Naruto-san,"_ began Sirzechs, _"While risky, it saves the Noble Devil House a lot of time and money by allowing only one person fighting on their behalf. The Bael Council and the Great King have been abusing their power and something must be done about it. And when Naruto defeats the Bael Council and Lord Bael, he will become the new Great King and has agreed to helping the Satans with his power."_

" _What will be one of the first things that Naruto-san will focus on when he is Great King?"_

" _Well, he has expressed extreme interest in helping the Low-Class Devils in-"_

"Why isn't there anything good on!?" shouted an aggravated Kisame as he rapidly flipped through channels.

"Please don't break the TV, Kisame." said Orochimaru as he walked down the stairs in his morning robe, "That is the only TV we have in the house."

"Like you care! You don't even watch TV!" growled the blue-skinned man, "This is some bullshit. I'm going on YouTube to see if some of those funny guys made another video…"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at the obnoxious [Knight] and entered the kitchen. His coffee maker had automatically made his coffee due to the timer he set on it, so all he had to do was grab a mug and pour himself some of his favorite drink. "Ahhh…" he sighed in content after taking a sip, "It's been a while since I could drink coffee without anything stressful going on…"

The snake man ignored the blaring TV in the living room and enjoyed the taste of his bitter drink in silence. After a while, opened his golden orbs when he sensed Anna nearing the kitchen. He heard the girl mutter a curse at Kisame in the living, in which he returned a barrage of his own, before entering the kitchen. "Good morning…" she said in her usual monotone voice. She was wearing one of Yoh's undershirts and a pair of shorts, along with the slides she would wear around the house.

"Good morning, Anna." he answered back with a rise of his mug, "Plan on making breakfast?"

"Eggs." she stated, "Would you like some?"

"I'd appreciate it. Eggs are my favorite food." he said after taking another sip of coffee. Now, both [Pawn] and [Bishop] ignored the blaring TV and Kisame's occasional laughter as Anna started to make breakfast.

"Do you have any plans today, Anna?" asked Orochimaru, deciding to make small talk with the silent [Bishop].

"Sleep. Read magazines. Wedding plans." she answered.

"Wedding plans?" he snickered, which slightly annoyed Anna, "Haven't you two given up on getting married? Whenever you try to do so, it always gets ruined. What happened the last time you two tried to make it official?"

Anna was currently stirring the eggs together in a bowl, but her annoyance grew as she her failed attempt at marrying her fiancée was brought up by the snake man. "That dumb Yoh….." she muttered, her stirring speed increasing with her anger, "We tried to do something different…we had the event at the Familiar Forest….but Yoh dropped the ring as soon as he was going to put it on my finger….and a small dragon flew in a took it for itself…..and a tentacle monster surprise attacked the priest…"

Orochimaru held in his evil laughs at the sight of smoke shooting out of Anna's ears as her vigorous stirring caused the eggs to fly everywhere on the countertop. "Sounds interesting…" he replied with a snort.

"Shut up." the blonde said with a heavy glare before retrieving more eggs from the fridge to start over.

Soon, Hao entered the kitchen, already donned in his usual tan tunic. "Good morning, Anna. Orochimaru." he said politely while opening a cabinet for his own mug.

"Morning/Hmm…." replied Orochimaru and Anna, "Do you plan on going to the Phenex's today?" Orochimaru asked the older Asakura twin.

"Yes. I shall be leaving soon." replied Hao, pouring himself of the freshly made coffee. "Anything important going on today?"he asked.

"Not really. Naruto-sama's fight with that Bael woman is tomorrow. The only thing we need to do is wait until it's time for their battle." said the snake man, "I assuming that the weaker members of the Bael Council will our first few matches, so I'm not expecting any difficulty defeating them in combat."

"So they're going to be boring, is what you're saying…" mumbled Hao into his mug, "Such a waste of time. I could kill them easily and get on with it."

"No." butted in Anna as she poured her eggs into an awaiting skillet, "Not from you."

Hao snickered at his soon to be sister-in-law's worries, "I'm not going to go crazy, Anna. Will you ever trust me when it comes to violence?"

"No." she stated again without hesitation.

"What a nice relationship you two have." Orochimaru said with sarcasm as he lightly chuckled at the duo.

"Watch yourself, Orochimaru." Anna said, shooting a dead stare at the pale man.

Again, Orochimaru chuckled at Anna's threat, "This is why I like this group. So many different personalities, although, Kisame and Lee can be such a bother at times, but I like you two the most: the more educated members of our little group."

Hao was about to retort, but the sound of someone banging on the backdoor filled the air. "HEY! HEY!I KNOW YOU IDIOTS HERE ME! I DEMAND THAT YOU LET ME IN! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

The kitchen trio sighed, all-too familiar with the owner of said voice. "He's back again?" muttered Anna in annoyance, a noticeable tick mark growing on her head.

"The child seemingly gets along with Lee...I don't know why or how, though." said Orochimaru. The person banging on the door was none other than Ryuga, the same humanoid-dragon Yoh, Anna, Lee, and Orochimaru fought during the Rating Game against Tannin. The day after the Rating Game, Ryuga had somehow found out where the group lived and proceeded to banging on their door, demanding a rematch against Orochimaru, Yoh and Anna. Hao was going to kill him for disturbing them, especially since it was a tough time while they worried over their master's absence, but, surprising to the group, Lee was the one that calm down and seemingly befriended the young [Pawn] of Tannin.

"If someone doesn't shut him up, I'm gonna do it myself!" yelled Kisame from the living room.

"I wouldn't stop Kisame if he decided to do so. That child is annoying…" groaned Hao as Ryuga continued to demand entrance into their house.

"YOSH!" A fully-cloth Lee jumped down from the top of stairs dashed through the living room, "Good morning, Mr. Kisame!"

"Fuck you and get your dumb ass friend before I shove Samehada up his ass!" yelled/demanded the blue-skinned [Knight] whose relaxation was disturbed by the loud Ryuga.

Entering the kitchen, the ever-hyper [Rook] weaved through Anna, Hao, and Orochimaru with swiftness, "Good morning, Mr. Orochimaru! Anna-sama! Hao-sama!" greeted Lee as he opened the refrigerator door and grabbed two large bottles that were filled with his protein shakes, "I assume that you all slept well?"

"Yes, we slept well Lee-and good morning to you as well." said Orochimaru, not even sparing his junior a glance as he closed his eyes, lost in the taste of his coffee, "Your friend is outside, if you haven't heard him yet."

"That's why I'm in such a rush! I didn't know he'd be here so early!" said Lee as he placed the two bottles of protein shakes on the island before jumping over Hao and landing on the countertop. Opening one of the various cupboards, Lee grabbed a container of chocolate-flavored, powered protein and unscrewed the top. Jumping down from the counter, Lee grabbed the teaspoon sitting inside of the tub and scooped some of the powder and threw it into Anna's eggs, "There you go! That way, you can eat a delicious meal that's filled with protein!"

Lee quickly screwed tight the lid to his protein and jumped back on top of the counter to put it back, unknowingly dodge Anna's attempt at stabbing him in the back with a knife she quickly retrieved from a nearby drawer. Flipping off the counter, the energetic boy grabbed the two shakes sitting on the island and perfectly landed on the other side. "I'll see you all later!" he shouted as he rushed outside to meet with Ryuga.

"Lee! What the fuck!? You had me waiting out here for two minutes! The great Ryuga doesn't wait for anyone!" shouted the enraged boy.

"Good morning, Ryuga!" said Lee, not caring for Ryuga's anger, "Sadly, Yoh can't join us today because he has to go repair his sword with a blacksmith he found not too long ago. However, I did bring you one of my protein shakes that I told you about!" he said while giving the humanoid dragon one of the bottles.

"Protein? I don't want any-" Lee grabbed the sides of Ryuga's mouth with his left hand, forcing it open, and poured his protein shake in his mouth.

Once released from Lee's death grip, Ryuga was about to tear into Lee for touching him, but started to smack his lips as the taste of the shake intrigued him. "Hmm….this is good! I shall forgive you for being late and forcing me to eat such deliciousness if you bring me another the next time we hang out…"

"Absolutely!" shouted Lee, happy that his new friend enjoyed his shakes, "Now let's go! Gaia and Seekvaira our waiting for me! I can't wait to introduce you to them!"

"Wha-those sound like girl names? Girls actually like being with you?" said an confused Ryuga as the duo teleported to a different area.

Back in the kitchen, Anna stared at her destroyed eggs with a silent fury. While the eggs were cooked, Lee's chocolate-flavored protein looked like a pile of dirt mixed in with the eggs. Brown spots littered the eggs surface, along with a few brown bubbles on the surface. He body shook as she gripped the spatula in her hand until it broke into, the pieces falling to the floor with a loud 'clang'.

Both Orochimaru and Hao peered over the silent girl's shoulder to inspect Anna's ruined breakfast. "Hmm…..never mind, Anna. You can give Yoh my portion." said Orochimaru, his face twisted in disgust as a brown smoke cloud floated in the air when one of the bubbles popped.

"I'm gonna eat at the Phenex's…." muttered Hao before teleporting away, leaving to be safe from any potential outburst Anna may have.

"Yoooo….." yawned the newly arrived, shirtless Naruto, "What's going on, everyone?"

"Let's leave Anna by herself for now, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, turning the confused blonde around and walking back into the living room with Kisame, leaving Anna by herself as continue to stare at her ruined breakfast with a dead look in her eyes.

"Hey, idiot." Kisame said when Orochimaru and Naruto sat on their own couch, "Didn't you say something about that woman next door coming over today?"

"Misla?" said Naruto, "Yeah, she's coming over to talk about my opponent, Bianca Bael." he confirmed, "She said she wanted me to be fully prepared before my match tomorrow."

Kisame grunted at Naruto's words as he scanned through potential videos on YouTube to watch, "Well, if it were me, I'd just go charging in without any info….more funner that way." said the shark demon with his classic way of talking.

"I agree, but since this is kinda important and there are so many risks at hand, I guess it'd be safe just to know a little more about who I'm fighting…they've most certainly watched my Rating Games, so me getting to learn about their abilities just evens out the playing field."

"I still wouldn't do it…" said Kisame as he settled for a video to watch, "Those pansies act all high and mighty! They would cry their fucking asses off if they were stuck in a 1-v-1 against me! I don't got no feelings for them!"

"Same, buddy. I promise you-you'll enjoy the show I put on." said Naruto with a grin.

"Good." said Kisame. The sound of someone slowly walking down the stairs alerted the group as all eyes moved to the staircase. Yoh waved at the trio when he was halfway down , "Yo." he said with a smile as he finished his descent.

"Yoh, Anna made you eggs for breakfast." said Orochimaru, feigning innocence as he held back an evil grin, "She's in the kitchen waiting for you."

"Thanks!" Yoh said with a grin, "Might as well get in a good breakfast before I go repair Harusame!" he exclaimed before heading for the kitchen.

"Hmmm….that poor soul…" muttered Orochimaru, watching Yoh enter the kitchen, not knowing what was awaiting him inside, "Anna doesn't like to waste food, either…"

"If I cared, I would feel bad…..but I don't…" said Kisame as he laughed at a scene on TV, "Boy oh boy, these YouTubers will do anything for views….." Kisame growled as he perched his head up with his palm, "Today is gonna be so borrrriinnggg…" he groaned

"Maybe for you, but not me." said Naruto while kicking his feet up on the coffee table, "I'm gonna work on this seal I'm developing to show off in one of our Rating Games against the Bael Council until Misla comes….I just came down here to say high to everyone before I locked myself in my room to work."

Orochimaru was going to respond, but his golden eyes darted towards the front door when he heard something outside. _'I don't sense anyone outside…but I know I heard something…_ ' His eyes narrowed when someone knocked on the door, putting Orochimaru on edge.

"Eh? Someone's at the do-

"I'll get it, Master." said Orochimaru, stopping Naruto's attempt to check who was there in favor of doing it himself.

The snake man's tenseness disappeared, however, when he opened the door and was greeted to the sight of a smiling Gabriel holding a silver pan that was filled with cupcakes. "Hello there, Orochimaru!" she said with a smile that radiated happiness and purity.

"Gabriel-sama? We weren't expecting you." said Orochimaru, fully opening the door and allowing the Seraph entrance, "Nevertheless, it's still good to see you."

Entering the house, Gabriel walked into the living room where she saw Naruto, whose eyes lit at the sight of his girlfriend, and Kisame who shoot her a small wave. "Gabriel!" said the blonde Bael, standing out of his seat and moving towards the Angel. Gabriel handed her pan filled with cupcakes to Orochimaru so she could fully embrace Naruto in a long hug. "It's good to see you, Naru…" she whispered as she sank into the warmth of their hug.

A satisfying sigh escaped Naruto's lips as Gabriel's angelic voice enters his ears. "You don't have any idea how good it is to hear that from you…" he said, an image of a haunting Esdeath flashing in his mind. Wanting to discard any thoughts of the blue-haired Devil, Naruto rapidly kissed Gabriel's face, his lips landing on her cheeks, nose, and forehead.

She giggled cutely at his wanted affection, "Naruto!" she laughed as she playfully tried to push him away, but the Devil had other ideas as he continued to clutch onto her waist, bringing her closer as his lips continued their assault.

"Alright now…" said Kisame, slightly peeved and disgusted at the affectionate display from the two, "If you two wanna lick each other's faces off, go do it somewhere else! I'm tryna watch my YouTube in peace!"

"Sorry, Kisame." smirked Naruto as he led his Angel to the couch he was previously sitting at, "It's just been a while since I've been with Gabriel, so I'm happy to see her."

"How did you even get here, Gabriel-sama?" asked Orochimaru, taking seat in another couch while setting Gabriel's cupcakes in his lap.

"Oh! I took the Gremory Train first then teleported here!" she exclaimed as she leaned on Naruto's shoulder, "I wanted to surprise you all for your victory against Tannin, so I decided to make some cupcakes for everyone to enjoy…..however, it was then that I realized that I'm not the best cook-nor are all of the other Seraphs..." she muttered as a frown marked her beautiful face, "I didn't want our servants to make them for me, so it took few days for me to get it right…"

From the kitchen entrance, Yoh's head peaked out into the living room as he gave the air a sniff, "Do I smell cake...sniff sniff…vanilla flavor?"

"No." Anna's strong hand gripped Yoh's collar and pulled him back into the kitchen, "You're going to eat the eggs that I cooked for you."

"But, Aaaannnnannnaaaaaaa!" cried out Yoh as he was dragged on the floor by his powerful fiancée, "It tastes like shit!"

"Blame your friend for that…" growled Anna.

"Oh my…" said Gabriel as the group listened to Yoh's wails, "Anna really is scary when she wants to be."

Orochimrau's eyes shifted from the kitchen to the floor when he saw Samehada try to sneak away the cupcakes using its long scales. Noticing that it was caught red-handed, the demonic sword tried to smile at the snake man, but failed in any attempt at looking innocent as saliva dripped down from its open maw filled with razor sharp teeth and a massive tongue. "Fine…" Orochimaru said, placing the pan on top of Samehada. With a squeal, Samehada crawled back to Kisame, giving him the pan.

"Now let's see how good these are!" said Kisame, throwing the plastic top behind him and grabbed a few cupcakes. Handing some to Samehada as well, the duo munched on Gabriel's homemade cupcakes. "Mmhhhh! This is pretty good!" said Kisame.

"I guess those belong to Kisame and Samehada now." laughed Naruto, "But I'm sure they appreciate your treat, Gabriel."

"OOHh yea!" Kisame said with a mouth stuffed with cupcakes.

Orochimaru scowled at the sight of Kisame's unruly way of eating, "Disgusting…..you need to learn some manners…"

Gabriel giggled at both Kisame and Samehada's antics, "Thanks, you two. I shall make more for when you win your next fight against Bianca Bael."

That put Naruto on edge as he sat up, confusing Gabriel with his sudden movement. "Is everything alright, Naru?" she asked the blonde.

"Ye-yea…" he muttered hesitantly, "..but how do you know about my fight against her?" he asked as he felt his heart start to pound in fear. _'Does she know about Esdeath?'_

"During my ride on the Gremory Train, there were a few TVs I was able to watch." the Angel started, "One of the segments from a news channel here in the Underworld was about your dispute against the Bael Council and your fight against Bianca Bael tomorrow." she answered truthfully, "I didn't really think much of it. You did tell me a week before your fight against Tannin about your plan to overthrow the Bael Council. It seems everything is starting to happen. Did I do something wrong?" she asked with a head tilt, which was extremely cute, but could have had more of an effect on the blonde if she was smiling instead of frowning.

' _I guess she hasn't heard about my engagement then…'_ he thought as he released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He noticed that both Kisame and Orochimaru gazed at Gabriel during her explanation, and how their eased once she finished. _'Good….I guess the best option is keeping her away from anything that could spill the beans…'_

Mentally agreeing with himself, Naruto wrapped his arm around Gabriel's waste, pulling her body back into him, "You didn't do anything wrong, Gabriel. We're just….surprised at how big things have gotten. Right, guys?"

"Correct, Naruto-sama."

"Sum' like that…munch munch….damn, these are good…."

"See? Nothing's wrong." reassured Naruto, "I was going to work on a seal I've been tweaking with, but I'll hang out with you today, Gabriel. How's that sound?"

"Great!" she said, her smile returning at full force which warmed the Bael's heart.

 _"If her 'boyfriend' is now in a political marriage, she'll duck off, leaving you all for me~"_

"So what are we watching, Kisame!" grinned Naruto as he ignored the wave of uncertainty that flooded his head, "I wanna laugh at something, so make it funny!"

"Funny? Hohoho!" Kisame licked his fingers clean before grabbing the remote, causing Orochimaru to glare at him at his unsanitary actions, "Ever heard of the 85 South Show?"

 **Timeskip…**

 **Phenex Castle**

Outside at one of the various training grounds in Phenex Castle, Hao sat on a bench next to Ravel Phenex as they watched Riser flood the air with the legendary flames of the Phenex Clan. The third born son of Lord and Lady Phenex growled to himself as he finished his deadly dance by releasing to large fireballs from his right and left hand. The two fireballs flew at an angle instead of straight, curving through the air until they both smashed into each other and the imaginary target Riser made.

He huffed as his cloths and hair fluttered from the strong winds of his combination attack, a small smile growing on his face as he looked at the fiery spectacle. From beneath, the sound of light clapping caught his attention, causing him to look down at Hao and Ravel who were both applauding his combination attack.

"Pretty good," complimented Hao, "but not good enough." he said, his applauding cutting shorter than Riser expected, causing the older Phenex to frown, "While your power outage is high-level, your immediate control over your flames is lacking. Just throwing your flames at your opponent and hoping they hit isn't going to fly anymore."

Riser landed on the ground and recalled his flaming wings, "Riser doesn't understand. We've been at this for an hour! How can I control my flames any better than before?"

Hao sighed, annoyed at Riser's anger, "Maybe if you weren't so angry, you'd be able to comprehend what I'm talking about. I guess all of the talent skipped you and went straight to your sister."

"Preposterous!" laughed Riser, "While my sister is talent, seeing as she is a Phenex, but she can't be better than me!"

"Maybe not in terms of brute power, but in control…" Hao turned to the silent Ravel, "Please give your brother a demonstration, Ravel?"

The drill-haired girl nodded and created a small flame within her delicate palm. With one small motion of her finger, the flame flew towards Riser before darting right, mimicking Ravel's finger. "See?" said Hao as the small flame danced around the astonished Riser, "Control. She has it. You lack it…seems like Ravel is the better student out of the two you."

"Thank you, Hao-sama!" she said as she laughed at Riser's shocked face, "Who would've thought that I was better than big brother!"

"Y-you are not better than the great Riser-sama!" yelled Riser with a hurt ego, "I just need more practice! Where did you learn such a technique, Ravel!? I demand an answer!"

"What did I tell you about demanding things from people?" said Hao with an eye smile. Riser shivered when he felt the presence of Spirit of Fire lingering behind him. While it wasn't in its full form, its head had materialized behind the Phenex boy and was looking at him like a snack. "Ask nicely."

Riser rolled his eyes and sighed at Hao's request/order. "Little sister…" he started, "May you please inform Riser on how you learned to control your fire so fluently?"

"Good." Hao said with a nod, approving of Riser's edited demand.

"It was from holding that little flame Hao-sama would make to help me become comfortable around fire again." she said, "I would get bored, so I would play with it for a while until I could control it…"

"It's what I intended her to accomplish from the beginning." revealed Hao, slightly surprising the two, "Now, as she grows old and her magic increases, she'll be able to control her flames at an entirely higher level than you currently can." said Hao.

"Pfft…." mumbled Riser, "….so…."

"Anyway, we'll end training for today." said Hao, standing from the bench he shared with Ravel.

"Are you sure? We haven't been out here that long?" questioned Ravel as she followed Hao's action.

"True, but today I have a different lesson for you two…a humbling one." he said.

The two Phenex children glanced at each other in confusion, not sure as to what the older Asakura twin had in mind. "So where are we going?" asked Riser?

"The Vassago Clan's Territory…" he answered, "There's a city there called Horokeu. There is where your lesson will be learned."

"Hmm…Riser has never been to Horokeu, so I can't teleport there." he said.

"Me too." backed his sister.

"I've got that covered." said Hao as he pulled out three slips of paper from his pants. The siblings noticed how the papers were covered in seals. "Anna made these when a certain 'event' happened not too long ago and found them useful. They're called synchronizing seals, allowing me to transport others with my teleportation spells." Hao placed the three spell tags on the ground and created a large teleportation seal for the tree of them. "If you feel a tug on your magic, don't fight it. Let's go." he said as the trio disappeared in a flash of light.

 **Vassago Territoy - City of Horokeu**

The three Devils reappeared in front of a gate surrounding a large building-it was far from the size of the Phenex Castle, but was many times larger than Naruto's Peerage House. Both Ravel and Riser analyzed their surroundings, noticing the bustling city not too far from them. Whatever facility they were at, is was located in the outer circle of the city.

Riser's eyes narrowed when he saw a sign hanging on the black gate. "Iron Maiden…Orphanage?" he said in confusion, "You brought us to an orphanage?"

"It's time you two learn just how lucky you are." said Hao, staring at the gate as if he were waiting for something, "You two used to look down on those that are a part of a lower-social ranking…it's time to expose you two to life outside of that castle of yours."

Riser was going to retort, but was interrupted by a purple teleportation seal appearing from the other side of the gate. Out from the seal grew two people- the first being a red eyed girl with long silver hair. She wore a Victorian-era styled dress that made her look like a maid, but the Phenex siblings could tell she was anything but that from the power that exuded from her.

Next to her was an average-sized, blond haired man wearing what seemed to be a white battle uniform with a black midsection covering his stomach. The unnamed man's glasses gleamed in the light as he pushed them up on his nose, "It seems Hao-sama is back, Jeanne-sama." said the man.

"Oh, Hao-sama! It's nice to see you back." said the newly named Jeanne with a soft smile as she clasped her hands together, "Everyone watched your Rating Game against Tannin-sama a few days ago! The children were very impressed!"

"I'm glad they were." chuckled Hao. Motioning to Riser and Ravel, Hao continued, "I've brought guest: Ravel Phenex and Riser Phenex, children of Lord and Lady Phenex. I've been teaching them for the past few weeks and wanted to bring them here to volunteer."

"Volunteer?" said Riser with a raised eyebrow.

"Volunteer." confirmed Hao, shooting a quick glare at Riser that was packed with **KI** , "And I won't tolerate any disobedience from either of you…" he all but growled.

Ravel and Riser gulped as his murderous intent faded as quick as it came. "Hai…" the duo said with a lack of enthusiasm.

Marco, the man guarding Jeanne, gazed at the two Phenex's with distrust in his eyes. "I'm not sure that the children should be around these two, Jeanne-sama…I still say that Hao-sama shouldn't be allowed around the children either…he may be a bad influence…"

"Honestly, Little Marco," said Hao with a grin, crossing his arms while shifting his weight to his left leg, "I haven't done anything that bad…I'm starting to assume that you just don't like me." he finished with his famous cocky grin.

"No, I have reason to distrust you." said Marco, glancing over towards Ravel, "Why, I can pull of the Rating Game of you only seconds away from devouring that girl with that monstrosity you call a partner." he countered.

"Mah, water under the bridge." Hao said with a dismissive wave, "Now can I come in…or shall I just fly over the gate?"

"You're all welcomed!" said a happy Jeanne as she clapped her hands twice. Hao, Ravel, And Riser took a few steps back as the gate opened. "Since you've been here many times before, I'm sure you can give those two a walkthrough of how my orphanage works." she said softly before turning and headed back to the building. Marco glared at Hao before following Jeanne's lead.

"Come." ordered Hao, starting their march up the long walk way, "I don't want nor do I need you two to cause any trouble. I don't know if I'll be able to control myself if you did something stupid here…."

"Uh…Hao-sama? Are the kids here nice?" asked Ravel with uncertainty. She wasn't expecting to be volunteering at a orphanage of all places, and she didn't want to mess up and face Hao's wrath.

"They….can be…" muttered Hao, not helping the girl's internal struggles, "You'll just have to find where you fit in."

"If that's the case, I should be able to fit in everywhere, seeing as the children will recognize me as the great Riser-sama." said Riser with a large smirk, "They'll be swooning over my royalty."

"Hmph…" snickered Hao as the group approached the front door, "Keep that same energy…"

Halting in front of the main door, Jeanne looked back at the group behind her, "They should all be gathered in the main hall with Cebin-san and Meene-san. They'll be so excite that you've returned, Hao-sama." she said with a kind hearted smile that could turn a murderer into a preacher.

Marco opened the door for the group and Jeanne led them down the hallway into a big room filled with children. At a glance, both Ravel and Riser assumed that there were over forty kids gathered together as they were mesmerized by the cartoon on the TV. Behind the children were two adults in recliners, wearing the same uniform that Marco wore. One was a cute, brunette woman and the other was mysterious, large man that wore a creepy, black clown mask.

" _Where's the oppai, kids?"_ said a familiar Red Dragon Emperor as he searched for a floating pair of oppai that moved across the screen, dodging Issei's linear line of sight.

"There! There!" shouted the children, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen where the float pair of breast was.

"Over here?" Issei pointed to the same corner, but the oppai jumped over to the other side of the screen before he 'saw' it.

"Wow! I didn't know that oppai could move so fast!" said one of the little boys with stars in his eyes as he watched the program.

" _There it is!"_ Issei said as he jumped up and caught the flying oppai, _"Now, hopefully the Darkness Knight Fang won't try to steal my precious oppai from me!"_

The children gasped-just as Issei caught the oppai, Kiba, who was dressed like a villain, slowly crept behind Issei with a sword, seemingly about to 'take out' Issei.

"Oh no!"

"Turn around, Oppai Dragon! Please, turn around!"

"It's Oppai Dragon's nemesis, Darkness Knight Fang!"

"He's gonna dddiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee! AAAAAAAHHhhHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"If Oppai Dragon dies, what's gonna happen to all of the oppai!"

All of the crying children's tears stopped when Issei turned around and kicked Kiba away, "Dragon Kick!" he shouted his signature move, "Now the oppai is safe!"

"YYYYYYYYEEEEAAAAAAAAAAA!" was the collective uproar as the children danced around the large hall in celebration now that the oppai was safe.

"Are you fucking kidding Riser…." mumbled Riser as he watched the children go crazy, "How the hell did that idiot get a show?"

"Apparently, Issei became famous from the Devil Exams." explained Hao as he watched the children dance, "Children really liked him and he was offered a show….I don't know what they see in the show, but children really think it's good…..which supports my reasoning in never having children…"

While dancing, one of the kids, a blue-haired boy, spotted the group watching them from the hall. He gasped, catching the attention of the rest of the children, and pointed an accusing finger at Hao. "It's the fire monster! He's back to eat us!"

Silence coated the atmosphere as all the children stopped dancing and stared at Hao. Ravel and Riser felt a little uncomfortable now the kids were staring at them, even if Hao was their main focus. _'This is awkward…I thought Hao-sama said he's been here before! They're acting as if the only time they've seen him in during our Rating Game.'_

Slowly, Hao lowered himself down to the children's height, crouching down on his knees. The friendliest smile Hao could muster grew on his face as he waved at the children, "Hello."

"RUNN!"

"HE'S GONNA EAT US!

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DDDIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Hao, Ravel, and Riser all sweat dropped as the kids entered a panicked frenzy as they all ran away from the older Asakura twin, leaving their favorite cartoon in favor of getting away from the smiling Devil.

"Those children are such characters." Jeanne laughed lightly, hiding her grin with her gloved hand.

"They have good instincts…I wouldn't trust Hao-sama, either." said Marco with a small grin, thoroughly enjoying Hao's disappointed look.

"Wait…do they really fear you, Hao-sama?" Ravel asked the long-haired man.

Hao sighed as he stood back up, "It's a running gag they have. At first, they were all scared of me, and for good reason, but now they do this just to get on my nerves…and it works every time…" he said with a noticeable tick mark on his forehead.

"The kids really do enjoy Hao-sama." said the unnamed brunette as she and the masked clown figure walked over to the group. "And it seems like he's brought new volunteers. Greetings, I am Meene Montgomery." she said with a bow.

"And I'm Cebin Mendel." said the man with the black mask.

"Riser Phenex." Riser said plainly with a nod.

"I'm Ravel Phenex." replied Ravel with a respectful curtsy.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting Hao-sama to bring guest with him any time soon." said Meene, "I thought that you were still hiding the fact that you came here every now and then."

"…as if he were ashamed of helping orphaned children." Marco added.

Hao rolled his eyes at the blonde man, starting to become annoyed from his slight jabs, "I don't want my peerage members to think I've gone soft. I don't know if I could handle hearing one man in particular laughing at me all the time." Hao said with an image of a grinning Kisame appearing in his mental, "It would be best to just keep my volunteering time here a secret…even though I think Orochimaru has caught on by now."

"If Hao-sama wants to keep his visits secret then that his decision." stated Jeanne, "For now, let's go find all of the kids and bring them back here." Looking to the Phenex's, Jeanne soft eyes had an effect on the two as if they were looking into the eyes of a pure Angel, "Would you two please help us?"

"O-of course, Jeanne-sama." answered Ravel, "And while I didn't say so earlier, you're dress if very beautiful."

"Thank you, Ravel-san!" cheered Jeanne at the compliment, "You look very cute in yours as well!"

Behind her, Marco sniffed and wiped away a lone tear that escaped his eye, "Jeanne-sama's pureness and love is always so moving…able to make friends whenever and influence anyone's heart with her passion!"

Hao sighed, sick of the man's obsession with Jeanne and decided to do what he came to the orphanage for, "Riser. You're with me. Ravel, stay with the others and introduce yourself to the kids." he ordered before walking down the hallway. Riser grunted, not liking that he was being told what to do, but listened, leaving Ravel with Jeanne and the other caretakers.

Riser caught up to Hao as they walked down the long hallway until they stopped in front of a normal door. Opening it, the duo entered the dark room-their Devil blood allowing them to see through the dark like the room was illuminated with light- closed the door behind them. Riser glanced around the room, noticing that they were in a play room filled with toys the kids abandoned on the floor.

The Phenex's eyes sensed a magical presence in the corner of the room. Sitting in a small chair, reading a book, was a dark-skinned little girl with a rather large, black afro and an orange headband. Around her small ankles were golden rings, but the most noticeable thing she wore was the orange poncho cloak-almost an exact copy of Hao's cloak.

"Opacho," Hao called out what Riser assumed to be the child's name, "I'm here."

"Hao-sama!" said Opacho, dropping her book and running over to the Asakura twin, hugging his hidden leg in delight, "What took you so long to see Opacho?!"

"I'm sorry, but an annoyance appeared after my fight with Tannin's peerage. Did you watch it?" he asked the girl with a smile Riser was unfamiliar with.

"Yup! That skinny dragon you fought looked really annoying!" she said with puff of air, expressing her frustration, "You didn't even get to kill it! Opacho was disappointed."

"As was I." laughed Hao as he rubbed Opacho's wild hair with his hand, "I'd like to introduce you to my student I told you about."

"The one that you said was stupid and acted like he was strong but isn't?" she said as took a peek at Riser.

"Act like I'm strong!? Riser assures you that Riser-sama is the strongest person you'll ever meet your life!" Riser defened with flames of anger growing in his palms.

"Hmm…." Opacho stared at Riser with unimpressed eyes, "He's loud. Opacho doesn't like loud things."

Hao snickered at the small girl and grabbed her hand, "Let's leave this dark room and take a walk, okay? I'll tell you about what's been happening these past few days."

"Okay, Hao-sama!" the girl said with grin, accepting Hao's hand with excitement.

"And what about me?" asked Riser, "Riser wasn't planning on taking care of children today. Getting stronger is more important."

"I have a task for you, Riser. I just wanted you to meet Opacho before I left you to work." stated Hao.

"Work?" questioned the Phenex with a raised eyebrow.

Hao's smirk caused the uncomfortable feeling of worry to stir in Riser's heart. Whenever the older male did that, Riser always suffered in some sort of physical or mental trauma. "Well, of course. Did you think all those lessons of taking care of yourself would be for nothing? I have a special task for you."

 **A few minutes later…**

Riser stood there in mental shock as he stared at the towering columns of dishes that sat inside the large sink in the orphanage's kitchen.

"YOU WANT RISER TO WASH DISHES?!" shouted Riser in comedic disbelief.

Opacho pouted cutely as she uncovered her ears, "Why is he so loud? Opacho doesn't like him."

Hao chuckled at the small girl beside him, "I don't like him either, Opcaho..." he said, causing Riser to sweat drop at the blatant disrespect, "…but he can be okay sometimes." he finished with a sideways glance at the surprised Phenex.

"Hmph! I don't care! Hao-sama is supposed to take Opacho out for a walk in the garden today." said Opacho with crossed arms.

"And we are about to leave now." said Hao, holding out his hand for Opacho's, "There's enough soap there for you to wash everything. There should be a rag…somewhere…..get to it." said Hao. Opacho stuck her tongue out at Riser as she grabbed Hao's hand and left with the older man, leaving Riser in the apron that Hao threw on him when they first entered the kitchen.

"Damn, Hao…." growled Riser as he put on a pair of rubber gloves and searched for the rag amongst all of the dishes, "Why don't they have any servants for this bullshit…"

 **Timeskip…**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

The group of Orochimaru, Kisame, Naruto, Gabriel and Anna, who had joined them after force feeding Yoh his breakfast, sat together on the couches in the living room as Misla Bael stood in front of the group with a long pointer in hand. Next to her was a dry erase board with a picture of Bianca Bael overtaking the right side.

"Now, Naruto-san, from what I know about Bianca-san is that she is a close-range fighter." began the abandoned wife of Lord Bael, "She fights like a [Knight], using blades from her the gauntlets on her upper arms and hands. She coats her swords with her Power of Destruction, increasing the amount of damage she can deal with each swing by a significant amount." she explained.

"Uhhhuhh…" said Naruto, whose head was resting in Gabriel's lap as she ran her soft fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp. If wasn't fully paying attention to Misla's lesson, but he caught the gist of it.

Misla sighed, taking note that Naruto wasn't fully focused on her explanation but continued anyway for those that were paying attention like Orochimaru and Anna, "So, I believe that the best course of action is for to fight from long-range. You are more of a wizard-type fighter, so you have an advantage at keeping her physical attacks at bay by barraging her with your magical attacks.

"True…yyyaaaawwwnnnn…..trruuee…" he moaned as he lost himself in Gabriel-induced comfort as he pressed his face into her soft thighs.

"N-naru!" she said with an embarrassed blush, "This is i-i-inap-propriate!" she stuttered.

"No it's not…your warm…" he said with his voice muffled by Gabriel's legs.

"Naruto-san, you should be paying attention." said Misla.

"Paying attention to what? This shit is boring." said Kisame. Beside him, Samehada was using its long tongue to lick icing from the pan that once was filled with cupcakes, "Okay-long range fighter, blah blah blah, stay away. Good. We get it. You can leave now. I wanted to watch the rest of the 85 South Show."

"Naruto-sama, please pull you face from Gabriel-sama's thighs." ordered Orochimaru, causing Naruto to groan in annoyance at being disturbed from his heavenly pillow, "This is important information that you need to learn to better prepare for you fight tomorrow. Now get up."

"UUUUGGGGhhhh….fine…." mumbled Naruto as he pulled himself away from the red-faced Angel, "Okay, so make it a long-range fight is what you're suggesting…"

"Correct." nodded Misla as she continued, "I'm sure from your past that you know how to combat against swordsman, so I don't expect this to a hard battle for you to win. Just make sure you don't lower your guard."

"Do you know the setting of this fight?" asked Anna.

"Yes-it was revealed this morning that Naruto-san's fight against Bianca Bael will be at Reshiram. I won't be at the Battle Coliseums, but at a new, update facility since this is an official Rating Game. It will be a basic, wide stage surrounded by a magic shield to protect the audience, so you won't have as much room to fly in compared to your usual Rating Games."

"So no place for her to hide at, huh?" questioned Naruto, "To be honest, I prefer it that way."

"The rules are very few. Anything goes, but the match ends who ever surrenders, is unconscious, or dies first. Unlike Rating Games, if you were to receive a fatal injury, you won't be teleported to the medic corps since you're still conscious."

"Wait," said Kisame after catching the last bit of Misla's explanation, "so the idiot is legally allowed to kill them…like….in Rating Games, any deaths are considered accidents, but that hardly happens….it's really okay for him to kill in this match?"

"This match and all other Rating Games with members of the Bael Council." said Misla, "Zekram Bael-sama, the first Great King, had to kill every one he fought to claim the title of Great King, leader of the Bael Clan. While we live in different times, the Bael Clan is a clan run by tradition-so any death in these Rating Games are considered an honor for the advancement of the clan."

"Holy shit! So we really get to kill in this for real!?" said Kisame with a large grin. In his surge of happiness, Kisame fist slammed on top of the TV remote, unknowingly turning the TV on

" _-and with the arranged marriage between Naruto Bael and Esdea-_ "

Naruto's shot a blast of Power of Destruction at the TV, effortlessly destroying it a small explosion, shocking Misla, who was closest to the explosion as she jumped away to save herself from Naruto's PoD.

"My god….YOU KILLED THE TV!" screamed Kisame with a jump, staring at the now blank wall in disbelief, "THAT SHIT WAS MY LIFE AND YOU KILLED IT!" he panicked. Samehada climbed up its master's leg, trying to calm down the enraged Kisame, but he ignored the demonic sword as his mind tried to process the lost of his best friend.

In a display of speed, Naruto seemingly teleported next to Kisame with a wad of cash in hand. Wrapping an arm around the taller man's shoulder, Naruto brought his [Knight]'s face closer to his own and turned away from the confused Gabriel. "Listen…why don't you go to the city and get a newer, better TV?" said Naruto with a wide grin. The hand that was had the money to replace the destroyed TV was shaking as he tried to convince Kisame to take the cash. "I've got all the money you need here, see?"

"…sniff…A new TV?" sniffed Kisame with tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"A new, 'better' TV." emphasized Naruto with an eye-smile, "It won't take long. Get the biggest one you can find. I won't even get mad if you spend all of my money. Here," he said as he pocketed the money in Kisame's rob, "now go out there and get a new TV! I was thinking about getting another one anyway." he finished with a wide grin.

Still sniffling, Kisame rubbed his eyes with his sleeve before nodding in agreement, "A-alright….come on, Samehada…" The demon sword squeal as it climbed and perched itself onto Kisame's back. The blue-skinned man put on his sandals as he prepared to leave.

"Remember, Kisame!" called out Naruto, "Newer….and better…"

"Gotcha…." mumbled Kisame as he created a magic circle, "I just hope the cashier doesn't make fun of my skin color….I'm sensitive about it…" he muttered as he disappeared.

Naruto released a breath he didn't know he was holding as he walked back to his seat next to Gabriel. Everyone in the living room was staring at him in a mixture of astonishment, confusion, and sadness-some knowing as to why he destroyed the TV and his fear from Gabriel knowing the truth.

"Naruto…why did you destroy the TV?" asked Gabriel with worried-filled eyes that made the Bael feel even guiltier about the secret he was hiding, "Is something wrong? Please tell me and maybe I can help…"

"Everything's alright, Gabriel…" hushed Naruto, "I was just sick and tired of listening to the news…" he said, which wasn't a lie-he was sick of his name being in the news-but he still felt bad that he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"We needed a new TV anyway…" Naruto's eyes widened when Orochimaru backed him up, "That thing was starting to get old anyway…"

"It couldn't record two shows at the same time. I'm glad you did it because I was planning on throwing it out anyway." said Anna.

' _Guys….'_ thought Naruto with a smile, _'Thanks…'_

"You didn't get hurt, did you, Misla?" Naruto asked the woman that was coaching him.

"No, I'm fine." she confirmed, "Though you did give me a little shock…my nerves are a bit jumpy as of now."

"Sorry…" he said with a grin, "Now let's continue where we left off."

"Al-alright…" muttered Misla, still recovering from Naruto's outburst and Kisame's panic attack. Returning back to her spot next to her board, Misla continued with her explanation, "Now…as I was saying, you have the option to kill her in battle without punishment. However, I'm not sure how the public, especially the lower-classed Devils, will receive the fact that their hero is killing a fellow Devil."

"True, but it's not like it's something we can avoid." butted in Orochimaru, "From what we know, Bianca Bael is probably one of the more loyal members of the Bael Council- all loyalists of Lord Bael must be taken care of if we have the chance to do so."

"So we'll just have to hope that the public are okay with this then…" analyzed Anna with a mumble, thinking of the implications that came with the death rule, "It also means that if they kill anyone of us, we'll be permanently weakened in any other Rating Game with the Bael Council until we defeat Lord Bael."

"And getting to Kyurem will be a long…hard battle…" said Naruto with a sigh, "We might be at this for a few weeks now that I'm thinking about it….."

"Uhm….do you really have to kill them?"

All eyes shifted to the only Angel in the room. Gabriel cheeks grew red in embarrassment now that she was the center of attention, thinking that she had spoken out of turn. She shifted away from Naruto as an uncomfortable feeling brewed inside of her.

"Wha….what are you talking about, Gabriel?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "Of course, we have to kill them…or at least, some of the loyalist. I may just leave some alive just so that I don't kill the entire Bael Council since it would be a pain becoming the Great King and having to build another council from the ground up, but they can't….stay alive…" he finished.

"I…understand that much…" Naruto noticed how the Seraph was gripping her robes as she spoke, "…but I wish others didn't have to die because of this….nor do I want to see you kill anyone, Naruto…." she finished in a hushed tone.

"Gabriel….you do know that I've killed Devils before?" asked Naruto, "You have killed Devils before."

Gabriel grimaced, sadden that what he said was true."That was a different time…." said the Seraph as she stared at the floor, hiding her face with her long, blonde hair, "We were in a war…I had defend my home and my Father….but now that we have an alliance, I don't want there to be any more deaths caused by disputes that can be solved by other means…"

"This isn't Heaven, Gabriel-sama." Orochimaru said sternly, "We Devils don't operate the way Angels do. This small 'war' we have with the Bael Council doesn't even involve you, but Heaven will benefit from it if Naruto-sama wins and becomes Great King- which will happen. Blood will be shed, but you shouldn't have to worry about such things. Just wait until it's over."

Gabriel released a long breath, but it didn't do anything to quell the sadness inside of her, "I just wish…that you all didn't have to kill…I'm okay with fighting, but a life is a life…we are past the times of bloodshed being the answer.."

"Gabriel-sama, come take a walk with me." Gabriel perked up when Anna came up with the offer, something she wasn't expecting, "We can talk more about your feelings while the others continue planning, ok?" she said, adding a little more emotion to her usual stoic

Thinking it over, Gabriel decided to take up Anna's offer. Before leaving the house, however, Gabriel gave Naruto a long, comforting hug before exiting with Anna-leaving Misla, Orochimaru and Naruto to themselves.

"This just gets more complicating by the minute…" groaned Naruto as he massaged his temples, "I need to take a nap when this over…"

"We basically get the gist of what we need to do." said Orochimaru, "However, I would like to edit one of your suggestions, Misla."

"Which one?" asked the woman in curiosity.

"Your suggestion for Naruto-sama to fight from long-distance." started the snake man, "If we really want to show that we mean business, what better way to paint the members of the Bael Council as weak and inadequate by utterly defeating them? You said Bianca was a close-ranged, melee fighter. The best way to embarrass the Bael's is by thrashing them…playing with them…something Naruto-sama does best." Orochimaru said while glancing towards the grinning Naruto.

"So expose her, is what you're telling me to do?" said Naruto with excitement in his eyes.

"Precisely." stated Orochimaru with a mischievous gleam, "Anyone who's anybody will be watching your fight tomorrow. Why not start of this war of ours with a display of your power?"

"…which will influence the other Noble Devil House that hasn't officially joined you to side with you…" muttered Misla in realization, "This is the first match for the battle of Great King. Starting it off with an undisputed victory will give you an advantage now that the momentum or hype will be on your side."

"Seems like I get to freestyle this one…" said muttered with a smile as he leaned back into his couch, "I probably excel fighting like that anyway in a one-on-on scenario…I won't have to worry about hitting any allies with my large-scaled spells…"

"Then I guess we know what do then." nodded Misla, "I'll be back tomorrow before you leave for match. Make sure you get enough sleep tonight, Naruto-sama."

"For sure. Thanks for your help, Misla." the blonde Bael said with a thumbs up.

 **Timeskip…**

 **Iron Maiden Orphanage**

"Stupid fucking dishes…." grumbled one Riser Phenex after he finally washed ALL of the disgusting dishes by himself after hours of work. His frustration for the job Hao ordered him to do grew over time as he worked- the only sound in the kitchen was the water from the sink, the dishes clattering against each other, and his barrage of curses he whispered to himself as the time pasted. Even when one of Jeanne's crew came into the kitchen, they didn't offer Riser any help, which only pissed the Phenex off even further.

' _I'm gonna give that man a piece of my damn mind!'_ Riser screamed in his head as he ripped off his gloves and apron. Marching his way out of the kitchen, Riser entered the dining room first in his search of Hao. In the dining room were a few kids sitting at a very long table for everyone in the house. The children were coloring, sleeping, talking to one another, or playing with some device Riser couldn't name.

"Hey!" shouted Riser, making his presence known to the kids, "Where is Hao?" he made sure not to demand an answer, because if kids were anything like his sister when she was younger, they would snitch to Hao. He didn't want to deal with an angry Hao during their next training session, so he'd play it cool for now…..somewhat…"

"Hao-sama is with Opacho in the quiet room, Mr. Yakitori." answered a little girl.

"Mr. Yakitori!?" The kids jumped at Riser's volume, not expecting the blonde-haired man to yell in anger, "My name is Riser Phenex and you shall address me as 'Riser-sama'! Understood?!"

"Okay, okay…sheesh…" said another child, this time a boy, "We only called you by the name Hao-sama told us…." he muttered.

"Don't listen to that buffoon anymore. He's an idiot." Riser said with a grunt as he started to make his way out of the dining room.

"Alright then, bird brain…" said another one of the kids, causing the group to laugh at his joke. Riser scowled at them but continue his march out of the kitchen and down the hallway. While walking down the hallway, he passed by the living room again and saw Ravel playing a card game with the kids at a small table. There were a few others kids watching TV with Meene and Cebin sitting in their recliners.

Ravel sensed her brother's presence and smiled at him with stars in her eyes, "Big brother! This card game is amazing! You should play!"

"I do not play stupid little card games." stated the older Phenex, which got him nasty looks from the other kids.

"But you should! It's called Uno an-

"Where is Hao at?" he interrupted, not wanting to hear about a kid's game.

Ravel pouted at her brother's rude and impatient attitude, but decided not to speak on it. "Quiet room. It's towards the back of the house near the nursery. Now leave since you can't have a decent conversation with others." she huffed as he turned back to her card game.

"Jeez, Ravel-san…I didn't know you brother was an ass…" said the boy sitting next to Ravel.

"'-san'?" Riser body did a 180 as he looked down at the boy that addressed his sister, "'-san?!" he repeated in disbelief, "My sister shall be addressed as 'Ravel-sama' by each and every single one of you that hear my voice! Are we understood?!"

"Riser!" Ravel's anger was represented by the fire in her hands, roasting her Uno cards in the process, as she glared at Riser with all the hate she could muster. "Get out…" she growled, daring him to defy her with her flaming orbs of fire hovering in her palms.

Never before had his sister raised her voice at him, so Riser was beyond shock at his sister's boldness. All of the kids were staring at him in disgust as if he were an abomination. Meene glared at the royal Phenex, and while Cebin's face was hidden under his mask, Riser felt the man's **KI** leave his body.

The realization of his actions slowly hit him as he started to back away. Through gritted teeth, Riser uttered a simple "Sorry" before heading down the hallway to find Hao. _'Damn it…what the fuck was that, Riser!'_ he mentally beret himself as he walked down the hallway. Picking up Hao's magic with his senses, Riser continued his walk until he made it to the room dubbed 'Quiet Room' by the sticker stuck on the door.

Quietly entering the room, Riser studied room. To the Phenex, the room was similar to a library. There were a few couches along the walls as well as bookshelves. In the middle of the large room were a few tables for reading.

Towards the back of the room was Hao and Opacho. Hao was sitting in a rocking chair with a book in hand. Curled in his lap was the small Opacho, taking a nap as a small snot bubble expanded whenever she exhaled. Hao's sleek hair glowed as a stream a light illuminated he duo, hitting them just right as they sat in silence together.

Glancing over to the approaching Phenex, Hao smirked as he closed the book he was reading to the sleeping Opacho and tucked it to his side, "Seems like you're finished." he said as a greeting.

"Yeah, and I'm telling you that I'm never doing that shit again." said Riser with a piercing scowl, "I was in there for hours!"

"You should watch your volume….and your tone…" muttered Hao with an underlining threat.

Riser gritted his teeth but didn't respond, focusing on calming his nerves before responding. However, Hao beat him to the punch, "Now, tell me why-using your inside voice like a good boy-you won't wash dishes again?"

"I am more than such stupid task." said Riser in a more hushed tone so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping Opacho, "Washing dishes is beneath someone of Riser's caliber. Yes, you've taught me over the past few weeks that being arrogant can be bad…in some cases…but I shall not wash another plate filled with what looks like mashed potatoes mixed with mustard and…some other foreign substance." he argued.

"…which is exactly why you need you will continue to wash when we come back." said Hao. Riser was going to retort, but Hao cut him off again, "You aren't over anyone. If that were true, you would have beaten me during our first Rating Game, correct?"

"….you're different…" growled Riser.

"Then by your logic, every Low-Class and Mid-Class Devil stronger than you must be 'different' as well, right?" countered Hao. Silence was the only reply he received from the Phenex, only further proving Hao's point. "You're arrogant…and you don't appreciate what you were born with…we wouldn't be here if you didn't judge a Devil by their social rank. You're the type of Devil that my master hates the most. In order for you to learn, I'll have you clean the toilets with just your bare hands if I wanted to- and you don't want that, do you, Riser?"

"….No…." Riser mumbled, utterly defeated in their clash of ideologies, "Listen, just give Riser a different, easier job. You don't know how hard it is to hold back your own bile while washing those germ-infested plates of disaster!"

Hao chuckled at Riser's frustration, serving to anger the boy even more. Staring down at the sleeping Opcaho, Hao remained silent, seemingly thinking about his next words, before breaking the silence between the two. "When I first started volunteering here, I was stuck on wash duty." he said, surprising Riser with his revelation, "…I hated the job, probably even more than you….but I continue to work anyway….You could say that I used that as punishment for what I did to my master…"

"You mean you attempting to kill him?" asked Riser, "You've talked about it before with Riser, but you didn't go into detail about it."

"Correct…" sighed Hao, "While my master punished me for it….and I still shiver at the thought of what he did to me…I still felt guilty. Naruto-sama forgave me for the attempted murder, but I didn't forgive myself. I wanted to work on myself…change my outlook on certain things…..I was basically you, but more controlled…"he admitted, "…but when I lost it, I was a monster…"

Again, a deep silence filled the room as Riser processed Hao's words. Hao himself continued to rub Opacho's back. He closed his eyes as he slowly rocked in the wooden chair-at peace with himself and welcoming the warmth of Opacho's small body.

"What is your attachment to that girl?" Riser finally asked. The question was eating him up and he wanted an answer from his mentor.

With a smile that Riser never saw on the older Asakura twin, Hao answered, "I am planning on adopting Opacho sometime soon…."

"Pfft!" Hao's content smile shifted into a frown when he heard Riser's laughter, "Excuse me, but did you just say you wanted to adopt that child?"

"Yes, I did." said Hao, a small tick mark appearing on his head as he found Riser's laughter annoying, "Do you think I can't handle the task?"

"That's exactly what Riser was thinking." he chuckled again, causing the Asakura to sweat drop at Riser's transparency, "You are the last person Riser expects to want a child. You've told Riser many times that you didn't want a kid. You find them annoying-a characteristic we share."

"I guess your right…" snickered Hao, "…but Opacho is different…" he said as he gazed at the sleeping child in his lap, "When I first came here, all the children were scared of me…and for good reason. Apparently, children are afraid of me and Spirit of Fire…me almost eating your sister was like watching one of their nightmares on TV."

"Understandable. You are a scary man."

"Anyway," Hao said with an eye roll, "they were all scared of me-except for Opacho. As I washed dishes, she would watch me…she said she found me 'cool'…"

"That sounded weird coming from you." Riser said with a snort.

"It felt weird being followed by a four year old." replied Hao with a laugh, "Overtime I got used to her, of course, and it grew to the point that I would come here just to see Opacho. When she asked me if she could have my poncho, I made a few for her to have."

"Hmph! Who would have thought Hao Asakura was a nice guy deep down." laughed Riser, "Honestly, this would be the last thing I'd expect from you. Adopting a child…a female child, no less…"

"Please…the more you continue to say that, the more nervous I get…" admitted Hao with a grin.

"Riser has another question." said the Phenex, "What's with the girl that runs this place? Jeanne was her name?"

Hao nodded his head in confirmation, "Jeanne runs this orphanage with her peerage….call themselves X-Laws…a stupid name if you ask me…" the partner of Spirit of Fire muttered, "My peerage actually fought Jeanne's after our Rating Game against Rai Agares. She seemed nice and I found out she ran an orphanage…I showed up two days later to volunteer. Of course, dumbass Marco hated me because I thrashed him in the Rating Game, but Jeanne was just happy that I showed up. The rest is history."

"So Riser guesses that there is no convincing you…I'm going to be washing dishes even if I don't want to…" he groaned.

Hao's legendary shit-eating grin grew back in full force, "And you better get used to it, Mr. Yakitori."

 **Timeskip – Evening**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Kuroka the Cat could honestly say that she had a good day.

After waking up extremely early, something she hardly does, the rare Nekoshou breed left the Underworld for the Human Realm to be with her little sister for the day. It had been a while since Kuroka had seen her little sister Shirone, so Kuroka made sure to spend the entire day with her: forcing her not to go to school so that duo could enjoy Kuoh Town together. With the money she received from her peerage's Rating Game victories, she had more than enough to spoil Shirone and herself as they bought various items and ate many sweets throughout the day.

Returning back to the house after such a long day, Kuroka was prepared to just say good night to everyone and slip into bed. _'Today was great, nya! I need a little 'Kuroka and Shirone' day anyway. Now that we've gotten into this war, my free time will be spent beating up bad guys…'_

Pushing past the front door, Kuroka flashed her small fangs as she yawned, fatigue slowly overcoming her. "Maybe I'll get some milk from the fridge before going to sleep…" she mumbled to herself as she walked into the living room to say hello.

Her lazy eyes widened in surprise as a blast of volume infiltrated her cat ears. Physically hurt from the loud boom, Kuroka covered her ears as she looked for the source of said sonic boom so she could destroy it. "WHO THE FUCK DID THAT!?" she shouted over the extremely loud noise.

"OH LOOK! IT'S THE PUSSY!" Kuroka's mad eyes shifted over to Kisame, who was sitting on his recliner with a new-looking remote in hand, "CHECK OUT THE NEW TV!"

Rising an eyebrow, Kuroka glanced over to the wall where the TV usually was. However, instead of the measly 50 inch screen they were all used to, a massive, 200-inch long, Ultra-HD TV stretched along the walls. "NICE AINT IT!?" questioned Kisame.

"WHY THE FUCK IS IT SO DAMN LOUD?!" she hollered over the loud noise.

"BECAUSE I BOUGHT THE MOVIE THEATHER, SURROUND SOUND PACKAGE WITH THE TV!" he yelled back, "NOW, IT'S LIKE WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE FUCKING MOVIE-ESPCIALLY WHEN I TURN THE VOLUME TO MAXIMUM! AAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The source of Kuroka's growing migraine suddenly stopped, saving the TV from being destroyed by Kuroka's magic. Standing in the upper-right corner of the room was Anna, whose face was red with anger. In her hand hung the plug to the sound system. The shaman scowled at Kisame with so much hatred that it would have killed a lesser-Devil. "I am going to kill you…slowly…" she muttered darkly as Goki and Zenki materialized beside her.

Groaning, Naruto and Gabriel sat up from the couch after being shocked the massive output of volume. "Th-thanks, An-anna…" he muttered as he brain still rang from the loud noise.

"Ugh…" groaned Gabriel, "Dear, Lord…that sound system is very loud…"

' _NYA?! WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING HERE!'_ Kuroka yelled in her head at the sight of the Seraph Angel. However, she held back the physical outburst she was going to shout for a more calm reaction to Gabriel's presence. "Gabriel, nya?" she said in shock, feigning slight surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello! It's so nice to see you, Kuroka!" Gabriel said with a serene smile, "I decided to come and spend the day with everyone and congratulate you all on your victory against Tannin. I made everyone cupcakes, but Kisame ate them all, unfortunately."

"Not unfortunate for me. Make sure ya' make me some more next time." he said with a grin.

"Gabriel-sama, how are going to return to Heaven today?" asked Hao, who had returned from his visit at Jeanne's orphanage not too long ago, "The Gremory Train isn't running at this time…"

Gabriel's eyes widened in surprise as she realized that it was late in the night. "Oh my….I didn't even think about that…I was having so much fun here with everyone that I didn't realize what time it was…"

"You can spend the night here with us then, Gabby!" shouted Kisame with a mischievous grin aimed at the cat girl, "The idiot's bed should be large enough for two people."

' _Fuck you, Sharky…'_ was the message Kisame got through Kuroka's glaring eyes.

"In Na-na-naru-u-u's….bed?" she said timidly with a full-blown blush on her soft cheeks.

"Uh…..I mean…" muttered Naruto, rubbing his head in embarrassment. He was not prepared for Kisame to make such a bold suggestion. "Sh-she doesn't have to if she isn't comfortable…She doesn't even have anything to sleep in."

"I do have…clothes I keep in seal just in case I get caught up somewhere…" she said in hesitation, "I'm…..comfortable with…..sleeping with Naru…." Gabriel's blush intensified by 100 percent, the embarrassment overtaking her, "Excuse me! I must go to the bathroom!" she yelled as she ran out the living room and upstairs to the nearest bathroom.

Naruto sighed before glaring at his laughing [Knight]. "What the fuck, Kisame! That shit wasn't needed! You know Gabriel is pure, unlike you!"

"It is funny!" he laughed out, "You destroy my TV, I mess with your relationship!"

"I gave you the money for you to buy a damn movie theater!" countered Naruto.

"And he didn't fail to maximize on the amount you gave him…" muttered Orochimaru, referring to all of the speakers around the living room and the giant TV hanging on the wall.

"Yeah…remind me again to never give Kisame money ever again…" sighed Naruto with a face palm.

"Never mind that! You've got the finest Angel in Heaven sleeping in your bed tonight-and I made that possible!" said Kisame, jumping out of his recliner and pulling Naruto from his couch, "Now go to sleep! You gotta big fight tomorrow and need to be at tip-top, shape!"

"Hey!" shouted Naruto as he tried to fight back, but Kisame's overwhelming physical strength was too much for the blonde Bael as the [Knight] continued to push Naruto out of the living room and towards the stairs.

Passing by Kuroka, Kisame's small, black eyes stared at Kuroka's golden orbs for a split second, but the emotion in both of their eyes was clear. Kisame's small glare into Kuroka's pissed off orbs proved to her that he knew what he was doing. _'He's just trying to make me mad again…'_ she thought as Kisame and Naruto headed up the stairs. She blew a strand of her from her faces as the turned away from the duo, rolling her eyes in the process. "Fuck him…" muttered as she walked over and took a seat at Naruto's abandoned couch.

Anna, who had returned to spot next to Orochimaru, turned the TV back on, but made sure that it was at an acceptable volume unlike before. "Don't worry about it, Kuroka…" she started, "This is Kisame's way of protecting Naruto…"

"It doesn't matter anymore…" whispered Kuroka, but Hao, Anna, and Orochimaru heard her anyway. The cat girl crossed her arms over her ample chest as she closed her eyes, "It doesn't even matter anymore…" she muttered in a defeated tone.

"'It doesn't matter anymore?'" quoted Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

Kuroka's cat ears suckled on top of her head in silence, deciding not to respond to Orochimaru's question, leaving the trio of Devils wondering what Kuroka meant.

"YOSH!" yelled Lee, who teleported into the middle of room, "I am back from a glorious day of being with Seekvaira, Gaia, and Ryuga! So, my friends, did you miss me?"

"No." said the ever stoic Anna.

 **A few minutes later…**

' _god damn it, Naruto. Calm down!'_ he said to himself as he sat on the edge of his bed. Wearing his usual black muscle shirt and orange shorts, Naruto was ready to go to bed, but was waiting on his partner to join him. Said partner was too scared to come out of the bathroom, even after various attempts at convincing her that everything was alright.

Even though he was trying to get Gabriel out of the bathroom, Naruto himself was nervous as well. ' _Stop acting like you haven't done this before! You're just sleeping with her! Nothing else! Calm the fuck down and man up!'_ he mentally screamed at himself.

The sound of his bathroom door squeaking open entered the Bael's ears as he glanced behind him. His heart dropped and eyes widened as Gabriel, no longer in her casual robes, stepped out of the bathroom in a plain, cream-color nightgown. Her luscious long, blonde haired fell down her back like a river, hovering over her well-shaped bottom that her gown accentuated nicely. _'Good lord…if I was Christen….oww…'_

"Uhh…..Naru?" she muttered through quivering lips, pulling him out of his perverted thoughts, "We can…..g-g-go to sleep now…."

"Sure.." he said with nod. With a gulp, Naruto pulled back the sheets and entered the bed. Gabriel, still a little hesitant, sat on the edge of the bed with a face of a tomato.

Naruto sighed, knowing that Gabriel was uncomfortable, "Gabriel…you don't have to sleep here if you want to. We have a guest room." he suggested.

Gabriel shook her in denial. "No…I'm…comfortable around you…it's just that this is an n-new thing for me. A man has never seen me with such little clo-clothing on…" she admitted.

"That…makes sense. I never thought about that before," said Naruto, "but I won't disrespect you in anyway." he said with an honest smile.

Gabriel's heart soared at the sight, also giving her the confidence to slowly lie next to Naruto. Pulling the covers over her, Naruto laid to her left with a smile. "Not that bad, huh? While it might not be close to anything you have in Heaven, but my bed's still comfy." he said once she settled down.

"It's nice." she whispered with a smile, "Thank you for allowing me to sleep with you, Naruto."

"It's alright. What type of boyfriend would I be if I made you sleep elsewhere?" he said with grin, "I'm just glad that you're here."

"Hmm…It smells like you." she muttered.

"Oh? Hopefully that's a good scent."

"Hehehe! It is. While I can't relate it to anything, I guess that's what makes it special."

"Aww…You're making me blush."

The two shared a small laugh between each other. Naruto's contagious smile grew on Gabriel's angelic face as she stared back at his ocean-like eyes. The Bael, taking a risk, scooted closer, resting his head next to Gabriel's-closing the distance between the two.

"Tomorrow's gonna be a crazy day…."

"You may be even busier that usual…I say that we should go out on a date to celebrate your victory."

"Celebrate my victory, huh? How are you so sure that'll win? I may just get my ass kicked for all I know."

"Don't use such vulgar words…"

"Whoops….sorry 'bout that."

*giggle* "It's okay…..and I have faith in you, Naru. You'll win and become one step closer to your goals."

"Glad I've got your support then, Gabriel….what would you like to do on this future date of ours, hmm?"

"Well…I'd like it to be different…..I was thinking that we could go with other couples."

"You mean like a double-date or something?"

"Yes! I'd like to experience something like that. I've read about it in my novels…I'd like to see how it goes. Do you know anyone that would like to join us?"

"Hmmm….I would say Anna and Yoh…but I don't think that double dates are their style…I'm not sure, but I'll find someone to join us. I promise you."

"Okay…good night, Naru."

"Night, Gabriel."

"I love you."

The blonde Bael's grin stretched across his face, unable to hold back his happiness after her words left her lips.

 _"If her 'boyfriend' is now in a political marriage, she'll duck off, leaving you all for me~"_

"I love you too….Gabriel."

 **Timeskip – The Next Day**

 **Bael Territory – Reshiram**

" _And we're back! Now, the moment that you, the viewers have all been waiting for! The start of Naruto Bael, the Compass Needle of Victory, against Bianca Bael, the swordswoman of the Bael Council. Here live reporting all of the news are you two favorite commentators for any Rating Game, Bill and Jim, on 'URGA Post-Game Show!'"_

" _That's right, Jim!"_ stated Bill, _"The highly Rating Game will start in only a few minutes, but we want to give all those viewers that just arrived a run-down on what are the rules and where the fights taking place!"_

" _And where else would the start of such a politically-charged fight happen than the capital city of the Bael Territoy-Reshiram!"_ began Jim, _"The location of the fight will be Zekram Arena, named after the first Great King of the Underworld, Zekram Bael-sama! The stage in the middle of the arena is a flat-surface-which means there is nowhere to hide on stage! A protective barrier around the stage will protect the audience from any stray spells, so it's the perfect place for our live audience to enjoy! Also, the only different rules to this fight compared to other Rating Games is that the competitors won't be teleported to the medical corps until one of the two surrenders or is unconscious. That means that a competitor may possible die on camera if things go too far….WHICH ONLY ADDS TO THE DIRE STAKES OF THIS LEGENDARY FIGHT!"_

" _And this will be one to remember!" said Bill, "This is the first official fight over the crown of Great King. The game is being watched by all of the heads of the Noble Devil Clans, guaranteed! Will Naruto Bael do what he was known for most in the Civil War, paving the path to victory, or will his war end here against the blades of Bianca Bael! We only have to wait a few more minutes until that question is answered!"_

 **Zekram Arena – Rest Area**

"And remember…" said Orochimaru, who was rubbing Naruto's shoulder, loosening him up for the fight ahead, "…don't do anything stupid. I know how you get when you start to have too much fun." said the snake man.

"I've got it, Orochimaru. I'm calmer now." said Naruto, sitting on the bench as Orochimaru massaged his shoulders, "I don't even know why you're massaging me. You don't normal do this…"

"It's because he's nervous! Like a BITCH!" laughed Kisame, rolling on the floor while holding his stomach.

"I am not nervous, you idiot…" glared Orochimaru, "I just know that Naruto-sama has a tendency to play with his opponents before finishing them off. While we do want Naruto-sama to completely obliterate Bianca-which you will do- I don't want him loosing focus in the middle of the fight."

"He'll be alright, Orochimaru." stated a closed-eye Hao, leaning on the wall while sipping a glass of his favorite red wine, "Gabriel-sama is waiting for us in our suite. Let's give him some time to himself."

"YOSH! I agree with Hao-sama!" Lee shouted with a salute, "I trust that Naruto-sama will do what's necessary to achieve victory!"

"I would like to leave so that we can eat the food provide at our suite." stoically answered Anna.

Next to her, Yoh grinned at Anna's words, "You just like ordering people around, Anna."

"That as well." she answered honestly.

Orochimaru sighed before releasing Naruto's shoulders, "I guess you'll be all right." he said, "Just promise me that you'll do what we spoke about yesterday with Misla….and nothing more."

"I don't lie to people I care about…" answered Naruto with a grin, "I've got this."

The soft sensation of ample breast being pushed against his neck was casued by Kuroka, his [Queen], as she hugged the blonde from behind. Resting her chin on his hair, the cat girl closed her eyes as she absorbed his warmth. "You'll do great…" she whispered.

"Thanks, Kuroka." he answered, leaning into the small girl's hug, "I can't lose. As long as I have my peerage…..As long as I have you guys….I'll never lose…."

 **A few minutes later…**

"This match will not have a time limit. Healing items are prohibited. Both contenders have been informed and agreed to the terms of this fight. I, Jeagu, shall be the announcer of this Rating Game." said the announcer of the booming crowd's cheers, "From the northern tunnel is the representative of the Bael Council: Bianca Bael!"

The once cheering crowd bombarded Bianca Bael, who exited her tunnel when she was told to by the announcer, with boo's and curses. The protective shield around the fighting stage protected the platinum-blonde from items thrown by the audience.

' _Damned peasants…'_ thought the woman with a growl. She had on an all black robe with a hood, hiding her scowling face from the crowd, _'They'll learn to respect me soon…'_

"From the southern tunnel is the man dubbed 'The Compass Needle of Victory,' and has taken the Underworld by surprise ever since his reemergence: Naruto Bael." introduced the announcer.

Stepping out of the his tunnel and entering the lit arena was Naruto Bael, donning his orange and black combat jumpsuit. The crowd roared at Naruto's appearance, a complete 180 to Bianca's, and he waved back, appreciating the love from his supporters.

The bridge connecting to the main stage retracted once Naruto's feet made landfall. The blonde Bael's devilish grin grew as his ocean-blue eyes made contact with Bianca's violent eyes. With a wave, Naruto spoke, "Seems like you're really gonna try to win."

"Try? More like am." stated Bianca as she threw off her cloak. Without the cloak hiding her features, her very attractive body was revealed to the world. She was wearing an all black, skin-tight body suit that acted as a second skin. Covering her fist and upper arms were two golden gauntlets that looked very heavy, but Bianca didn't seem affected by the added weight.

' _I guess those are the gauntlets Misla told me about yesterday…'_ thought Naruto as he stared at her equipment for a split second before restoring the eye contact the two shared. "I've gotta say, for a evil woman, you sure are beautiful. Not attractive though….I've gotta girlfriend."

The Bael woman rolled her eyes at Naruto's slight compliment. "Do my gauntlets intrigue you?" she said, taking notice to Naruto's quick glance at her equipment, "I'll use these to crush your head when I finished playing with you."

"Hmmmm…confident, are we?" smirked Naruto, unbothered by the gruesome threat.

"Humbly confident…no arrogance to note." stated Bianca as she summoned a ribbon to tie her hair up in a pony tail, "I only speak truths…you shall die here, Naruto Bael."

Naruto snickered at her proclamation, "Not to sorry to say this, but that won't be happening anytime soon." he said while crossing his arms, "I'm fighting for something: a better Underworld. It would be best if you surrendered now if you value your life."

Bianca, now with her long hair held up in a pony tail and two bands of hair on the sides of her face, cracked her neck as she prepared for the fight only seconds away. "No thank you. I would offer you the same deal, but I actually want to kill you. The disrespect for the Bael Council and Lord Bael must not go unpunished." Her violent orbs were filled with fury as she glared at Naruto with all of the hatred she could muster. "You shall die tonight!"

Naruto licked his lips in anticipation as his thrill for battle energized him. "Then by all means, little girl…"

His calm face morphed into an insane look as his grin stretched to even wider proportions before returning his normal look. His eyes glowed red before returning to their usual ocean blue as he spoke, "Come."

 **Naruto Bael, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Bianca Bael, Full-Blooded High Class Devil**

Bianca was the first to move, running across the stage at speeds that belonged to a [Knight]. Naruto calmly created a mass array of magic circles behind him that discharged a barrage of multi-colored streams of magic-all aimed at the approaching woman.

The rain of rockets coming down on her didn't scare Bianca as she dodged one blast and destroyed another by connecting her fist at the approaching beam, exerting her force upon and destroying it in a dazzling display of power. This continued, swerving to her left and right, avoiding any beam she could while destroying those that she couldn't.

Side stepping a stream of magic that broke the surface of the arena, leaving a gaping hole in the process, Bianca decided enough was enough. Outstretching her arm, she conjured a massive pulse of Power of Destruction and shot it into the air, destroying all of magic streams effortlessly while lighting the sky up with explosions and creating a strong gales of wind.

Bianca glared at Naruto's smirk and disappeared in a burst of speed. Appearing behind the seemingly unknowing blonde, Bianca sent a gauntlet-enhanced fist at Naruto's head, only for it to hit nothing but air as Naruto tilted his head to the side at the last second. He was unbothered as her gauntlet slightly scratched his cheek as it shot past his face. "Feisty…" he muttered, flashing the girl a grin before ducking under her arm and kicking her away.

Skidding across the ground before coming to a halt, Bianca's glare didn't waver as slammed her fist into the ground. Earthen spikes jetted out of the ground and traveled towards Naruto. However, the spikes did nothing to the blonde Bael as a red aura washed over his body. A veil of his P.O.D protected him as the tips of the spikes were immediately annihilated once they made contact, leaving an untouched Naruto surrounded by a field of earthen needles.

"I didn't know that you were proficient in earth magic." Naruto said with a head, seemingly unbothered by the spikes that threatened to impale him at every angle, "Seems as if there were a few holes in Misla's information about you."

"You listened to that failure of a wife?" laughed Bianca with arrogance, "She's nothing! She couldn't even produce a proper heir for Lord Bael!" she shouted back.

"Please, get Kyurem's nuts out of your mouth…it's very unlady-like…" said Naruto with a devious smirk as his Power of Destruction veil expanded until it surrounded him in a red bubble. The red bubble continually ate through Bianca's spikes like a virus.

Bianca gritted her teeth in anger, her frustration increasing from Naruto's jab. "I'll be sure to cut you up good." she muttered as waved her arms in front her. Shooting out of her gauntlets were two, foot-long blades. She smiled cruelly as her own Power of Destruction slowly crept onto her swords, coating them in a red veil of power.

"Oh? And you can control your Power of Destruction to such a degree. I must say, I'm impressed." said Naruto, using his psychic powers to float to the safe part of the large arena that was free from any spikes. His bubble that protected him earlier disappeared once he made land fall as he spoke, "Let's put your sword skills to the test, shall we?" he said with an eye smile.

Bianca's small break was over as she felt a growing presence underneath her. Listening to her dangerous sense, she jumped away just in time to avoid the two red arms that broke through the ground. They continued to follow her at insane speeds, slicing through the air as the sharp claws swiped at her, releasing a wave of red energy.

Countering, Bianca dropped to the ground and sliced through the wave of destruction with her Power of Destruction-enhanced blades, and the next two that followed after. Her long, platinum-blonde hair flayed behind her as she rushed towards the approaching arms. Jumping over a grab attempt, Bianca stabbed the arm with the blade on her right arm and sliced it open with one swing. Landing in-between the opening she created, she outstretched her arms, creating a tornado of red magic that tore through Naruto's already deformed energy arm.

Naruto's other arm flew at her from behind, bypassing her weakening tornado and prepared to crush her with an open palm. However, without even looking behind her, Bianca slashed through the arm with ease. The sides of Naruto's arm crashed into the ground at Bianca's left and right, causing an explosion that ate through the arena's surface.

A small amount of dust and smoke floated through the air, which weakened Bianca's visibility but she could still see Naruto a few meters away from her clearly. His unbothered smile caused her to feel somewhat uneasy. _'He has nothing to be smiling about…'_ she thought in confusion, _'…but knowing him…he's already come up with another form of attack…he distracts…uses every opportunity to confuse his enemy and catch them when they're not paying attention...'_

"You really are stupid, huh?"

Bianca's eyes widened when she heard Naruto's voice whisper in her ear. _'But how!?'_ she screamed mentally as she prepared to jump away. In slow motion, Bianca's body moved to the left as she turned her head towards the direction of Naruto's voice. However, her eyes widened even more when she realized that Naruto was never beside her. Instead, a blue magic seal was floating next to the spot her ear once was. _'A communication spell?!'_ she realized her mistake too late as she coughed of spit as a soaring pain filled her stomach.

She was greeted to the sight of a grinning Naruto's, whose knee was firmly planted into her stomach. In just a second, he had crossed the distance between the two while she was distracted. "Bye." he uttered before her body was sent flying. She couldn't stop herself until her body crashed into the protective shield of the arena.

"Damn it…" she groaned as she dropped to the ground, wincing at the pain in her stomach, "How did he…." On her right and left side, two massive walls of ice appeared from two magic circles of Naruto's creation. The gigantic walls grew until the hit the top of the protective shield and stretched out to where Naruto was currently standing, effortless trapping her.

"Only one way out, Little Bael." grinned Naruto from the other end of his icy tunnel as he created multiple magic circles that shot out streams of magical blast at Bianca.

"Shit!" she shouted as she summoned her wings and flew through the barrage of blast, occasionally slicing through any blast she couldn't dodge with her blades. Swiftly changing directions, Bianca ducked underneath a blast that exploded against the ice wall. Her eyes perked up as an idea formed in her head as she sliced through two more magic blast. Amping up her Power of Destruction, Bianca turned her sights at the ice wall to her left. With grace she slashed her way through, paving a hole through the hole and flying out of it. "Hehe..." she laughed in victory until a lone foot kicked her in her face, knocking her back through her escape hole into the confines of the ice walls. She rebounded off of the other ice wall and started to fall to the ground, but the few extra beams of magic Naruto created earlier made contact with the platinum blonde-haired Bael, enveloping her in an explosion of magic.

Naruto smirked from the other side of his ice formation at the explosion occurring on the other side. His Devils wings were stretched out wide pride as he crossed his arms, enjoying the pain he was causing. "I didn't think it would be this ease to trap her…"he said to himself once the explosions settled down.

His successful trap awarded him with a few moments to rest, but that was soon over as Bianca flew out of the ice walls through the hole she made before. Visibly hurt in a few areas, Bianca flew up to Naruto in the air.

Hovering a few meters away from Naruto, Bianca glared at him with ferocity; a trail of blood leaked from her lip, most likely caused by Naruto's kick to her beautiful face. "You really are a pest." she growled.

Naruto chuckled at his clanswoman, finding her aggression amusing. "I'd say the same. You're like a little cockroach…no matter how many times I stomp on you, you'll keep scattering like the degenerate you are…" he laughed.

"Those were lucky hits…" she countered, wiping her lip on her sleeve, "It won't happen again." she uttered.

"Like a believe that!" laughed Naruto as he engaged with a flap of his wings, flying towards the beauty while shooting a bolt of destruction at her.

Shifting to her left, she avoided the deadly bolt and flew towards Naruto with her blades ready to slice through his flesh. Closing in, Bianca slashed at Naruto with her right blade, but only met air as Naruto swivled to his left. Holding back her growing smirk, Bianca pushed forward with a flap of her wings, moving with Naruto and swiped at him with her left blade. This time, Naruto had to block with a defensive circle, however, the shield only took the brute of the attack as Bianca's Power of Destruction-enhanced blades sliced through the shield like butter. Naruto avoided the blade just in time, but had to create a wall of ice of his right side, blocking Bianca's other blade.

The ice broke as her blade continued through the air. Using his physic power, Naruto's body shifted unnaturally in the air, pulling him away from the sword swipe. Once her blade cut through his after image, he flew back at her with a magic circle in hand. He grabbed her right arm and used his magic circle to block Bianca's pierce left blade that she tried to sneak under her restricted right arm. While the shield was destroyed like glass upon contact with Bianca's Power of Destruction, it did its part in slowing down her strike and allowing Naruto to grip Bianca's wrist, stopping the blade that was inches away from his stomach from ripping him open.

Bianca's right arm covered her mouth, so he didn't see the gritted teeth, but the angry expression from her eyes and eyebrows was enough for Naruto to know that she was furious that he got in so close to her. The two entered a power struggle, with Bianca trying to pierce Naruto's stomach with her left blade and pull her right arm out of his grip, and Naruto wanting to keep the woman's arm in his grasp.

She growled as she struggled to pull her right arm free and push forward with her left. While it looked like his muscles were comparable to a regular male Devil's, Naruto's physical force wasn't a laughing matter as he held her back. "Being this close to you disgust me." she spat in rage.

"So you want me to let go?" asked Naruto with hidden implications. "Okay." he stated as his eyes glowed blue, activating his telekinesis.

A blue hue surrounded the surprised Bianca before her body descended to the ground at insane speeds. She didn't have control of her own body until she collided against the ground. She didn't have time to wonder how he controlled her as she rolled away from a powerful bolt of destruction that ripped through the stage, creating a creak that cut halfway through their battlefield. Jumping back to her feet, Bianca slashed at the air, shooting blades of her Power of Destruction at the airborne Bael through her blades.

Naruto blocked them all with various blast of his own P.O.D and flew towards her, gathering a massive amount of magic in his right hand. Crashing back down to the ground, Naruto dragged his magic-filled hand into the ground before tossing it upwards. An enormous blast of his Power of Destruction that was a few meters long riddled through the stage at a fast pace, speeding towards Bianca without mercy.

"Hmm…" she hummed as she concentrated her P.O.D to her right blade before slicing upwards, shooting a large blade of destruction that cut through Naruto's wide-scale attack. Running through the gap, she rushed at Naruto with bad intentions, jumping in the air to attempt to land a drop kick on his shoulder.

However, Naruto easily dodged it by moving to his right, avoiding the crater-making heel as her foot dug into the ground below. Ducking under a swipe from her blades, Naruto slammed his palms into the ground, creating a purple magic circle that radiated a transparent purple barrier around Naruto.

Bianca pushed forward; about to stab her blade into Naruto's head, but the seal underneath Naruto made a small magic shield. Following the flow of the light the seal was producing, the magic shield flew upwards and blocked the kill attempt-actually holding strong, even with the P.O.D influencing her blade's deadly edge.

Bianca started to dance around Naruto's still body, trying to cut, maim, stab, or impale him from every angle, but just as one of her blades would make contact, a shield will form at the last moment and protected Naruto from harm. This continued for a while until another magic circle appeared on Naruto's back this time-blue in color. Icicles shot out of the circle in every direction, ready to impale anything in their path. Bianca quickly broke the few that threatened to hurt her while jumping away, creating some distance between the two.

Skidding to a halt, Bianca Bael was noticeable breathing deeper than before. Naruto, slowly standing back up on both feet, had a confident smirk plastered on his face, not looking the slightest of tired. "Seems like somebody is running out of gas." he joked at her physical strain, "I can do this all day…just admit it: I'm on an entirely different level."

Bianca grunted as she pulled herself up, ignoring Naruto's jab. Rolling her shoulders and getting a few satisfying cracks, Bianca took the small break she had to loosen herself. "You must really still love her." she said suddenly as she cracked her neck.

For the first time of their fight, Naruto smirk was gone, replaced by a confused frown. "'Still love her?' What are you talking about? Have you gone crazy from the spanking I'm giving you? Hehe! Maybe I kicked you to hard earlier….that's probably it..." he mused.

However, his confusion only grew as she laughed at him. "Hmmm…" she hummed, "And here I thought you hated her for helping us seal you…..but I guess you still decided to use the ice magic the Leviathan Satan taught you while you still her slave…It makes sense…" she said with a shrug, "Even if she did use you like a boy toy…she does know some powerful ice spells…"

Bianca had to block Naruto, who had suddenly appeared in front of her in burst of god-like speed, as he tried to clobber her with his fist. She wasn't ready, however, as he dodged a swipe from her blades that would have surely decapitated him and went for the low sweep. Her eyes widened as she lost her balance and started to fall to the ground, but surprise turned into pain as he use his insane speed to jump up and lodge his knee into her back, getting a satisfying 'crack' in return.

But the blonde haired Bael wasn't finished. Using his telekinesis, he manipulated his body to flip over Bianca's body, which had rose in the air thanks to the force of Naruto's knee attack, and landed a harsh drop kick to her unguarded stomach.

Bianca's scream was drowned out by the thunderous roar of the ground splitting open as her body was submerged in the newly formed crater in the ground. A river of blood shot from her mouth and landed on her tattered body suit, painting it red.

Even with pain racking through her body, she tried to pull herself out of her personal crater. She didn't have to struggle much as Naruto helped out, grabbing her arm and slinging her into the air. Bianca gritted her teeth as she summoned her wings, trying to control herself. That control was thrown out the window as her opponent teleported behind her, kicking Bianca in her back and sending her crashing into the ground.

Rebounding off the ground, the very-bloody Bianca landed on her feet as she readied her blades for Naruto. She shrieked when his body suddenly dropped down in front of her. To retaliate, she went to stab him in his shoulder, but suddenly froze as her entire world went dark.

Shivering, the platinum-blonde haired Bael's body was filled with fear as her body froze. An indescribable **KI** surrounded her, paralyzing her with her own fear. _'What…is this…..'_ she thought in absolute terror her outstretched arm twitching as the cold, death-like feeling overtook her. She shuddered as two massive, demonic red eyes appeared in the darkness, staring down at her as if she were insignificant. Her body still wasn't responding to her commands to run away as the red eyes narrowed, only adding to their menacing look.

Suddenly, her black world slowly regained color by the second. The red eyes vanished as she could start to see the crowd that watched the battling duo, and the stage started to form under her feet. This continued for a while until she was free from the dark illusion, returning back to the natural world. However, she was still frozen, her right blade inches from Naruto's shoulder as he stood there, arms crossed, unbothered by the fact that her blade could possible pierce him.

Naruto's dangerously red eyes flashed with power, causing a shiver to run down her body as he quietly muttered…

" You. Messed. Up."

Snapping her eyes open, the control of her body returned as she pushed forward, wanting to impale her opponent with her short blade. However, she tripped as her blade only met air. Naruto had vanished, leaving Bianca to analyze her surroundings to find the man.

"Freeze." she heard from above her, but it was too late as an army of ice danced across the surface of the arena, capturing Bianca's feet and trapping her.

"No!" she shouted as she tried to pull herself free, her fear causing her to panic and disturbing her thought process. Had she stayed calm, she would have quickly destroyed the ice with her Power of Destruction, but fear intruded, disrupting her once focused mindset.

Naruto floated over her, glaring down at the woman in a silent fury. A ball of destruction appeared in his hand, causing the woman to tense up, but was confused as the orb expanded into a ring once he dropped it down on her. The ring circled around Bianca's body before shrinking down in size as it made contact with ice. The Power of Destruction carved Devil symbols into the ice, puzzling the woman, but realization hit her to late as the symbols drew a magic circle into the ice as it radiated purple light upon its completion.

"aaaaAAAAAAAA **AHHHHH**!" she screamed as purple lightning filled her body. The excruciating pain from her past injuries was nothing like the pain she was experiencing now as she continued to howl.

Naruto dropped down from the sky and landed in front of the woman, watching as she cried out in silence. Their eyes met a few times, and the dead stare Naruto had only increased the fear in her heart.

After a torturous minute, the spell ceased. A smoking Bianca dropped to her knees before face falling to the icy ground. Her head was inches away from Naruto's feet, but the blonde Devil didn't capitalize off of her vulnerable state, deciding to glare at her unmoving body for a while.

After a few moments, Naruto's deep voice filled the arean, "Get up. If you weren't conscious, you would have been transported to the medical corps by now."

The instant he finished his last words, Bianca jumped to life. Not caring for the pain she felt as she moved, the Bael Council member aimed both of her blades to Naruto's chin, hoping to impale her swords through his entire head.

Her eyes widened, however, as he suddenly pulled his body away without moving-his telekinesis saving him from a certified death if he hadn't moved out of the blade's path. Now, Bianca was in an awkward position with both arms up and an unguarded midsection for Naruto to thrust his foot into, in which he did.

"GAhh!" she yelled as her body hit the ground after taking flight. Stabbing her blades into the ground, she was able to catch herself. Withdrawing her blades from the ground, the heavily-damaged Bianca slowly stood back up using her shaky legs. Her stance was weak from all of the pain she felt, but her determination fueled her as she glared at Naruto with everything she had.

"I….w-will…not lose…." she gasped out as she entered her battle stance.

Naruto's unwavering stare was still present as he slowly stretched out his arm and pointed his index finger at her. _'What is it this time?'_ she thought as she prepared herself anything he threw at her.

"Behind you."

A large red fist erupted out of the ground and slammed into the unsuspecting Bianca's back, knocking her forward. She couldn't even scream in pain as Naruto skated across the ground using his ice magic and clothes lined her in Bianca's stomach, getting a few wrenching cracks from her ribs as her body lurched forward, pinned up on his outstretched arm.

Bianca Bael's mouth was wide open as a torrent of blood left her body. She entered a coughing fit as she tried to breath, but the wind was knocked out of her from Naruto's arm that felt like solid steel.

His arm supported her weight, but once Naruto returned his arm to his side, she dropped to her knees as she continued to recover from his last attack. _'I…won't last…any longer…'_ she thought as her vision was fuzzy. Her head tilted to the side until it was resting on Naruto's leg. _'I've….I have to win…'_

She groaned as she started to fall forward, but caught herself by grabbing a hold to Naruto's legs. Her consciousness was fading as the toll on her body was starting to overtake her. _'It's either now…or never….'_

The hushed crowd that was watching the match jumped in shock as Bianca Bael tightened her grip around Naruto's legs and quickly got back up, causing Naruto's body to fall to the ground. Jumping on top of his falling body, she wrapped her legs around his waist and held both of blades over Naruto's stomach. A wide grin grew on her face as she had finally caught her clansman off guard and he would now pay the price. "IT'S OVER!" she yelled as she brought her fist down just as Naruto's body hit the ground below them.

An collective gasp came from the crowd as Bianca's fist meet Naruto's stomach, which meant that she had successfully ran both of her swords through his heart. She no longer had her Power of Destruction active because she could hardly call upon her magic, but she understood that nobody, not even Naruto Bael, could survive his heart being run through.

"Ha! Haha….." she laughed weakly as she stared at Naruto, whose eyes were wide open and his body unmoving. "I…I did it! I did it!" she cried out in happiness. A large smile grew on her face before her exhaustion caught up to her. She slowly leaned forward, her head landing next to Naruto's as her chest laid on top of his. Taking deep breaths, Bianca Bael smile slowly started to fade away as her eyes closed. "I did it…." she muttered as she was at peace with herself, closing her eyes to rest.

"HEHeheheh!"

The ultimate fear, even more fear than she felt before in Naruto's illusion, filled the Bael Council woman as her once tired eyes shot open in utter astonishment and total horror as Naruto's laughter filled her ears. Her body tremble, fatigue long gone as his laugh silenced the crowd as the suspense of the moment fastened their heart beats to insane proportions.

"You did what…exactly?"said Naruto, whose smirked had return as he glanced at the platinum-haired head next to him.

Slowly, Bianca Bael pushed herself up until she was back over Naruto, straddling him. Her fists were still implanted into his stomach, but realization slowly crept upon her as she noticed a key factor to Naruto's 'injury'. "There….th-th-ther-threre….isn-isn't….any bl-bl-blo-blood….." she stuttered out in absolute fear.

Naruto tilted his head in innocent confusion, "But why would there be any blood if you didn't injure me?" he asked as if were the simplest thing on earth.

She gritted her teeth as she steadily began to pull back her gauntlet-enhanced fist from his chest. The entire time, she had her eyes closed because she was scared at what she would see. Even through her tightly sealed eyes, tears found a way to slide down her face as she finally pulled her arms off of the Bael beneath her.

"Hehehehehe! Surprise!" he laughed out loud, acting the total opposite of the silent killer he was a few minutes ago.

Gradually opening her eyes, Bianca was greeted to the sight of a red magic circle over Naruto's chest that emitted Power of Destruction. There wasn't even a scratch on the blonde's chest. He was totally unharmed by Bianca's blades.

"But…how…" glancing at her blades, her eyes widened in shock as she saw that both of her blades were gone. _'He…he used the Power of Destruction…to eat through my blades as I pushed them into his seal….'_ she realized, _'I didn't even notice because I thought I won…this….what is this man!?'_

"Hey…could you do me a favor?"

The inside of Bianca's mouth glowed red and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. A red light pierced through her skin as Naruto's magic destroyed her from the inside out.

"Would you die for me?" he asked with a smile as his Power of Destruction dismantled Bianca Bael's body, disintegrating every part of her being until there was nothing left, leaving Naruto as the only other Devil inside the fighting stage.

The crowd, and even the announcer, was silent as the Rating Game had reached its end….

Naruto Bael had won.

"Whew! That was fun!" said Naruto as he jumped up to his feet, "Got a little dusty, but nothing to bad….now, for the real problem I've got to deal with..." he muttered while scratching his chin in thought as he walked back to the tunnel he used to enter the now destroyed fighting stage.

"Who am I going to invite to a double date with Gabriel and I?"

 **The Next Day**

 **Kuoh Academy – Occult Research Club**

Busting through the doors of the clubhouse, Issei Hyoudou threw off his backpack to some random corner as he continued to assault Rias Gremory's lips. Rias moaned as their lips meshed together, wrapping her arms around his neck as she walked backwards until she fell onto one of the couches in the room.

Issei jumped on top of her and kissed all around her face and neck while rubbing her sides, getting pleasing moans from his [King] beneath her. "You like that?" he asked with a perverted grin as his hands slowly inched to her ample chest.

Rias growled and, with a display of her Devil strength, flip the two over with her now on top. "I like it…" she said with a grin as she unbuttoned her top with seductive eyes, "…but I'd like it more if I were on top…" she said with a sensual lick of her lips, exciting Issei.

"No problem with me!" he said with hormonal energy. His eyes widened as Rias threw off her uniform shirt, revealing her large breast that were held up by a very kinky, purple bra.

"I'm sure you'd want to see the rest of me…" she whispered with low-lidded eyes.

"Hell yea I do!" he said as he grabbed her breast, "Mine."

"Yes. They are yours." she said with a giggle, "What are you going to do with them~?"

"Man, I didn't know you two got down like that..."

"AAAAHHHHHH!/EEEEEEPPPPPPP!" shouted/ shrieked both Issei and Rias at the sound of someone else. The two jumped over to the other side of the couch and peered over towards the couch adjacent to them-the same place where the mysterious, but familiar, voice came from.

Lying on the couch with a bag of popcorn in hand was a smirking Naruto, his blue orbs filled with mischief. "Oh! Don't stop for me! I didn't want to interrupt! I just wanted to ask you two something!" he said with a grin, shocking the two at his appearance.

"Na-Naruto-sama!" shouted Rias in utter astonishment.

"Hehehehe! Nice to see you two again! Issei! Childish Gremory!"

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 **Yoooooooooooooo…..I am literally fucking spent….**

 **It is currently 1:23 a.m. and I spent the last three hours typing up the fight between Naruto and Bianca. Over 4.6k words…..I am dead beat tired….**

 **Even with that, I wanted to get this chapter out today…or tomorrow….eh, it's kinda still Sunday night, so yeah…today-tomorrow…..**

 **Probably will be my shortest outro ever, but I am tired..I'm not even gonna proofread this thing…**

 **But yeah, a lot stuff happened in this chapter…Naruto talks to Gabriel- blah blah blah- he's scared she'll find out about Esdeath- blah blah blah- Naruto kills Bianca and interrupted Rias and Issei. Boom. That's the chapter summary.**

 **Tell me what you think. I'm going to sleep.**

 **Next chapter comesssssssssssssssssssssssssss…...…...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…**


	30. Relax

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, sitting at my new dorm room now that I'm back for my sophomore year of college.**

 **Oh yea….remember when I said that I planned on finishing BreakThrough during the summer before I left for college….**

 **Whelp, that was a lie.**

 **I guess I didn't realize at the time how much more of the story I had to do. Like, I have at least 5 to 6 more chapters and another Cannon:Filler story to do before I'm completely done with BreakThrough. Now that I'm looking back, I had updated the story to chapter 23- ThreeStepsAhead- when I was got back home. Adding up the word counted, I've typed approximately over 142k words since then…**

 **Geez…that's more than most stories...I've really been giving yall the goods…**

 **Nevertheless, I shall continue this story even if I am back at college with even more responsibility than last year! I love you guys and I'd be evil if I just stopped the story here! We're so close to the end and I can't wait for to read everyone's reaction to what I have planned.**

 **Oh, by the way….there's gonna be a huge event coming up soon….a event with a twist so big that some of you may really really REALLY hate me for. Like, yall hated Esdeath's character? Shhiiiitttt…ion know what's gonna happen when yall react to this…**

 **This twist I'm foreshadowing won't happen in this chapter…and maybe not the next, but it will definitely happen in chapter after the next, no cap. Just know that I planned this from the very beginning. I really put a lot of thought into this story before I even made it, thinking of every aspect for an epic finish….**

 **Something I need to point out before we continue the story. If you remember from last chapter during Bianca and Naruto's fight where he got pissed when Bianca brought up his past with Serafall and went ape shit on her? Some of yall took that as a sign that Naruto still loves Serafall. Just wanted to clear up right now that that isn't the case. He just got made at her for bringing that shit up (while Gabriel was watching, something you all may have forgotten) and wanted to 'silence' her…permanently. Just wanted to clear that up. There is abosolutly zero chance of Naruto ending up with Serafall**

 **Also, some of you have been asking about my My Hero Academia idea, too. I've been reading up on My Hero Fanfiction stories so I can get a feel for how people make them. I'll also be reading the manga soon and watch the upcoming season as well. However, I would like to ask for help. If you feel as if you are knowledgeable on the My Hero world and wouldn't mind listening to my story idea, send me a private message and hear my idea out.**

 **And does anyone know where I can read the manga of Dxd online? It would be really helpful, ya dig?**

 **But yeah, enough of that.**

 **Let's get back to the story.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **Relax**

 **Human Realm – Kuoh Academy**

 **Occult Research Club**

After recovering from the shock of Naruto's sudden appearance and fixing their cloths, Issei and Rias sat on the couch adjacent to Naruto. The blonde Bael himself had finished his popcorn while Rias hid behind the couch to put her shirt back on, and was now sitting on the couch with his legs crossed in a professional manner.

"If someone were to walk in on what I just saw, they wouldn't believe that you two used to hate each other….or at least, Issei hated Rias." he chuckle at the two younger Devils.

"Yeah…." Issei rubbed his head with embarrassment while a large blush grew on Rias' soft cheeks, "A lot has changed since the Devil Exams…" muttered the Red Dragon Emperor.

"Oh?" said Naruto with curiosity, "And what trouble have you two gone through together ever since our last meeting?" he asked.

"Well, we did have to fight again some members apart of the Khoas Brigade," started Rias, "and we ran into Vali and his team again…"

"Vali?" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow, a mental image of the sliver-haired teen appearing in his head, "That's a name I haven't heard in a while."

"I went to Kyoto and saved Yasaka-sama, the Kyoto Youkai Faction Leader, from the Hero Faction!" stated Issei with pride.

"Yasaka?" said Naruto, now a little wide eyed from Issei's revelation, "That's also a name I haven't heard in a while. The last time I saw her was when Kuroka and I visited Kyoto to help with Kuroka's training a few years ago…you said that you saved her?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" stated Issei, "She was captured by the Hero Faction and I helped save her! It was hard, but we got through it….Also, Deidara was there trying to hog the limelight…" he grumbled as an image of smirking Deidara appeared in his head.

"And not too long ago was our school festival-which was a success." said Rias, "We've had overcome many unfavorable predicaments, but those same predicaments are what's brought us closer." she said while finishing with a beaming smile.

Naruto hummed at their accomplishments, "Seems like there's been a lot going on recently here in the Human Realm, as well. I haven't been able to stay up to date with what's going on because of everything going on in the Underworld. But, I would like to ask why you two aren't in class?" A devious grin grew on his face as the two young Devil's faces flushed with red, "Classes are still going on at this time, right? Tell me you two weren't skipping to indulge in such activities?"

Naruto's bouncing eyebrows only made it worse for the duo as they struggled to explain themselves. Naruto only laughed at their facial expression, having caught them red handed in skipping classes just to be with each other. "Hehehe! It seems as if Issei's mischievous ways have rubbed off on you, Childish Gremory. Such a shame…I thought he would have picked up on your intellect, but I guess it was the other way around."

"He has been influencing me, Naruto-sama... and not in a good way." she said with a fake glare at her grinning [Pawn].

"Hey! At least we didn't have to sit through our last class! They're so boring!" exclaimed Issei.

"Hopefully, you two haven't just been sneaking off to have your little make-out sessions." said Naruto, "How have you two progressed in your training?"

Issei grinned as his Longinus, Boosted Gear, flashed onto his arm. "I've gotten hella good with my Sacred Gear! I can even promote myself to [Queen] during a Rating Game and kick ass!"

"My control over my Power of Destruction has also increased. I've worked on those techniques that you showed me in the past and they have really helped over these past few weeks." said Rias, "If you never would have come to Kuoh, I would have been one of the first to retire during the Devil Exam."

"I'm glad that I could help then." smiled Naruto with a nod, "With everything that's been going on lately, I'm actually happy I decided to come here. I needed a small break, even if it's just for a day."

"I did actually hear about you causing uproar in the Underworld, lately." said Rias, lacing her fingers together in business-like manor, "I haven't been in the Underworld in a while, so I don't exactly know what's going on. Care to explain?" she asked the blonde Bael with curiosity.

"Oh, it's nothing." said Naruto with an eye smile, "It's just that I'm in the process of overthrowing the Bael Clan in pursuit of becoming the next Great King of the Underworld." he said plainly, "…other than that…nothing much has been going on."

"WHAT?!/Eh?" were Rias and Issei's reactions to Naruto's revelation, with Rias jumping off of her seat in shock while Issei looked on in confusion since he lacked knowledge in Devil terminology.

The red-headed Gremory's body was racked in shock as she tried to process Naruto's, who was smirking at her, words. "You…you're trying to take down the Bael Clan?! THE Bael Clan?!"

"Not try." stated Naruto, "I am. I'm in the process of knocking off every member of the Bael Clan using Rating Games. The Baels believe that power is everything, so I'll use that to my advantage to either kill or thoroughly defeat the council until I face Kyurem in a battle for it all."

"B-but that's impossible!" shouted a frantic Rias, "You can't just do that! This...this isn't possible! How can you do something of this magnitude, Naruto-sama!?"

"Rias…" Naruto flicked his index finger at Rias, and her body was pushed back into the couch, surprising the red head and her [Pawn], "Do you not know who I am?" he asked, completely unbothered by her outburst.

"How…" she muttered, wondering what was the invisible force that pushed her down.

Issei, however, was the complete opposite of Rias-not really caring for the fact that Naruto was gunning to destroy the Bael Council. "Uh, Naruto-sama, what is the Great King, again? I remember reading about it while I was studying at Rias' house in the Underworld, but I'm not too sure about it…"

"Understandable." said Naruto before starting his explanation, "The Gremory Clan holds the position of Duke, which I'm sure you know about by now, seeing as you are a servant of the heiress of clan. While that is a high rank to have, the Bael Clan holds the highest status among all Devil Clans: Great King. The leader of the Bael Clan, Kyurem Bael, is the Great King of the Underworld. That's the position I'm going to take soon."

"Woah! So you're gonna be [King] of everything then, huh?" said Issei with a gleam in his eyes, "I bet you'd get all the girls if you're the King of the entire Underworld!" he shouted, ignoring Rias' heated glare in favor of submersing himself into the imaginary set of boobs he envisioned.

Naruto laughed at the perverted teen, "While I probably could, I'd be satisfied with just one woman. It's what my father did with my mother, so I plan to do the same…actually, I do have a request for you two that…somewhat goes along with the topic at hand."

"Really?" asked Issei, glancing at his [King] for a quick second before turning back to the blonde across from them, "Well, we'll help you with anything, Naruto-sama. All you have to do is ask."

"Agreed." said Rias with a nod, "What is this request?"

With a smile, Naruto spoke, "Will you two go on a double date with me and Gabriel?"

Expecting something serious, Issei's mouth dropped to the floor while Rias face palmed at Naruto's request. "A double date?" said Issei in utter disbelief, "That's it? No fighting monsters or something cool?"

"You don't think hanging out with me and Gabriel is cool?" asked Naruto all too sweetly with a smile.

Issei shivered at the murderous intent radiating from Naruto in waves. "N-no! No way! Hanging out with you is super cool. Hehehe….." he awkwardly laughed.

"Great! So you'll go with me then, right?" asked Naruto with high expectations.

"Of course, we'll go with you two." answered Rias with an honest smile, "I think seeing how you interact with Gabriel-sama will be cute to watch. Plus, we deserve a break ourselves." she said as she glanced over to Issei, "I'd like to go on our first date, Issei." she said with her blue-green eyes gleaming from the sunlight that pierced through the windows.

"Rias…" muttered Issei, quickly taking in the sight of the beautiful red head before regaining focus, "We'll go with you, Naruto-sama!" he said with a thumbs up, "Just tell us when and where!"

"I'm actually planning to have our little fun day tomorrow-just a simple movie and dinner at a restaurant after. Is that good with you two?" asked the Bael.

"Sounds good." Rias said with a nod, "I look forward to our group date.

"Thanks, you two." said Naruto with a smile, "This means a lot."

"Hey, Naruto-sama." said Issei before the Bael had an opportunity to leave, "I know this may be out of the blue…..but why are you so calm?"

The blonde haired Bael raised an eyebrow at Issei's question, "Calmer, eh? It's that noticeable?"

"It actually is…" muttered Rias, voicing her own opinion on the matter "You're not smiling as much…or having random laughing fits….nor are you muttering to yourself at all….You crossing your legs was a red flag to me as well…." she said, pointing out every sign that she saw during their conversation, "What happened? Is everything alright?"

Naruto sighed, sinking into the cushions of the couch, "I'm…okay" he answered with a lack of his usual confidence, "…A lot of stuff has happened in the past week. You two probably didn't hear about this since you haven't been in the Underworld in a while…but I was set in an arranged marriage against my will…"

"An arranged marriage…" Rias had to calm her sudden burst of anger that wield inside of her as a flash of Riser's grinning face entered her mind. Her eyes instantly darted to Naruto's ring finger, noticing the lack of a ring. "You haven't gone through with it yet, have you?" she asked with a serious tone.

"Not yet…and I don't plan to, either." said Naruto with small smile, "I will be able to break out of this arranged marriage if I defeat my fiancé's [King] in a Rating Game. This [King] is also a member of the Bael Council, so I'm already gunning to kill him anyway. I'll kill my fiancée as well during the Rating Game, just to guarantee that this marriage won't happen." he explained.

"Are you sure that's it?" asked Rias, honestly worried for her older friend. If there was anything she could do to help the blonde, she would do it in a heartbeat.

"No…..there's something else troubling me…" he muttered in a depressing tone that made Rias and Issei glance at each other in worry. Seeing Naruto sad was the exact opposite of what they knew him to be. Something big had to be troubling him. "But I'll be alright." he said with a sad smile and a shrug, "I have my peerage helping me. As long as I have them…I'll be okay."

"Sounds like you're in a tough spot…" muttered Issei, but a grin grew on his face as an idea hit him, "Maybe it's our turn to free you from your arranged marriage, huh?!" he joked, which served to lightening up the mood and changing the topic.

Naruto chuckled at Issei's proclamation. "Oh, Issei…hehehe! Even though I do appreciate your worry for me, you all wouldn't last 10 minutes against Esdeath and her peerage members…hehe!" laughed the Bael.

"Wow…thanks for being so honest." sweat dropped the Red Dragon Emperor, "At least you aren't hiding things like how you used to."

"Nope. I'm not hiding anything." answered Naruto, "Anything you ever wanted to know is out in the public now that I've become quite the figurehead in the Underworld. While the attention can be a little annoying at times…being in the limelight for once is kinda cool." he grinned.

"Will you stay here in Kuoh until your date with Gabriel-sama?" asked Rias.

"No, I'll be heading back home after this small visit…" he answered, standing from the couch and stretching out his arms, "Wheewww…I need another massage..."

"Another? When did you get one before?" asked Issei.

"Let's not worry about things that aren't important, Issei." Naruto quickly dismissed the [Pawn] of Gremory, "You know what…I should make another stop while I'm here…"

 **A few minutes later**

 **Student Council Room**

"Thanks for the tea, Tsubaki." said Sona Sitri, who was sitting at her large desk. Large stacks of paper were neatly organized on the right side of Sona, clearing up the other side for her to drink her tea without fear of spilling it on her important documents.

"Of course, Sona." answered Sona's [Queen], Tsubaki Shinra, as she set Sona's tea cup on her desk, "Do you have anything specific planned for today now that classes are over?"

"Nothing in particular." answered the [King] once she had a sip of her tea, "Since the alliance between the Three Factions, we haven't had to deal with any Fallen Angel problems…so defending our territory has become quite lax. Hopefully, Saji can finalize that contract he's been working towards with his client today."

"He has improved on his contract success rate." stated Tsubaki, "I believe that he'll be able to do it."

The duo's conversation was interrupted as two girls entered the Student Council Room. "Hello, Sona-sama! Tsubaki-san!" said Reya Kusaka and Ruruko Nimura, both members of the Student Council and Sona's Peerage.

"Reya. Ruruko." Sona said with a small nod, greeting her two peerage members, "I assume Saji has already left to meet with his client?"

"Yes ma'am." answered Ruruko as the two took their seats on an available couch, "He left as soon as class started. He's very adamant on certifying this contract."

"We'll be rooting for him." said Reya.

The group's attention was moved towards the magic circle that appeared near the back corner of the room. Everyone was on edge, since the members of the Student Council never teleported into Sona's main office, but their worries were doused and was replaced with surprise when Naruto grew from seal.

"Naruto-sama?" questioned Sona as she stood from her chair, "What are you doing here?"

"Hello there, Sona, Tsubaki, and the two little girls whose name I don't know." waved Naruto with a smile, "I'm back from the Underworld to ask Rias and Issei something, but I didn't want to leave before saying a quick hello." he stated.

"It's nice to see you after such a long time, Naruto-sama." said Tsubaki with a respectful bow, "Would you like some tea?"

"No thanks, I don't plan on staying long. Thanks for the offer, though. Rias didn't offer me any tea when I visited…" he said, muttering the last part under his breath as he sank into the comfort of the Student Council couches. "Oh? These are more comfortable than Rias' too."

Sona returned to her seat as she glanced over towards the blonde, "You've been causing some trouble in the Underworld, haven't you…" she started before taking a sip of her tea.

"Yup, yup, yup." stated Naruto, leaning into the cushions of the couch, "Just wrecking through a corrupt government and paving a way to become king of the Underworld. Nothing major."

"Of course it isn't…for you, that is." smirked Sona, "You really surprised me…what you're doing has never been done before. However, if anybody were to pull something like this off, it would be you."

"I'm glad you have faith in me, Sona. Rias was acting like she doubted me." he said with an eye roll, "I starting to believe that you're the better out of the two."

"Oh? So I was second to her before?" asked the Sitri heiress, "You hurt me, Naruto-sama."

"Eh…She was more exciting…and easier to fool." the Bael said with a snicker, "But you're smarter, an aspect I'm starting to appreciate more. Explaining everything to everyone over and over again is starting to get old."

"Sona-sama prioritizes intelligence over everything, so you won't feel like the only smart person in the room when you talk with us, unlike the Gremory's peerage." said Ruruko with an arrogant huff.

"Noted. Thanks for telling me, Random Girl #2." said Naruto with a smile. Ruruko sweat dropped at the nickname he gave her, but decided not to comment on it.

"Naruto-sama," spoke Tsubaki, "if you don't mind me asking…what was the favor you asked Rias?"

"Oh, that?" said Naruto, "I just asked if she could bring Issei on a double date with me and Gabriel." he answered, "Gabriel wants to celebrate my victory against Bianca Bael by doing something different. I'm looking forward to it…it'll give me a break from all this damn chaos…"

"Oh.." said the Sitri heiress, "That sounds enjoyable…I'd rather spend my time reading books, but I hope you all enjoy yourselves."

"Yeah we will. I've just gotta…." Naruto suddenly stopped talking, confusing his listeners. His eyes were wide, but he remained silent. Slowly, his head turned towards Sona, who was creped out by how he robotically turned his head.

"Wait a second…"

A thin, blue veil of light enveloped Naruto's body as he floated off of his couch, surprising his onlookers, and floated over to the seated heiress. A grin grew on Naruto's face as he slowly circled around the confused Sona.

"Hey, Sona…" he said after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes." she answered, feign confidence as she hid her growing fear. Whenever Naruto smirked like that, he was up to something.

"How would you describe your relationship with Hao?"

' _Damn it.'_ Sona's face instantly blushed at the blonde Bael's question. Her eyes darted towards her [Queen], but Tsubaki turned away, hiding her face with her hair as she tried to hold back her laughter. Ruruko and Reya were in a similar predicament, covering their mouths to hide their growing grins, but a few giggles escaped when they saw Sona's red face.

Embarrassment took over the Sitri as she slammed her hands on her desk, "Anybody that isn't Naruto-sama or myself must leave immediately!" she demanded.

"Oh, Sona-sama. There's no need to be embarrassed about your crush~!" winked Reya.

Sona had enough as she jumped out of her seat and pushed her servants out of her office. Naruto's laugher only added to her embarrassment, but she was NOT going to have such a sensitive conversation with her noisy servants around.

"Geez, Sona…I didn't think you were this insecure about your relationship with my [Bishop]." stated Naruto as he watched Sona cover the doors to her office in ice and covering the room in an anti-teleportation barrier so nobody could teleport inside.

"They have teased me limitlessly after finding out about my….a-attraction…with Hao…" she admitted with a giant blush.

"Oohhhhhhh…." said Naruto, floating over to the red-faced Sitri heiress, "So you do like Hao? That's good. It seems like he likes you, too."

"Re-really?" she said with hope. While the two did have a moment back during the Three Factions Meeting, she felt like she didn't have a chance with the older Asakura twin because of her young age and lack of power. It didn't help that she hadn't seen Hao since Naruto left with his peerage to the Underworld a few months ago, leaving her with unanswered questions and thoughts of insecurity.

"Yup, yup, yup!" smiled Naruto as he floated next to Sona, who was walking back to her desk, "And he hasn't been with any females since we came back to the Underworld….or at least, none that I know of." he said while rubbing his chin in thought.

"That…that's good to know…" muttered Sona as she released a long sigh while sitting in her chair, "I didn't know what he was doing all this time...and he never came to visit…"

"Hehe…sorry about that. Hao's been busy helping me take over the Underworld." said Naruto, lowering himself until he sat on the edge of Sona's desk, "But he'll be free tomorrow…wanna turn this double date into a triple?"

"I-is it okay? I mean, I've ne-never been on a date and….and there's things have to do… I don't want to be a bother-dates really aren't my thing anyway and-" Sona continued her barrage of insecurities and excuses. She was clearly nervous about the situation as she stuttered over her words, something the clean-cut, always confident Sona Sitri would never do.

"Sona." Naruto rested a hand on her head, silencing her rampant onslaught of excuses, "If I tell Hao that you wanted to go out on a date with him, he would surely accept without a doubt. So, I'll ask you, do you wish to come with Gabriel and me on our date? Rias and Issei will also be there, but I'm sure you wouldn't mind that since Hao will be there?"

The black-haired heiress of Sitri licked her lips as she tried to speak up, but the words would continuously get lost in her throat. Calming herself down, Sona released a long breathe of air as she finally collected herself. "I...would like to attend as well…..wi-with Hao, of course." she sputtered out after a few seconds.

"Great! I'll go tell him now." said Naruto with a clap. The anti-teleportation barrier that covered the room disappeared in response to Naruto's powerful magic. "You don't have to dress up or anything. We'll go to a movie and then eat out somewhere. You're okay with that, right?"

"H-hai." she answered with a cute nod.

Naruto chuckled at her blushing face as he made a teleportation seal, "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. With Hao."

"Yes sir. I shall see you tomorrow." she replied as Naruto disappeared. Once he was gone, Sona slumped into her seat with a groan, an unusual gesture for the Sitri heiress.

"What am I gonna do…." she mumbled to herself.

 **Underworld – Bael Territory**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

Appearing in the front yard, Naruto swiftly made his way into the large house he shared with his peerage members. Walking past the stairway and entering the living room, Naruto was greeted to the sight of a few of his peerage members sitting on the various couches in the room. However, what was different was that Sairaorg Bael and his [Queen], Kuisha Abaddon, were there as well, surprising the blonde Bael.

"Now you two are the surprise guests I wasn't suspecting." said Naruto, making his presence known to everyone in the room.

"Hiya, Naruto. Nya." waved Kuroka as Naruto sat next to his [Queen].

"Hello, Kuroka, and to our guest as well." he said with a smirk as he leaned back into the couch, "What brings you two over here?"

"And why didn't you bring any damn cupcakes?" snarled Kisame, "For now on, all guest need to bring snacks if they wanna get in!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist into the arm rest of his recliner for emphasis.

"I'm…sorry we didn't we didn't any snacks…" muttered a confused Sairaorg, "We never did that before so…"

Hao, who was sitting adjacent to Sairaorg and Kuisha, sighed, "Don't listen to Kisame. He's just being greedy."

"The fuck….so what if I'm being greedy!?" barked the blue-skinned man, "I want more food! Them cupcakes Gabby made were the shit!"

"Where did Gabriel go anyway?" asked Naruto.

"She left not too long ago for the Gremory Train, Naruto-sama." answered Orochimaru, who had entered the room from the kitchen with his usual morning robe on and a cup of coffee in hand, "She said she'll contact you soon."

"Alright, great." Naruto said with a nod before focusing on Sairaorg and Kuisha, "So? What brings you two to here?"

"Well," started Kuisha, "Since you started this war with the Bael Council, it's gotten pretty hectic in the Underworld. Sairaorg just wanted to make sure you were doing well."

"Absolutely." said Sairaorg, his deep, overpowering voice reverberating through the room, "I just wanted to see if you were doing alright and talk to you about a few things."

"Oh really?" asked Naruto, "Whelp, I'm doing pretty well if you ask me." He then looked over to his peerage members, "Do you guys feel alright?"

"I'm okay." Hao muttered.

"Decent." replied Orochimaru.

"Yup, nya!" said Kuroka with a smile.

"I just want some more damn cupcakes…."

"See!" clapped Naruto, "Just fine. How about yourself, your peerage, and little Mag?"

"My peerage members and I are doing well." started the large Bael. He grinned as he continued, "Actually, and I know you'll like this, I have a Rating Game arranged with Rias Gremory soon that I know you'll enjoy."

Sairaorg's revelation caused Kisame to perk up, "Oh shit! The two little kids are gonna face off! That's some shit I wanna see!" he said with Samehada screeching in agreement.

"I've got my money of Sairaorg, nya." said Kuroka as she curled up into the couch, "Childish Gremory has improved, but no way is she strong enough to fight you."

Sairaorg nodded his head, glad that Kuroka was on his side, "Thank you, Kuroka-sama, but I won't underestimate Rias-for what she lacks in strength, she backs with intellect."

"Which isn't one of your strong points…" jabbed Kuisha, causing Sairaorg to scratch his head in embarrassment.

"Sairaorg is a battle maniac," stated Orochimaru, "and while that's good at times, brute strength won't win you Rating Games moving forward. I'll work with you on making strategies and what not."

"Ehh? Since when did you claim the steroid boy and his little babies?" asked Kisame, referring to Sairaorg and his peerage members.

Orochimaru chuckled at Sairaorg and Kuisha's evil stares at the obnoxious [Knight]. "I just like them is all…just like how you would help out Sona with her water magic."

Kisame eyebrow rose in confuse for a few seconds before Sona's face appeared in his head, "You mean that little FAILURE that couldn't add magic to her water serpent spell? Fuck her! I didn't claim her! I was just bored and liked watching her fail!"

"Kisame…" Hao's face didn't show any emotion, but eyes were filled with a raging fire wanting to destroy everything around the Asakura, "…stop talking…"

"Bitch, you can eat the bottom of my balls!" Kisame shouted back, "I didn't claim her!" he huffed, "That's all that I wanna say…..Hoe."

"Are you two done?" asked Orochimaru. Kisame grumbled curses as he looked away from the snake man while Hao rolled his eyes, clearly over the brief argument, "Good. Now, I like Sairaorg's peerage and I have kept up with them since we first met. I'll help him however I can."

"Awww!" said Kuroka, "That's so nice, nya! I hope Rias doesn't get jealous."

"She probably will get jealous. You know how selfish she is." laughed Naruto, "But I am looking forward to watching you two fight. Hopefully, we won't be too busy around the time your schedule to fight."

"It's something I look forward to." said Sairaorg, "But that isn't the only reason why I'm here, Naruto-sama. I wanted to talk with you…on a serious manner."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in mood, "Okay?" he said a little awkwardly, "What's going on?"

"Well…I wanted to ask you about your goal…" said Sairaorg, "When you become Great King…what do you plan to do? My father…honestly, isn't doing a good job in helping the Underworld. I want to know that I made the right decision in supporting you…and give an idea I had to you if I like what I hear.." he said, mumbling the last part.

The blonde Bael smirked at his younger clansman, not at all bothered by the question. "When I become Great King, the first thing I will do is restore the relationship between the Satans and the Bael Council. With both parties at alliance, I'd move my focus to those at the bottom: helping Low-Class and Mid-Class Devils by giving them fair opportunities to raise their rank and financially stable. I'll also focus on making every Devil have the same rights, so [King]s won't get away with abusing their peerage members, and protects those working for High-Class Families and royals. I won't forget about the High-Class Devils, too. The Bael Council hasn't been supportive when it comes to dealing with other Noble Devil Clans. I'll involve myself with outside factions and, hopefully, will allow the Devil Clans to expand their businesses on their territory….whewww…that was a mouthful." laughed Naruto when he finished his lengthy plan.

"That…is an elaborate plan…" muttered a wide-eyed Sairaorg, "Jeez, Naruto-sama…I knew you were smart, but your plan is really amazing."

"It makes me wonder how the Bael Clan could seal you in the first place…" said Kuisha as she digested everything the blonde Bael threw at them.

Naruto grinned at the praise, "Hehe…thanks. I've had a lot of time to think about it…and Kuroka helped smooth out some edges." he said as he patted his [Queen]'s head and getting a purr of satisfaction from her.

"Really?" interrupted a surprised Orochimaru. His eyes shifted towards Kuroka, who had curled up around one of the couch pillows. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell that she was listening by how her cat ears would twitch every now and then. "You actually helped Naruto-sama with his plan?"

The cat girl yawned, flashing her sharp fangs to her on-lookers, before responding, "Ny…..Yeah…He told me about it when we first moved here…I helped him…nnnnyyyaaaaaaaa…I helped him with a few little thingys…." her hazel-gold eyes opened and glanced to the pale-skinned [Pawn], "Why does it surprise you that I can be smart when I want to, Orochimaru?" she asked with a dangerous underlining tone.

The snake man hummed, not caring for Kuroka's accusation. "I never believed you to be one of the smarter members of our peerage," he admitted, causing Kuroka to sweat drop, "seeing as all you think about is milk, sleep, and your little sister."

"Oh….well you're not wrong…" she muttered before snuggling back into her pillow, "I just wanna help Naruto whenever I can, nya…"

"And you did, my [Queen]." replied Naruto, "Couldn't have done it without cha'…Now then," he said as he focused back on Sairaorg and Kuisha, "since I've answered you question, you said you had an idea for me, Sairaorg."

"O-oh, yes!" he stuttered before being filled with energy at the opportunity at presenting this idea, "I came up with it when I was young, living with my mother here on the countryside and it fits perfectly with your ideals of reform."

"Mmmhmm…" hummed Naruto in interest, "Go on…"

"So, your main goal is to help those apart of the lower-classes of Devil society…and to establish laws to protect them. My idea, and while it may be a long shot, but if everyone were to start at zero, then it would be easier for everyone to understand each other! Go through the same process to promote themselves, and overall unify all Devils!"

"Start from zero…." mumbled Hao, rubbing his chin as he thought about what that meant, "You….you don't mean…"

"Everyone should start off as a Low-Class Devil." stated Orochimaru, dropping the bomb on everyone, "That is what you mean, Sairaorg?" he asked the younger Bael.

Sairaorg nodded before replying, "Yes sir. Every child born, no matter the family he or she hails from, should start off as a Low-Class Devil."

Naruto's face was scrunched up as he processed Sairaorg's risky idea. "I'm not gonna lie, Sairaorg…" he started, "…this idea of yours does sound good to me, but it would be hard to pull off….but it sounds amazing, nevertheless!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"It actually does make sense." started Orochimaru, "While children that come from Noble Devil Houses will still have an advantage coming from richer, better-off families, it will still separate those that do and do not deserve the title as a High-Class Devil."

"Right." said Sairaorg with a nod, "And wi-

"But then that would also push the age of [King]s up as well." Hao butted in, cutting off the large teenager, "High-Class Devils get their Evil Pieces as kids. If those same children are born as Low-Class Devil, it'll take longer for them to get their Evil Pieces since they have to work to be promoted."

"Well that's a good fucking if you ask me!" shouted Kisame, "These damn kids think they own the fucking world just cause of their last name! By doing some actual fucking for once in their damn lives, they'll build some god damn maturity...and some fucking character! Can't have dumbasses like that dick chicken dude Hoe hangs around or that doofus that cheated during that boring ass Devil Exam."

"Maybe Rating Games will be more exciting if the competitors aren't 18-year old [King]s." said Naruto, "Although, the Devil Clans probably won't be too happy with this idea. Some of them know their heirs or other kids of their higher-ranking members aren't the best when it comes to combat….maybe we should add another way to become a High-Class Devil…like having a successful business or something, eh?" he said to his peerage members, "How's that sound?"

"Somebody like little Mag would benefit from a policy like that, nya." answered Kuroka, slowly sitting up and propping her head on Naruto's shoulder, "Those other little Devils that come from big families could become the heir of their clan or inherit the family business, which will qualify them for promotion. Sounds legit to me, nya."

"I have to agree with Kuroka. However, I'd refrain from telling this plan to the Devil Clans until you have certified your position as Great King, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru, "I'm sure they wouldn't be on the supportive side on this policy."

"Yeah, you're right…" said Naruto, "But it isn't something that we can incorporate. This isn't I could just drop on to everybody…it has to be planned out…over a span of years, most likely."

"Twenty or thirty at the minimum….fifty or sixty at the max." added Hao, "We'll gradually introduce the idea to the Underworld, and as time passes, everyone would have either prepared for the policy to enact, or still be denying the cultural change. For one, Low-Class Devils would fully support this idea, which is the majority of the population of Devils."

The group of Naruto, Kuroka, Hao, Orochimaru, and Kisame continued to debate and plan out Sairaorg's idea, fully forgetting the fact that the two young Devils were sitting in the room with them. Both Kuisha and Sairaorg sat there in silence as words were thrown over their heads and across the room.

' _They've totally forgotten that we're here…'_ thought the duo, with Kuisha sweat dropping at the fact while Sairaorg scratched his head in boredom.

"This idea is gonna take some revision and planning…and free styling, which is my specialty." grinned Naruto, "Kuroka, put that on my to-do list."

"Doing it now, nya." she said as she summoned a pad and pencil and got to writing.

"Whelp, I've gotta say Sairaorg," the younger Bael perked up at his presence finally being noticed after a few minutes of on-looking, "this idea of yours is really good. It'll take some work to figure a few things out, but it's possible. Thanks for bringing it up."

"Yes sir!" he bowed, "I'm glad that I could be of use."

"You could be even more of use if you learn how to make some cupcakes." suggested Kisame with a shark-like smirk.

"Uh….Kuisha is talented in the cooking arts more than anyone in my peerage, if that helps…." said the Bael, pointing to the surprised blonde beauty.

"Really! That's great!" Kisame jumped out of his recliner and made his way over to Kuisha, "Come on! We've got some business to do in the kitchen!"

"Wa-wait, Kisame-sama!" the [Knight] ignored all of Kuisha's pleas as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the kitchen, leaving Sairaorg in a bout of confusion and guilt at giving up his [Queen] to the hands of Kisame.

"Oh yea! I almost forgot." said Naruto, garnering everyone's attention as he looked towards Hao, "Hao, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night?" said Hao, "Well….there was this documentary of the Vikings I planned to watch…"

"So nothing! Great!" clapped Naruto, causing Hao to twitch in annoyance at his master's dismissal of his hobby, "How about you go on date with me and Gabriel? Sona's gonna be there~." he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Kuroka was going to leave at the mention of Naruto going on a date with Gabriel, but Hao being invited was a twist she wasn't expecting-nor was Orochimaru and Hao, judging by the surprised facial expressions. _'This is interesting, nya…'_ she thought as she sat and listened.

Naruto grinned at the hardly noticeable, small red tint added to Hao's cheeks. "A date?" he tried to say in disgust, but Naruto knew better, "I don't have the time for such childish things."

"Oh really? Even when Sona already agreed to going out with you?" the spark of interest in Hao's eyes was all Naruto needed to convince his [Bishop] to go with him. "I talked to her earlier today after I invited Issei and Rias. She was so happy that your still thinking about her…but is a little insecure because of her age and thought you wouldn't take her serious….." Naruto feigned sadness as he prepped a teleportation seal beneath him, "But it seems her worries were true…if she finds going on dates okay, but you find them as childish, I guess you two shouldn't go out together…"

"I know what you're doing…" muttered Hao with a small glare at his blonde master.

"But it's working, isn't it?" answered Naruto with a shit-eating grin that basically mocked Hao.

The older Asakura twin blew away the band of hair from the side of his face as he admitted his interest, "….hai…." he said with a lack of energy, hating the fact that he was bested by his master…as usual.

"Great! So I'll tell her that you agreed. It's nothing to crazy, so you can wear everyday clothes….or everyday tunic, in your case. I'll be back soon." he finished before disappearing, leaving Hao alone with a grinning Kuroka, a noticeably amused Orochimaru, and a laughing Sairaorg.

"Shut up. Don't say anything." muttered Hao as he walked over to Kisame's recliner and claimed the remote for himself.

"I think it's cute, nya. You and Sona got something going on, nya~." Kuroka said suggestively while licking her lips.

"Again. Shut up." Hao said as he started to search through channels, in search of something to entertain the stoic [Bishop].

"There's nothing wrong with admitting your attraction to the Sitri heiress, Hao." said Orochimaru with his raspy voice, "Sona is a smart girl, unlike most girls of this generation. I'd say that you two have a lot in common and suggest you take this opportunity to build upon what you two had before we left Kuoh Town."

"Orochimaru, what could you ever know about love?" crackled Sairaorg.

"I know much about it, like how love is only a compound of chemicals including dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, norepinephrine-

"Never mind, Orochimaru." sighed Sairaorg, "I should've have expected such an answer from you." he said as he stood from his couch, "If you two would excuse me, I have to save my [Queen] from Kisame. I wish you both well. Until next time." he said with a bow before entering the kitchen to retrieve of Kuisha.

"If you ask me…" Orochimaru began once Sairaorg was gone, "…I saw nothing wrong with my answer…because it was factual."

"I agree." stated the stoic Hao.

"Oh you two, nya." giggled Kuroka at the men, "So oblivious to things like love….or emotions, nya." she said with an eye roll.

Both Hao and Orochimaru glanced at each other before looking at the Nekomata, "Excuse me, but is Naruto-sama going on a date with you or Gabriel-sama?" asked Orochimaru.

"Shut up." Kuroka muttered in defeat, hugging a couch pillow to her chest and slumped in depression.

 **Timeskip**

 **Iron Maiden Orphanage**

"AAhahahahahahaha! That is literally the most hilarious thing Riser has heard all day! Ahahaha!"

Riser Phenex, who was back in the kitchen washing the piles of dishes in a pink apron, couldn't hold back his howls of laughter as Hao told him about his upcoming date with Sona and the others. The Asakura was sitting on the table behind him with Opacho sitting in his lap. A twitch mark was on Hao's forehead as he Riser continued to laugh, annoying him to no end. Opacho sat silently in Hao's lap, staring at the laughing Phenex with a small glare. The girl didn't appreciate Riser making fun of Hao's situation, but the four-year old didn't feel like arguing with the obnoxious blonde either.

"And what is hilarious about my date?" asked Hao with irritation evident in his voice.

"Because!" laughed Riser, "What in the hell would you of all people do on a date? Talk about your little documentaries that you watch! She'll be bored in seconds-hahaha!" he laughed.

"Sona is an intelligent person. I would believe she would enjoy such a conversation." countered Hao, but it only served to fuel Riser's enjoyment as he entered another round of laughter.

"You're going with Sona!? That lame, stoic, unexciting little girl?!" shouted Riser, "Well…seeing as you are all those things and more, Riser can see why you two would try to make things work."

"Fabulous." muttered Hao, "You probably wouldn't understand…seeing as most of the members of your peerage are incompetent.

"Say what you will, but Riser has far more experience with women in the past year than you have in your entire life." stated the blonde, flexing his sexual conquest at his mentor, "You don't know how to keep a women's attention for even a minute before you bore her to death."

Riser's head was chomped off as the embodiment of Spirit of Fire's head appeared behind him with an open maw. The younger Devil's upper body slowly recovered from his clan's legendary bloodline ability, a Hao-like, shit-eating grin on his newly reformed face. "So this is how you act when you're wrong? I didn't suspect you to be the jealous type."

"I'm not jealous, idiot." replied Hao as he summoned Spirit of Fire away after having its mid-day snack, "I just don't like listening to stupidity."

"As you shouldn't, Hao-sama." huffed Opacho, crossing her small arms to emphasize her anger, "Riser only fucks stupid girls. None of them are worthy for you in my opinion."

Both Riser and Hao stared at Opacho in disbelief, who hadn't thought she said anything wrong as she continued to glare at Riser. However, after feeling Hao's eyes on her, she tilted her head upwards, her large afro brushing against his chest, and stared back up at the older Devil. "Something a matter, Hao-sama?" she asked with wide, innocent eyes.

"Opacho…where did you learn the word 'fuck'?" asked a secretly concerned Hao.

"From my books." she answered as if it were the simplest answer in the world.

"Hmm…" hummed Hao, "I'll have to monitor what you read for now on."

"An-anyway, "said Riser, "You should listen to Riser. Riser has the knowledge you need to have an eventful date that will end with Sona in your bed begging you t-

Opacho blinked before reaching for Hao's hands and pull them away (it was more Hao allowing her to pull his hands away) and said, "But I already know what the idiot was going to say anyway. The idiot was going to say that you would have Sona in your bed begging you to fuck her ruthlessly until she's unconscious, right?"

Again, both Hao and Riser stared at the little girl in disbelief. _'How the hell does she know what that is?'_ where the two's thoughts as Opacho yawned cutely.

"Hao-sama…..Opacho tired…" she muttered as she hugged his midsection and started to doze off.

' _I've really got to monitor what you read, Opacho.'_ thought Hao as he ran his hands through the girl's thick hair. "I'll humor you for now, Riser, and listen to this 'advice' of yours…" Riser smirked at Hao's words, believing that Hao was no better than himself, "…but only because I wished to be entertained while I watch you wash dishes, which you need to hurry up and finish." _'He isn't wrong when he said he has more experience when it comes to deal with the opposite gender….I'll listen to what he says, but use the exact opposite of his disgusting 'advice' during the date.'_ he thought as Riser started his rambling.

 **Timeskip – The Next Day**

 **Evening – Kuoh Town**

"Stopping worrying, Sona-sama! You look great!"

"I know, but I still don't know what to do a-and what if he doesn't show? We're already the first one's here."

"That's because you panicked so much about being late that we came here twenty minutes ago, Sona."

Sona Sitri, heiress of the Sitri Clan, was a nervous wreck. Fear and anxiety, feelings she's experienced, tortured her as she awaited the start of the date she had with Hao, along with the others. She was currently standing outside of the movie theater Naruto had told her to come to earlier in the day. Because of her worry, a few of her peerage members decided to see her off and give her moral support before her date arrived.

The young Sitri had discarded her usual school uniform for a more casual look-something one of her [Bishop]s, Momo Hanakai, assured her Hao would appreciate. From the eyes of a stranger, Sona looked like a cute-school girl going out on her first date (which was the truth). She wore a light-green shirt that exposed her shoulders and white bra straps, and a pair of jean shorts. Black leggings clung to her legs and matched with her black flats, finishing her look. Overall, Sona was very physically appealing to the eye, but the nervousness that wracked through her kept her from feeling confident in herself.

"Sona, calm down." said her [Queen] as she tried to quell her master's worry, "You know how Hao-sama acts. Just do what you usually did when he lived in Kuoh."

"I wish it were that simple, but time changes people." muttered Sona, "I haven't seen or talked to him since he left. I don't even know if Naruto-sama was telling the truth when he said that Hao would actually go on date with me. That doesn't sound like something he would do…"

Momo lightly face palmed at her master's lack of confidence in herself-a characteristic Sona wasn't known to have. "Honestly, Sona-sama, everything will be alright. I've been on a few dates in the past and I can tell you now that being nervous is normal. However, you have the benefit of already being friends with Hao-sama, so this date won't be as bad as you think it will be. Just relax and everything will be fine."

"Al….alright…" said Sona after exhaling, calming herself in the process, "Everything will be fine…"

The trio of Sona, Momo, and Tsubaki continued to wait uninterrupted until Rias and Issei had arrived. The [King]/[Pawn] duo had also discarded their school uniform for the date. Rias wore a white, buttoned down dress shirt tucked into a pair of black pants that hugged her long legs. A loose red tie hung from her collar and red sneakers completed her look while Issei wore a pair white jeans and a plain red shirt, matching Rias' tie and glamorous hair.

' _Color co-ordination?!'_ Sona screamed mentally as the duo greeted her peerage members, _'They just had to go all out to show that they're better….'_

Sona was pulled out of her inner rage as Rias approached her, "Sona! You look so cute in your outfit. I'm so used to seeing you in our school uniform."

"Hmph….so you're saying that I don't look good in our uniform." the Sitri said with a glare, "That's good to know."

"Wha…No, Sona. That's not what I meant…"

"Please, disregard Sona." stepped in Tsubaki, "She's just very nervous and insecure at the moment."

"Oh, really?" asked Rias with a smirk, "What's the worry, Sona? Scared that Hao doesn't like you?"

"Please…let's not joke about something like that…" she said with a sigh, pushing up her glasses on her nose, "Forgive me for what I said…but I am nervous. I've never been on a date."

"We'll take care of ya', Sona." Issei said with a thumbs up, "Plus, you'll be with people you know, so it won't be awkward like how you think it will be."

"And if you need help, Issei, Naruto, Gabriel and myself will be there to assist you. So just focus on having a good time!" smiled Rias.

"Hey there, everyone!" said the familiar voice of Naruto. The group's focused shifted to the direction of Naruto's voice, revealing that he was with both Gabriel and Hao. Naruto himself wore a white and orange bomber jacket over a black shirt and black joggers. For an older Devil, the Bael did mix in well with the younger crowd, having the appearance of a man in his early twenties.

Gabriel had decided to wear something other than her robes, wearing a blue and white stripped sundress that covered her skin, along with a short jean jacket and yellow purse. Her usual halo that hovered over her head was gone to hide the fact that she was an Angel to the Humans, but even with most of her bodily features hidden, she was still getting stares of awe from many passersbys.

However, Sona's focus was on the approaching Hao, who had discarded his oversized poncho cloak for a buttoned down, white-dress shirt with the first button undone, revealing a small portion of his chest, and a pair of dark khakis and black shoes. His long-brown hair flowed down sides of his face and his back perfectly, accentuating his dark brown eyes.

"Glad everyone made it." grinned Naruto as they made it to the group. Everyone exchanged greetings…all except Sona, who hid behind the group. While she did want to see the older Asakura twin, her nervousness stopped her from talking with him.

' _I'm so pathetic…'_ she thought as she clenched her eyes shut, _'I can't even look him in the eye. He'd never be interested in someone li-'_

"All these months," Hao's voice entered her ears, causing a shiver to run up her spine, "and you can't even look at me. My, one would think that you are avoiding me, Sona Sitri."

The Sitri heiress took in a long breath of air before exhaling, calming her nerves and slowly opening her eyes, Hao's cocky smile the first thing she saw. "It's….it's been a while." she uttered.

"It has…you look great." he replied, getting a small blush from the girl.

Tsubaki and Momo smiled at the scene, glad to see that their [King] was slowly overcoming her fear. "Take care of her for us, Hao-sama." said Tsubaki, "She was quite nervous about meeting you after such a long time."

Hao chuckled at Sona's protest to Tsubaki's words, "I promise I'll do right by her." he answered, "To be honest, I was also nervous. I've never done something like this before, but I decided to come since Sona was involved."

That surprised the Sitri as she turned towards Hao with a slightly surprised look. "Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"It's the truth." he shrug, "I planned on watching a documentary tonight, but when Naruto came to me with today's events, I couldn't deny that I was interested….and I wanted to see you after so long."

Sona's blush intensified by three as her cheeks were flushed with a deep red. Tsubaki and Momo held back their laughs, not wanting to add to the embarrassment their friend was experiencing. "We'll be leaving now. You two have fun." said Tsubaki.

"And don't do anything dirty to master!" laughed Momo, sticking her tongue out.

"Momo!" Sona harshly whispered at the girl, not liking what her [Bishop] was implying.

Hao chuckled at the white-haired beauty, "I promise I won't do anything of the sort."

The two nodded and waved at Sona as they left, leaving her with Hao and the others. "Just relax." said Hao to Sona, who shifted her eyes away from her retreating peerage members to her date, "We're here to have fun…and do something different. Let's just enjoy the night, alright?"

The confidence that Hao had in his eyes somehow filled Sona with confidence as well. With a small smile, she nodded before replying, "Alright…Let's have fun."

"You two ready!?" asked Naruto. The others had moved closer to the entrance of the theater and noticed that Hao and Sona weren't with them, "We're gonna watch a comedy, if that's alright with you two!"

"Will there be cursing?" asked the innocent Gabriel, "You know I don't like cursing, Naru."

"Eh, if there's cursing, just imagine the actors said another word…like fiddlesticks or donkey." shrugged Naruto as Hao and Sona caught up with them.

The group of Devils and one Angel entered the movie theater, not noticing the glowing eyes from a shady figure watching them, dressed in the uniform that the workers of the theater wore.

"Let's play a game shall we….Naruto-sama…." grinned the man as he entered the movie theater.

 **Inside the theater**

After waiting in line and getting their tickets, the group of six walked towards the concession stand for snacks. Gabriel, being quite the food junky, wanted a large bowl of popcorn along with a drink Naruto and her could share and candy.

The Seraph's eyes gleamed with stars as she stared at the all of the available snacks. "Oh my! I have never seen this before." she said as her eyes focused on a particular box of candy through the glass. "It looks so delicious! We don't have this up in Heaven!"

Noticing the group's confusion, Naruto chuckled before explaining, "Gabriel's a food fanatic. She loves eating human food…it's one of the many things that we did while I was training Kuroka as our favorite past time a few years back."

"That's interesting." answered Issei as it was his turn to order for Rias and himself, "Hey, can I get…."

"Gabriel, you should go with Hao and Sona to save the seats. I'll buy the snacks and meet back with you." he suggested.

"Alright. I'll see you there." she said with a quick kiss to his cheek before leaving for their assigned theater. Not too long after she left, Rias and Issei had paid for and collected their food, leaving Naruto to order for himself and Gabriel.

Stepping up to the concession stand, Naruto glancing at the menu one last time before ordering, "Hey, I'd like a large popcorn and a drink…and some of those little gummy bears too."

"Oh yea, those gummy bears are the shit, huh Naruto-sama?"

"Yeah, I-" Naruto's nostrils flared open as his eyes widened at the familiar voice. In front of him stood a grinning, brown-haired boy with a dark blue polo on. His wild, medium-length hair and a grin he was all too familiar with.

"Ta…Tatsumi…" muttered Naruto in utter disbelief.

In front of him stood Tatsumi, one of the members of Honest Bael's peerage. The younger boy's small grin was like a knife to the heart as Naruto processed the fact that he was here. However, that same shock that was on the Bael's face was soon switched with rage as he glared at the smirking boy in a fit of anger. "What are you doing here, Tatsumi…." growled Naruto at a volume where anyone nearby wouldn't hear.

"What? I'm just doing my job." shrugged the boy as he went to retrieve Naruto's order. The Bael noticed how none of the staff noticed his presence as he danced through them to acquire everything Naruto asked. As he did this, Naruto took notice of the humans around him. He was the only person waiting at Tatsumi's register as the humans lined up behind the other two available registers. It was as if they didn't realize there was another register with a much shorter line open to them.

' _An illusion…'_ Naruto summed up as Tatsumi returned in front of Naruto and handed him his snacks. Keeping up the façade, Naruto silently accepted his food. "This one's on the house." said Tatsumi with a smile, "Oh yea….I almost forgot to tell you."

Tatsumi's right eye color morphed from a light green to a dark red as a murderous smirk grew on the younger boy's face. "I wouldn't eat that popcorn if I were you….enjoy the movie, _'Naruto-sama'_ …" he finished before walking away from his post, ignoring the Bael's heated glare at his back.

The Bael quickly made his way to the theater, but not before putting a few innocent humans under a spell and took their popcorn, snacks, and drink from them. Entering the theater, Naruto located his group, who was near the top right-side of the theater. Hao, Sona, Rias and Issei sat on the row below Gabriel with a few chairs between them for privacy.

Marching up the stairs, Naruto sat next to Gabriel and gave her the drink. "Here." he said, passing her the drink the two would share.

The Seraph glanced towards her boyfriend, noticing his narrowed eyes and frown. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh…Yeah, I'm alright." lied Naruto as he quickly morphed his frown into a grin, "The damn concession dude got on my nerves a little. I don't think he was taking his job seriously…"

Accepting his excuse, the Seraph's eyes darted to the gummy bears in Naruto's hand. "Oooooohhhhh…." she said in awe as she took the gummy bears for herself and opened them.

The blond Bael chuckled at his girlfriend's antics and settled into his seat as the theater darkened, signaling that the previews were about to start.

' _Relax, Naruto…'_ the Bael thought to himself as he rested his head on Gabriel's shoulder, _'Tatsumi isn't going to fuck up tonight…just relax….'_

The previews to upcoming movies were playing, with a few actually catching Naruto's interest. The tension in his muscle from seeing Tatsumi slowly lessened as time passed, and with Gabriel by his side, the blonde Bael succumbed to the atmosphere as peace replaced his worry. _'Yeah…tonight's gonna be a good night…'_ he said as threw a few pieces of popcorn into his awaiting mouth.

Everything was going good for the group as the final run of previews started before the actual movie. Naruto's worry had fully disappeared-as if he hadn't even meet Tatsumi not too long ago. The Devil/Angel duo sat in a comfortable silence as the final preview started that showed another interesting movie.

' _Kisame would enjoy something like that…'_ thought Naruto as he munched on his popcorn, _'He likes stuff like thi-_

A flash of Esdeath's smiling face popped up on the screen.

It was at an instant, hardly noticeable to those who were paying attention, but Naruto noticed. The screen was back to playing the final preview, but that one moment was all it took for his fears to force its way back into his mental. His eyes widened as his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach as the worst possible thoughts started to flood his mind. However, he gained control of his increased heart rate and calmed his nerves. _'Calm down, Naruto…think and analyze…'_

Using his peripheral vision, he saw Gabriel's confused face. She probably saw the image as well, but probably didn't know why it happened or who it was, seeing as she had never seen Esdeath before. _'Good…if she didn't react, I won't…'_

Glancing to the other movie goers, most people either didn't see Esdeath's face or didn't care since her picture popped up for only a split second. _'Looks like Rias and Issei didn't notice either…'_ he thought after shooting a glance at the duo sitting on the row beneath him. Moving to the last two people he hadn't expected, Naruto analyzed Sona and Hao. Sona's eyes were focused on her drink, so she probably didn't notice Esdeath's photo….but Hao was staring directly act him. The Asakura twin nodded at his master, before turning away, leaving Naruto to make the decision on how to act.

' _Okay, Tatsumi…'_ thought Naruto as his devious mind started to devise a plan to deal with their intruder, _'You have my attention….'_

 **Naruto Bael, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Tatsumi, Devil, Rank: ?, Evil Piece: ?**

Gabriel, who was excited for the move that was about to start, felt Naruto's head leave her shoulder. Shifting her eyes to her boyfriend, she noticed that he was shivering slightly. "Are you cold, Naru?" she asked innocently.

"Ye-yea…This theater is a little chilly…" he said with a shrug.

"Hmm….I agree…" she said. Because she was so excited for the movie, she hadn't noticed that she was slightly cold. Her jean jacket hardly kept her warm.

"Would you like for me to turn up the temperature a little?" he asked.

"I don't know…I don't want to bother the others…" she answered.

"Don't worry, Gabriel….see, watch…" leaning down to Rias and Issei's level, Naruto whispered at the duo, "Hey, are you two a little cold?"

Rias' eyes perked up at the topic, "We were just talking about that." she whispered back, "It is a little cold."

"See?" he said as he turned back to his angelic girlfriend, "Everyone's cold." he exaggerated, "Let me handle it for us, okay?"

After a few seconds of internal debate, Gabriel agreed with a hesitant nod. "Okay…but not too high."

"Of course." answered Naruto.

The blonde Bael lowered his hand underneath his chair as he created one of his astral orbs. The glow of his orb was minimized by Naruto so it wouldn't alert any humans nearby, but he hid his creation under his seat just in case. After he packed the orb with enough magic to kill multiple High-Class Devils, he released it. _'Let's play this game of yours, Tatsumi.'_ he thought as his orb holding some of his conscious fazed into the floor.

Naruto's first objective was to find the thermostat to keep his promise to Gabriel. After finding it, the orb grew small arms and changed the temp from a chilly 63 to a satisfying, default room temp of 70. _'_ _Now for the real goal._ _'_ thought Naruto's split consciousness inside his orb as it hovered upwards, fazing into the ceiling above to search for his second objective.

The orange orb fazed through the walls until it was in the projector room. The room wasn't that big, with the oversized projector taking up the majority of the space. Operating the projecting was a man in a black poncho and hood. Naruto couldn't get a good look at his face, but he could sense magic within him.

Next to the unknown man was a small table. Scattered on its surface were various pictures of Esdeath. _"_ _So you're implementing the pictures in the film, huh?_ _"_ said Naruto.

The man chuckled evilly as he stood from his stool. "Naruto-sama. We are glad to see that you are well." he said as he bowed at the orb.

" _I don't have time for your bullshit! What the hell are you doing here!? And what's Tatsumi's plan!?_ _"_ he demanded.

"The plan is to convince you to be with Esdeath-sama, of course." answered the man honestly, "Master Tatsumi respects both of you, but is saddened that a certain obstacle is in the way of you two becoming one. He's here to help, Naruto-sama."

" _I don't want your twisted way of 'help'._ _"_ growled the orb, _"_ _Now get the hell out of here and leave us alone! "_

"You still don't see the error in your ways…." whispered the man as he shook his head in disappointment, "The angel has you wrapped around her finger…your betraying your own race and you don't even care…" the man smirk sadistically as he continued, "However…I wonder what will happen if your precious Seraph finds out that you are engaged already? Her dear lover...lying to her about his loyalty. Hehehe… I bet she probably thinks about being with you…marrying you…only to find out that you belong to someone else…"

Two large arms sprouted from the small orb as it advanced in a burst of speed, capturing the laughing man and was slowly being crushed to death by Naruto's grip. His bones creaked and popped at the excessive force, but he continued to laugh, a stream of blood escaping from his mouth.

" _If you wish to live…you will leave immediately._ _"_ Naruto said with a tone that demanded obedience. The astral orb's usual orange color was slowly turning red as Naruto called upon his Power of Destruction, threatening to end the man's existence.

"Ack…Hehe….My life…urghh…i-is already over…" the man grinned through the pain as he continued, "If…you kill the other two…yo-your..urh…se-secret is safe…. …..for now.." he gasped out, "I pray that yo-you lose…for Esdeath-sama's happiness…an-and…your own….Naruto-sama…"

Naruto heard a 'crunch' sound come from the man's mouth. Seconds later, he was foaming from the mouth, his body twitching as whatever he did was killing him. Seconds later, his twitching ended as the life left his eyes. His body slumped, only being held up by Naruto's arms.

' _That damn Tatsumi…_ _'_ growled Naruto as he destroyed the dead man's body with his Power of Destruction. He also destroyed all of the pictures of Esdeath, not wanting to look at the pale-beauty's face any longer.

"Good job, Naruto-sama!" the now orange orb turned when it heard Tatsumi's voice. Said voice was coming from the intercom on the ceiling. "One down! Two to go!"

" _Tatsumi, I swear that I will kill you if you don't stop this mess now._ _"_ threatened Naruto, _"_ _Playing a game isn't worth your life. "_

"You and Esdeath-sama being together is worth more than my life." replied Tatsumi over the intercom, "I just wanna have a little fun. Life's been boring since you left, even though we're having our first Rating Game for the battle of the crown tomorrow. I don't know…I just wanna help…"

" _This isn't helping, Tatsumi. Just leave and I'll forget all about this._ _"_ replied Naruto.

"Hmmm…" thought Tatsumi, "….Nah! Hehehe! This is just too interesting!" he laughed, "Now, I've got some more rules to add to my little challenge. You've got 30 minutes to find my other two minions! If you don't get rid of them before the time limit, I'll expose your engagement to your 'current' significant other. Also! You have to do everything in secret. I don't want any humans finding out or Gabriel herself. Follow those rules and you have a chance at winning! Be creative! Do anything to win! I really want to see what you the legendary 'Compass Needle of Victory' can do when the odds are against him! Time's ticking!" finished Tatsumi, ending the intercom call.

Naruto growled to himself before floating over to the wall to rendezvous with his actual body, but suddenly, a purple barrier surrounded the walls of the small room. _'_ _What is this?_ _'_ he thought to himself as he tried to faze through the barrier, but the powerful-barrier rejected any attempt at his escape.

"Oh yea!" Tatsumi's voice fazed through the intercom once more, "This isn't going to be as easy as you thought, Naruto-sama. Under normal circumstances, this would be a breeze for you, so I've got to make it a little bit challenging. Plus, we needed to find a way to counter that orb form of yours. Glad to know that this works! Hope you lose!"

Back to the real Naruto, he gritted his teeth in silence now that part of his conscious was now stuck in a room not even a few meters away. _'I've gotta be careful now…'_ thought the Bael, his neutral face representing the opposite of his inner thoughts as he planned a way to find Tatsumi's last two assailants, _'He didn't give me any identification as to who I'm supposed to be searching for, so I'll just sense out their magical presence….but from where I am now, I can't sense anyone other Rias, Issei, Hao, Sona, and Gabriel….and if I can't sense Tatsumi or his minions, then they must be hiding their presence with some type of spell…but if I get close enough, then I'll be able to pinpoint them out…'_

The entire theater erupted with laughter as the main character's car keys dropped into a sewer hole next to his feet. Naruto was mimicked the audience, laughing on the outside but coming up with a strategy that would win Tatsumi's game. _'I need to inform Hao of what's going on and then search out the theater with my orbs. It'd be best if I didn't get the others involved. The clock is ticking…'_

"Aaaachoo!" Naruto sneezed suddenly, garnering a lot of attention, which was exactly what he was aiming for.

"Naru, are you alright?" asked Gabriel, not noticing the small magic seal that he made beneath Rias' seat or the small barrier covering the seal so that he could create his minions uninterrupted.

"Yea….snifff… I'm fine." he grinned. From the seal under Rias' seat grew two more of his orbs. One fazed through the floor, while the other fazed underneath all of the seats until it was underneath Hao. Flying upwards, the orb fazed through the Asakura's seat and entered his body, establishing a link between servant and master.

' _What's the problem?'_ Hao immediately asked once he felt his master's magic enter his body.

' _One of Honest's peerage members is here…along with some friends…_ _'_ explained Naruto, _'_ _He wants me to play his stupid game…if I don't find and kill his two assailants, then he'll expose my arranged marriage with Esdeath to Gabriel somehow. I'm not taking any chances, so I'm using my orbs to find the last two before he does anything else. His first friend committed suicide when I found him in the projector room._ _'_

' _That's surprising…'_ began Hao as he processed his master's predicament, _'You told us when breaking down every member of Honest's peerage that Tatsumi was like a regular teenage boy….seems he was hiding a dark side all along.'_

' _He'll regret it after I'm finished with his friends, who I'm searching for now_ _. ' _replied Naruto.

' _Do you need borrow Spirit of Fire?'_ suggested the older Asakura twin, _'He's a spirit, so he'll be invisible to any human eye…though stealth isn't his strong suit…'_

' _Thanks, but no thanks. I'll handle this swiftly and quietly...I'll keep you informed on everything…just continue to enjoy your time with Sona. '_

Hao mentally nodded and did what he was told. Naruto sighed before closing his eyes, shifting his focusing to one of his orbs that was searching throughout the movie theater.

Hiding themselves from the public with an invisibility spell, Naruto's orbs had gone through and searched three different theaters, but were taking too long to do so. _'I need to quicken the pace if I want to find those two…'_

Five more astral orbs grew from the seal underneath Rias and entered the ground, splitting off into different directions of the theater to widen his search for Tatsumi's servants.

' _Tatusmi is probably in one of the office inside of the theater since he was able to use the intercom. I'll send one of my orbs to find him, but the others are on the lookout for the last two minions I need to take care off…'_

The blonde's eyes widened as he felt something wet touching his upper stomach. Glancing down, he saw that a line of drool hung from the corner of his mouth and landed on his t-shirt. _'I'm…drooling?'_ he thought as he used his jacket sleeve to wipe the slob away. _'Damn it…this isn't good…'_ he thought as he made sure he 'cleaned' everything. _'I've never had to split my conscious up this much while doing such strenuous jobs….usually I only use them for communication, which is nothing for me….but now, 35% of my mind is outside of my body, with a large portion of it stuck inside the projector room, a little inside of Hao, and 5 more smaller portions in separate orbs looking for the dumbasses that's trying to ruin my relationship.'_

His eyes narrowed when he felt that one of his orbs was stuck inside of another barrier-this time in one of the many theaters that filled building. His perspective switched to his second trapped orb, searching around the theater for any possible magical signal from anyone in the crowd. _' And I just lost another one…and it seems like the people I'm looking for aren't in this theater…'_

Two more of Naruto's astrals orb grew out of the seal under Rias' seat, fazing through the floor as they were added to the hunt to find his two kills. The strain on Naruto's mind being split into multiple small pieces to fuel his orbs was starting to take a toll on the Bael. He felt a little dizzy, and the once clear image he had of the movie started to get somewhat fuzzy.

"Are you enjoying the movie, Naru?" asked Gabriel, internally scaring him as her voice filled his ears, but he hid his shock and feigned interest. "I find this movie's story quite enjoyable."

"Oh yea. This movies isn't all that great-good, bad. Hey, can you passssssssssss…me the potatoes?"

"Uh….you mean the popcorn?" Gabriel asked with a confused look, not understanding why her boyfriend was talking the way he was.

"Oh, whoops. Yeah, the popcorn, you're welcome." he said with a smile, sweating bullets as he pleaded in his mind that she wouldn't comment on his slip ups.

The Seraph looked at her boyfriend awkwardly, but nevertheless, passed him the oversized bowl of popcorn.

Munching on his popcorn, Naruto continued to watch the movie while receiving 6 mental images in his head of what his orbs saw. He wasn't receiving any image from the orbs that had merged with Hao, the one stuck in the projector room, and one stuck in another theater because they were practically useless at the moment. _'Just relax, Naruto…you can do this…..Bingo.'_

Shifting his perspective to his sixth orb, which was floating in the upper right hand corner of theater number 13, his eyes landed on a red-headed male sitting at the top row-just below the projector window. He sensed a small amount of magic from the man, the equivalent amount a regular Low-Class Devil has. The movie that was playing was a horror, and the giant room was filled with eerie music….the perfect setting for Naruto to make his move.

' _Now that I have you…it's time to make my move… '_he thought as his orb disappeared.

 **Five minutes later…**

The horror movie fanatics that were enjoying the murder happening on screen were filled with displeasure as the film suddenly disappeared and the lights came on. Shouts of anger and demands for their money back filled the air.

"What the fuck!?"

"It was about to get the best part you fucking hob knockers!"

"I want my money back, pronto!"

"This is a disgrace!"

Two of the theater's security guards entered from both sides of the theater, causing many of the movie goers' anger to be directed at them. However, the two silently walked up the stairs, ignoring all of the cries of refunds and displeasure, and made their way to the top row, blocking any escape for their target.

The man in their sights looked at the two large security guards with worry as they closed in on him. "Wha-what's going on!?" he shouted as one of the security guards placed one of his large hands on the man's shoulder.

"Yoshinagi Shimura…you are suspected of theft. Come with us quietly so we may sort things out." said the giant man that was packed with muscle. The newly named Yoshinagi gulped but nodded, allowing himself to be taken away by the duo.

The crowd watched and whispered amongst themselves as the trio made their way to the bottom of the stairs. The murmurs quieted when the other security guard announced, "Forgive us for interrupting your movie. We will start the movie back by two minutes so you may catch up on what happened, and everyone will be reimbursed with coupons to any of our movies in the future. Again, please forgive us."

The lights to the theater darkened again and the film started to roll again. By this time, the two security guards and Yoshinagi had turned the corner and were hidden behind the wall as they walked towards the exit.

The audience screamed at a sudden jump scare, filling the room with an exploitable noise…

Which was just what Naruto needed….

As the scream reverberated through the room, a green, soundproof barrier surrounded the two security guards and Yoshinagi, whose worried face morphed into an evil smile. They only had a few feet to fight in, but Tatsumi's henchmen didn't care as he summoned a magic circle and turned around, ready to blast the two security guards that were under Naruto's mind control into smithereens. However, his eyes widened as he saw that both security guards were protected by Naruto's Golem of Destruction, his magic disintegrating once it made contact with the deadly armor.

The two robotic-like armors flashed to life as they engaged, ripping the assailant's body apart before destroying it into nothingness…

….

…

…

 **Seconds Later…**

"Eh?" said one the security guards, glancing down at his hands before taking in his surroundings, "Hey, Corey… why are we in theater 13?"

"I…I don't know…how the hell did we even get here, Terry?" asked the other security guard, confused just like his partner.

"I'm not sure….hmm…we've gotta stop smoking weed while on the job."

"Facts." laughed Terry as the duo headed out of the movie theater, "Now, keep telling me about that girl!"

"Oh yea!" laughed Corey, "Now see, that ass was so fat, I could see it from the front…"

 **Projector Room**

"Now that was impressive!" said Tatsumi, his voice transmitted through the projector. The orb that was still stuck inside the projector room flared to life as Naruto activated the orb's perspective, allowing him to hear what was going on inside of the room. "You took control of the two security guards with your weird orbs thingys and then acted like my servant had done something wrong to get him away! Very creative indeed!" complimented the crazy teenager, "Nice fake name, too. I swear, Naruto-sama, you really think of it all. I see why Esdeath-sama loves you….but I don't swing that way, if that's what you were thinking…"

" _You just wait, Tatsumi. You'll hate that you decided to fuck with my night with Gabriel._ _"_ threatened Naruto. Even though his astral orb didn't have eyes, he felt like he was glaring at the intercom with all the hatred he could muster.

"Sure, whatever, but you've got one more of my buddies to deal with before you're in the safe zone! Also, just to make things fun and non-repetitive, you can't use the same tactic you did with 'what's-his-name' to kill my last servant. But you're a creative guy, Naruto-sama, so I'm sure this will be nothing for you! You've got fifteen minutes left!" finished Tatsumi as he ended the call.

Back in to the real Naruto, he growled to himself as he sent out his orbs once again to find the second suspect. _'Two down…one more annoyance to go…'_ he thought as he began his search again. His mind fogged up again and his vision started to become blurry again as 6 different mental pictures appeared in his head. _'I've gotta be more…careful this time... I'm trending on a dangerous line now…splitting my conscious up this much while doing strenuous task is messing with my overall senses…'_

He winced when the movie screen flashed white, which were the headlights from a car as the main character was driving during a rainy night. The rumble from the realistic speaker system as the car zoomed by, filling his head with heavy vibrations that started to make the Bael sick. _'Rel….relax…Naruto…relax…'_ was the mantra he would repeat over and over again, keeping a neutral face as his mind multi-tasked under the most pressure it's been through.

Two minutes had gone by, and, thankfully, none of his orbs had fallen into any of Tatsumi's barrier traps. He had searched every inch of the theater with his astral orbs, even locating where Tatsumi was, which was the office of the movie theater's owner. He couldn't break in, however, because there was another barrier stopping him from entering.

His search did lead him to what Naruto believed to be the location of Tatsumi's last henchman. After searching through the entire theater with his astral orbs, he had found out that other than where Tatsumi was, there was a place in the building that was already protected by a barrier.

 _'A bathroom? '_ thought Naruto. All of his orbs had gathered at the same place: a bathroom located on the far-right side of the building. A barrier invisible to the human eye stopped Naruto's orbs entering, and since he had searched every corner of the large building, this had to be the place where his last target.

Back with the real Naruto, he leaned over to his significant other, "Hey, Gabriel…" Naruto whispered to his Seraph girlfriend, catching her attention, "I'll be back in a minute. I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, but hurry back! This movie is really good!" she said happily, ignorant of Naruto's true intensions.

' _I'm headed to take care of the last target. Make sure they don't suspect anything while I'm gone._ _'_ echoed Naruto's voice in Hao's head. Hao nodded, their eyes making contact for a split second as Naruto walked down the stairs and exiting their theater.

As soon as he was outside the theater, the blonde Bael did the only logical thing: run.

His first destination was the projector room where his first orb was still stuck at. Apparently, only his orbs couldn't access rooms with Tatsumi's barrier, but people could. After using a few illusions on any humans that saw him enter the 'Employee's Only' room and climb up the stairs to a place he surely didn't have clearance to enter, he entered the room and absorbed his astral orb back into his body, a large chunk of his conscious returning with it.

"Ho, ho, ho!" voiced Tatsumi over the intercom in the small room, "Seems like you've located my last henchman. Great! However, just to make things even more challenging, you have to kill him in the bathroom! Anything else and I'm blabbing your engaged marriage with the Angel!"

"Fuck you." growled out Naruto as he ran back outside the projector room and to his second destination: theater number 3. One of his orbs with part of his conscious was still trapped there, so he had to go there personally, just like he did for the orb trapped in the projector room, if he wanted to retrieve it.

While on the way there, he had called forth all of his other orbs that hadn't been caught by any of Tatusumi's barrier traps, doing wonders on his mental strain as most of his conscious had now returned, along with the magic he packed into each orb. Once he entered theater 3, his hidden orb fazed through any obstacles until it made its way to Naruto, allowing him to absorb it and run to his final destination: the bathroom.

Collecting himself before entering, the blonde Bael rolled his shoulders a few times, ignoring his mental fatigue, before calmly entering in behind another male.

Walking into the bathroom, Naruto instantly located his target: a grey haired, older man that was using the wall stall to relieve himself. Out of the five available toilets on the wall, three were being used, including the one his target was using. Three men were washing their hands, two were awaiting a turn for a wall stall, and one of the two walk-in stalls were in-use.

Naruto made his way to the other walk-in stall, making sure to lock the door behind him. Moving towards the toilet, the Bael opened the lid, revealing the dark yellow water floating inside.

Ignoring the pungent smell of piss, Naruto summoned his bloodline's ability, his Power of Destruction dancing in his right hand as his eyes flashed red. "Time to get dirty…" he muttered as he created another one of his astral orbs in his left. After both components for his murder were ready, he sent a concentrated stream of destruction into the toilet, the red aura entering the drainage system. After that was finished, he pushed his astral orb into the bathroom wall; his intangible orb merging into the wall like it was nothing.

Next, the Bael cleaned the seat of the toilet with the toilet paper available and then placed a protective, plastic-covering over it. Pulling his pants down, Naruto turned around and sat on the seat, as if he were actually about to relieve himself.

"Here goes nothing…" he whispered to himself as he cupped his hands and covered his mouth. Inhaling a large amount of air, Naruto leaned back…before releasing all of the air he stored up in one big-

"PPPPPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"

All eyes darted to the stale Naruto currently was, the source of the most disgusting fart sound any of the men heard in their lives. A few chuckled, knowing that whoever was inside the stall was going through a lot, while the others ignored the sound, but it did disturb them nevertheless…

Which was all Naruto needed to get away with murder…

Naruto's Power of Destruction swam through the drainage pipes, moving through every twist and turn while dismantling any liquid that touched it into nothingness. Once everyone's eyes were focused on Naruto's stall, his POD erupted out of drain of the toilet his target was using. In a quick fashion, his controlled Power of Destruction filled the unnamed man's body and destroyed his heart and mind, killing him instantaneously. However, before the man's body could fall to the ground, Naruto's orb flew out of the wall and merged with the now dead body, filling it with energy. It was the same technique Naruto used to fight Hao back when he was still injured: using magic to move one's muscle instead of the electrical signals the brain sends out to one's limbs to move.

In less than a second, Naruto had killed a Devil and made his body a doll in public…and nobody noticed at thing…

The men that wondered who could have made such a horrendous shit had their internal wishes granted as the door to the stale opened, revealing a grinning Naruto with a roll of tissue in his hand. "Wheew! That popcorn, I tell ya'!"

 **With Tatsumi**

The servant of Honest Bael was on the edge of his seat as he watched the security camera feed. The camera angle he was watching was focused on the entrance of the bathroom both Naruto and his henchman were currently at. Because there wasn't a camera inside of the bathroom, he had to settle for this angle and wait until Naruto came out to see if he was successful.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Tatsumi growled, grabbing the edge of the computer screen in anticipation.

"Calm down, Young Tatsumi." came a new voice. Sitting in one of the chairs of the office was Honest Bael himself, eating a bowl of popcorn as he watched the live feed with his servant, "I'm sure they'll be coming out soon."

Just as the older man said it, Naruto and the unnamed Devil slowly walked out of the bathroom. The master and servant watched as Naruto led the man through the hallways of the building, confusing them both. "What….is he doing?" said Tatsumi as they continued to watch the live feed.

Soon enough, Naruto led Tatsumi's servant to a set of double doors the led outside at the back of the building where the dumpster was located. Switching the feed to the cameras outside, the duo watched as Naruto closed the door behind the two before snapping his fingers. The already dead man body's was broken down into nothingness as Naruto's red aura ate through it like it was paper, not leaving any evidence of his presence in the process.

"He…He did it!" shouted Tatsumi with a large smile, "He really did it, Honest-sama!"

"He did…but the question now is where did he go?"

"Eh?" Checking the live camera feed, Tatsumi looked for Naruto, only to come up with nothing. It was as if he had disappeared…

The doors to the office were kicked open as Naruto jumped in with his hands coated in his Power of Destruction. His sudden appearance shocked Tatsumi, however, a green barrier surrounded both himself and Honest, blocking Naruto from harming them.

"Ahh! Young Naruto!" Honest stood from his seat to greet the blonde from the other side of his barrier, "Glad to see that you're so lively!"

"I suspected someone else was here…" growled Naruto as he tried to destroy Honest's barrier, but his Power of Destruction was, surprisingly, having to work to even damage the durable shield. "Tatsumi is a close-range fighter from what I learned from when we went to the Battle Coliseums in Reshiram. He isn't proficient in creating high-leveled barriers like this."

"Your intelligence is unmatched, young Naruto." answered the older Bael as his servant created a teleportation seal for the two to leave in, "And while I wish we could sit and chat, I know my barrier won't last against your Power of Destruction. However, I am glad this little experiment of ours worked. Now we know a little more about your abilities…and how to counter them."

"You'd allow your own servants to die just so you can get a small amount of intel?" shouted Naruto, thoroughly pissed off.

"Of course." shrugged Honest, "They were nothing but peasants to me….I brainwashed them to follow my every command, so they served their purpose. The next time we meet it, will be on the battlefield, so until then!"

"See ya later, Naruto-sama! Can't wait to fight against ya in our Rating Game!" grinned Tatsumi's his green and red eyes gleaming as the two disappeared with his teleportation seal, leaving a pissed off Naruto alone in the office.

 **Timeskip – With Gabriel**

The Seraph perked up when she saw her boyfriend walk up the stairs. Once he sat down, he leaned his body onto her side, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she whispered into his ear lovingly.

"I am now…" he whispered back, slowly succumbing to his fatigue, "Just had to deal with some shit."

"Don't curse, Naru."

"….Sorry….about that…."

"….Naruto...why do you lie to me...…." Gabriel said after a few minutes of silence, but didn't receive an answer from her blonde-haired boyfriend.

With the strain on his mind finally catching up to him, Naruto Bael fell asleep on Gabriel's shoulder for the remainder of the movie.

… **..**

… **.**

…

… **.**

 **Yup, guys…it's happening.**

 **If you've caught onto what I was alluding to in the Author Note at the start of the story, then yeah….yup…what your thinking is exactly what's going to happen.**

 **ANYWAY! This chapter was a little different for me. I came up with the mental fight Naruto had against Tatsumi literally at the last moment. I wanted to do something interesting while showing off Naruto's abilities, because who doesn't like reading Naruto killing people like a masterful assassin?**

 **Esdeath continues to plague Naruto's mind as he's trying to keep it a secret from Gabriel, but for how long can he keep this up? This question, and more, shall be answered in the upcoming chapters!**

 **Now, just to update you guys on my life. I'm literally typing this up the day before classes start for college. I've moved in and tomorrow morning is when all the craziness starts…which means the updates will be coming in at a slower pace now. I'll be hella busy with classes, work, and other shit now that I'm back in college, but I won't forget about this story! I told you all that I would see it to the end and that's a promise I will keep!**

 **I'm thinking that this story my last another 5 chapters until the end, so maybe I could get finished with it in…November maybe? That's a fucking long time from now, but 4-5 chapters takes time to make, especially from me with these long ass chapters I just keep putting out. The ending will be enjoyable though, so just stick with ya boy.**

 **Again, I'm looking for anyone who knows a lot about My Hero Academia lore and is willing to give my story idea a listen. NOT THAT I'M GONNA MAKE THE STORY! Just…if I were to do it, I'd know that it would make sense….**

 **Oh yea! I won't be saying, 'NarutoPlug, signing out like a real…..ya know…..should', because some of you mfers be taking that shit and sending me some racist shit and ion feel like reading that bullshit. So yea…that's gone for good now. But know that I'm still the realest 'person' outtcha, ya dig?**

 **But yea…NarutoPlug is back in stupid fucking college…..**

 **Yaaaa…how exciting…**

 **I love all of my supporters. Thanks for making it this far. The ending will be worth it, along with what's to come.**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**


	31. OurGods

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, starting this new chapter in my new dorm on campus, ya digggggg?**

 **Ian gonna lie, some of yall are a little scared for what's gonna happen soon, lol! I don't think that the big reveal thing will happen in this chapter (I hardly know what's gonna happen in this chapter to keep it real), but if it does, I'll be sure to make it epic and fucked up, just how you all would want it!**

 **It's hot as fuck down here in Mississippi, cuz. Like, I'm used to it and all, but we southerners still complain about this humid-ass heat….like god just farted all over us while standing in front of heater…it was a wet fart too.**

 **Nobody volunteered to listen to my 'My Hero Academia' idea, so I guess this really will be my last story here on FanFiction…(insert sad face here)…..OH WELL! Guess that means I have to end BreakThrough off on a strong note! Gotta do some crazy ass shit that's never before seen, which I usually do anyway, and make the battle scenes so damn epic that you, the reader, will re-read that shit over and over as the image is painted into your head.**

 **I plan on going all the way…thank you all for your continued support.**

 **Don't have much to say for the beginning Author Note, so let's get back into the story.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **OurGods**

 **A week later...**

 **Location: ?**

Entei Bael was not having a good day.

The main reason for that….he was currently running for his life.

The dark-blue haired Devil that looked to be in his late thirties ran through the forest he was in with evident fear in his eyes. His tattered black and blue robes flayed behind him as continued his run with no clear destination. All he wanted was to be safe.

' _Why is he so powerful!? And why doesn't my Power of Destruction work on him!?'_ he screamed in his head as almost tripped over a thick tree root protruding from the ground. He was bleeding from various places on his body as he ignored the pain in favor of getting away from the monster that injured him. His right arm wouldn't respond to any of his mental commands, and the blood dripping from his head started to mess with his vision as he navigated through the deep forestry.

The ground suddenly rumbling caused Entei's fear to spike as he increased his speed. _'Everybody's gone…I'm the only one left…so why am I running instead of fighting! The Bael Council doesn't run! Am I really overridden with fear that I've now turned into a coward?'_

The rumbling grew stronger, closing in on the retreating Bael. Entei, out of fear, decided to look behind him to see what was coming…

A mistake of his that made his heart drop…

Protruding out of the ground was a foreign object that was wrapped in bandages. It pillaged through the earth as if it were swimming through it like water, reminding Entei of a shark fin as the enemy below closed in on its prey.

Entei shrieked as the objected sped past him and cut him off. The Bael Council member watched in fear as a hand stuck from out of the ground before the body trapped underneath sprouted from the ground, revealing Kisame with a murderous grin as he gripped Samehada's handle. "Thought ya was gonna get away, huh? Not today, you little Bael shit."

Entei's quivering hand was coated in his clan's legendary Power of Destruction before shooting a bolt of it at the tall [Knight]. However, his eyes widened as Kisame shifted Samehada in front of the bolt and absorbed it all, thoroughly shocking the man. "A-again…." he muttered, slowly taking a few steps back, "How can you absorb….such potent power?"

"You're not the first person I've fought with that damn cheat code…" grinned Kisame as he marched towards the man, "You Devils are so weak…Demons have stronger bodies and our magic is hella more chaotic…It took some time and almost dying a couple times, but I've learned the trick in countering that red shit…"

Pointing the tip of Samehada at Entei, revealing the magic circle on it that was beaming with power, Kisame's smirk grew even large as he said, "Ya just gotta get rid of the shit before it eats your insides!" he laughed as he shot a point-blank range blast of blue magic into Entei's stomach, sending him flying.

The Bael coughed up blood as the impact of the blast shot him through multiple trees, which didn't do anything to stop his flying body. He was saved from smashing into another tree as his body landed roughly on the ground, skidding on the surface before his back impacted against the trunk of another tree.

Entei's vision was hazy from the intense beating his body had gone through during his one-sided fight against Kisame. The blue-skinned Demon had bested him in every area, playing with him for most of the fight while racking on damage onto him.

Kisame's silhouette appeared over the man, who only had enough energy to open his eyes halfway. "Looks like you're all burnt out, huh? How lame." he muttered, "Whelp! Might as well finish the job!"

"Please…..I-I beg…I beg of you…" blooded leaked out of the sides of Entei's mouth as he pleaded for his life, "…let me l-live….I'll…serve your ma-master…"

"First of all, bitch," started Kisame as he held Samehada over his head, ready to crash his demonic sword into Entei's head, "that idiot ain't my master. He just happened to show up and the right time and convinced me to join his peerage…that's it."

"The disrespect you have for Naruto-sama is appalling, Kisame…"

The voice of a newcomer made Entei curse under his breath. Surrounding him was Naruto Bael's entire peerage, with Naruto himself dropping next to his [Knight]. _'I really didn't have a chance…'_

"Hold on now, Kisame." said Naruto, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stared at his downed clansman, "I did say that we wouldn't kill all of the council members…we'll need a few of them to live so I won't have so much trouble developing a new council when I'm the new Great King, alright?"

Hearing the chance that he may live to see another day, Entei sighed with satisfaction. "Th-thank you, Naruto-sama…I promise tha-

' _SQUISH!'_

Everyone in Naruto's peerage was now coated in blood as Entei's head was smashed open thanks to Samehada crushing it like a melon. The tree behind Entei's now headless body was scarred with blood and brains, causing an uncomfortable, queasy-feeling inside the younger members of the peerage.

"Ewwwwwww….."wined Kuroka as she stared at her blood-coated kimono in disgust, "It's all nasty and red…."

"YOSH! MY EYES! BLOOD IN MY EYES!" screamed Lee as he flailed around, Entei's blood stinging the [Rook]'s eyes.

Thankfully, for Anna, none of the blood splattered on her upper body, but her exposed legs and feet were coated in blood, much like her fiancée, who stood next to her. "I fucking hate him…." she growled while her husband on laughed at her anger.

"Yuck…." muttered Hao, discarding and burning his cloak, revealing his chiseled chest and baggy black pants he wore underneath.

Orochimaru sighed, not caring much for the fact that he was covered in blood, but in dissatisfaction at Kisame disobeying orders. "You just can't listen to one simple thing…." he said with a shake of his head.

Kisame and Naruto, who were the closest to the now deceased Entei, were covered in blood and brains from top to bottom. Naruto slowly wiped his face to clean off some of the thick liquid before glancing over to his [Knight]. "Kisame….what the fuck?" he said in confusion, not even caring that Kisame had gone ahead and killed Entei.

"Ehh, I didn't like him!" huffed Kisame as he sheathed the bloody Samehada on his back, "He made fun of my blue-skin before we fought…you know I'm sensitive about my skin color…."

"There's nothing wrong with your skin color, Kisame." Naruto said with a pat on Kisame's back as a blue light illumined the group, calling the back from the Dimensional Gap to the Underworld.

 **Underworld – Bael Territory**

 **Reshiram**

Naruto's peerage spawned in what a hospital room. There were caretakers ready to heal any injury the group received during the Rating Game.

"Good job, everyone." said Naruto, who leaned against a wall, not needing any healing done.

"Hell ya! We wrecked their shit." said Kisame, discarding his bloody cloak and handing it to a confused healer, "It felt good to be the one who dealt the last blow."

"A very bloody blow that was…" muttered Hao, who had a doctor attending to his side that got injured during their fight, "This peerage put up more of fight than the previous peerages we've fought, excluding Tannin of course, but still was nothing we couldn't handle."

"I enjoyed fighting against my opponent!" exclaimed Lee as he sat on the edge of the bed. His right leg was causing him problems, "She was very powerful! If I hadn't powered up, I would have lost!"

"Which means you're weak, Rook!" barked Kisame, "We can't be out here losing to these old ass dweebs! Nobody else had trouble with their fight except for you! You've gotta start holding your own for now on!"

"Go easy on him, Kisame." said Yoh, taking one of the seats lined up against the wall, "Lee hasn't been a Devil for long, so of course he'll have trouble with the more powerful peerages we're fighting."

"But he doesn't understand that…because he's an idiot…" muttered Anna as she wiped off Entei's blood from her legs with a towel she was given by one of the doctors.

"Fuck you, bitch." grunted Kisame, deciding not to entertain the petite blonde any further.

The Rating Game the team had just won was, surprisingly, not aired for the public to view. Ever since Naruto's fight against Bianca Bael, the Bael Council took the initiative to ban all recording and viewings of all Rating Games for the fight of Great King. The only way the public learned about the results of the Rating Game were through reports. With the losses that the council had suffered, it didn't want to embarrass itself any further.

During the past week, Naruto, along with the other to Bael's aiming for the throne of Great King, Honest and Azelf, were cleaning house, showing no mercy and embarrassing the 'great' Bael Council. From Naruto's Rating Game against Bianca Bael to the current Rating Game Naruto's peerage just won, a total of 10 peerages from the Bael Council have been defeated with Naruto's peerage knocking off two, Azelf taking down three, and Honest, in a monumental amount of effort, had cleared through six council members. Honest was taking charge, wanting to defeat all of his former council members in a hurry so that he could close in on Azelf and Naruto-his only two threats.

Rumors of Esdeath and Budo, Honest's [Queen] and [Rook] respectively, were rumored to be the main charge Honest's rampage through the council, with Esdeath fueled by her obsession to marry Naruto and Budo's hunger for battle. Nobody stood a chance against the two Ultimate-Class [Devil]s, leaving few of their opponents alive in each Rating Game.

"Man…I could really go for some pickles right now…" muttered Naruto as he watched the healers fix up Lee's injuries.

"Have you even tried that shit before?" asked Kisame with a raised eyebrow, "You keep talking about those green shits but I've never seen you eat one before…"

"Nope!" answer Naruto with a small grin, "So we should go out and get some pickles to celebrate."

Anna shook her head in disappointment at Naruto's idea, "…Only you, Naruto-sama, would want to celebrate by eating pickles…."

"Pickles are very unhealthy…" muttered Lee, wincing as one of his open wounds stung him.

The group continued sharing small talk with each other before a surprising guest entered the room. It was Gabriel that quietly walked in, closing the door behind her. Since she had a connection with Naruto, she was allowed to watch the fight with the few that also had viewing access, who were mainly the remaining members of the Bael Council biting their finger nails off in fear as they watched another one of their allies killed off.

The blonde Bael perked up at Gabriel's entry. "Gabriel. Did you enjoy the fight? We made sure to put on a show for those geezers that I know where watching." he said with a confident grin.

While the Bael was expecting his Seraph girlfriend to approach him and accepted his hug, which was signaled by his outstretched arms, what he got instead was a silent Gabriel, standing in front of the door with a noticeable frown on her beautiful face. Her lack of excitement confused Naruto as slowly brought his arms back down to his side. "Gabriel?" he asked with worry evident in his voice, "What's wrong? Everything alright?"

The doctors, who had finished healing both Lee and Orochimaru, recognized the awkward atmosphere and decided to take their leave. Now alone, Team Pickle Rick all looked towards the Angel for a reply. Gabriel was hesitant voicing her opinions, which was clear by the worry evident on her face, but after some time, Gabriel revealed her troubles to the group.

"Did you all….really have to k-kil…almost all of his peerage members?"

Naruto sighed and scratched his head after hearing Gabriel's words. "Gabriel…we talked about this…"

"I still don't like it, Naruto." she stated immediately with a little extra volume, "They have lives…they HAD lives. And now they are gone, like nothing…as if they never existed."

"Chill out, Gabby." jumped in Kisame to calm the situation, "We just had to do what we had to. Just forget about it and everything will be fine." he said with a shark-like as he threw an arm around Naruto's shoulder.

"Yea! All of this will pass over soon and you'll forget about it!" smiled Naruto.

"…..You're both covered in Entei-san's blood…."

Both Naruto and Kisame's grin disappeared as they forgot that their entire bodies were red from blood. "Uh…hehehe…this'll wash off…" he grinned.

The Angel was not amused by Naruto's joke, her frown permanently etched on her face. "That isn't funny, Naruto…life isn't something you should play with. Killing your clansmen isn't right!"

While her rise in tone surprised Naruto, he was more focused on the last statement she said. "Killing them isn't right? Killing the people that sealed me inside a box isn't right? Do you think I'm an Angel, Gabriel?"

"No, and while what they did to you was wrong, killing everyone in sight isn't the answer. Just defeat them and you'll still win! Please, Naru, just listen to me!" she pleaded.

"I don't have any mercy for these people at all." sternly said the blonde Bael, "They are plotting against me and I won't stand for it. I said that I would allow a few to survive, but the majority must die. I'm not arguing about this now."

"So you're just going to continue this ruthless killing spree?" said Gabriel, "This isn't right. Your opponents want to live, Naruto! Not having their heads cracked open. Your reasoning for all of the violence you're causing doesn't make sense!"

For a brief moment, Naruto's eyes flashed red with rage before returning to their normal sky-blue. "Your 'reasoning' for excommunicating Xenovia Quarta didn't make sense, but you don't see me screaming at you now, do you? And what about Asai Argento being excommunicated for healing a Devil? You've healed me before, but you're still a high-ranking member of Heaven. Seems like 'reasoning' isn't such an importance when it comes to doing what we believe is right."

' _Ouch,'_ was the collective thought everyone in Naruto's peerage had in reaction to his counter. It was clear that Naruto was not happy with Gabriel's insubordination, but to pull such a low blow against the innocent Angel felt wrong. That feeling only intensified as Gabriel's shocked face was joined with the tears that escaped her eyes. While it felt like a knife stabbed itself into Naruto's heart at the sight of Gabriel's tears, his was set in his resolve of tearing through the Bael Council with a trail of bodies behind him.

Gabriel turned away from the group, not wanting the team to see her tears. She was quiet for some time, but spoke after a few moments of silence, "I…I-I won't be staying at your house tonight. G-g-goodbye…" she whispered before disappearing, leaving the group.

Once she was gone, Naruto groaned as he ran his hands through his hair, "Fuck….why the hell did I say that…" he mumbled.

"That was…a bit much…" said Yoh with a frown, "While you weren't wrong, it was kinda uncalled for, Naruto-sama."

"What the fuck was that, idiot!?" said Kisame as he pushed Naruto in his shoulder, "You made Gabby cry! Now she won't make me anymore of those delicious ass cupcakes! Apologize now!" he demanded.

"I'm sure Naruto-sama will apologize to Gabriel-sama the next time he sees her." stated Orochimaru, "She's a forgiving person. Everything will work out in the end."

"Yeah…" muttered Naruto, taking a few calming breaths for his nerves, "She's just mad for now…I'll…I'll take her to get some pizza or something…she like pizza…yeah, that'll work…"

"We'll have to worry about Gabriel some other time." said Anna as her eyes shifted towards the door, "We have another guest." she finished as someone knocked on the door.

Orochimaru was the one that allowed the group's next guest in: it was a brunette woman dressed in professional black suit with a set of glasses. She hugged a clipboard to her chest, adding to her white-collar style. "Naruto-sama and Team Pickle Rick…it is an honor to meet you all in person." she said with a bow.

"We need to change that damn name…" growled Hao, who was never a fan of their peerage name, "Who are you by the way? And how did you find out the location for the Rating Game. I know for a fact that the Bael Council was tight lipped about when the game was happening and had a small list on who could watch."

"It was hard to learn about this Rating Game's time and location," started the woman, "but the media company I work for has various connections…which was precisely how I learned about today's game. Congratulations on your victory. The way you handled Entei Bael's peerage was quite the dominating performance."

"Well, sweet cheeks," interrupted Kisame as he looked the woman up and down, appreciate her visually pleasing body, "I hope you saw the way I broke the geezers head open. Doesn't it make ya all rattled up inside?" he said, his eyebrows jumping suggestively.

Keeping up her professional manner, the woman replied, "While it was a gruesome death…you all had free reign to do whatever you want. I'm sure your image would have slightly wavered, especially by the younger Devils of the Underworld, but since this Rating Game wasn't broadcasted, it won't affect you. You displayed a massive amount of strength, Kisame-sama. Very impressive indeed." she finished with an Anna-like, monotone voice.

"Kisame-sama…..I like that…" he grinned

"Please stop thinking with your dick and allow her to do what she came here to do." said Anna with a roll of her eyes.

Kisame grumbled while muttered a few curses at the blonde, but backed away from the brunette. "The floor is yours now." stated Anna, "Why did you come here?"

"Straight to the business, I see...as excepted of you, Anna-sama." stated the woman while pushing up her glasses on her nose, "Starting with the facts, Team Pickle Rick is one of, if not, the most popular peerage at the moment. You all have built up an insane fan base in only a few months by defeating high-ranked peerages without losing once. However, almost the entire Underworld doesn't know about origin of this peerage, its motivations, or its goals."

"Sounds as if you'd like an interview from us." said Orochimaru after connecting the dots."

"Precisely." she said as she walked over to Naruto and handed him a business card, "I'm sure you've heard of the show 'Undisputed' with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe. They've taken an interest in your peerage and covered your fights from the start, Naruto-sama. They sent me over to invite you on their show."

Naruto stared at the card in surprise, "TV, huh? It's been a while since I saw Shannon…we were war buddies back in the day. Glad he's doing okay."

"Hey! That's the funny guy I watch in the mornings while drinking my orange juice." said Kisame, remembering one of his favorite morning pastimes, "Hell yea, we're going! I wanna met them! That black guy is hilarious…"

"While that sounds great, we still have to think about what our 'origin' is and how everyone will react to the truth." said Hao to his master, "We just got in good with the Sitri and Gremory. If we publicize what happened to you without their approval, Naruto-sama, then it will cause complications."

"Yeah, I guess your right…" he mumbled, coming to the same realization, "I guess I'll have to ask them to if it's alright to talk about what truly happened…which is kinda stupid because they're the main reason why I was stuck in a box for 500 years, hehehe!" he laughed.

"So you all need more time to decide whether or not you're alright with the interview?" asked the woman.

"Seems like it." replied Naruto, "But we are interested. We'll inform you of our answer soon. Also…let's keep what you heard in this room a secret, please?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course." she said with a bow, "While I already know of how you were wrong by the Gremory, Sitri, and Bael, like many other High-Class Devils, we just want to be the ones who broadcast such an amazing story." she admitted while creating a teleportation seal, "Again, congrats on your win, Team Pickle Rick. I hope to hear back from you all again." she finished before disappearing in a flash of light.

"I guess the next move is to request a meeting with the leaders of the Sitri and Gremory Clan." said Orochimaru with his raspy voice, "Fufufu….that'll be interesting, indeed."

Naruto grunted in displeasure at the two clan's being brought up, "I thought I would be finished with them the last time we met, but I have to put on my mask again and act like the good guy again…" he said while rolling his eyes.

"You'll just have to put up with them for a little longer, nya." comforted Kuroka, "Soon, you'll have that big, fancy crown on your head and I'll be drinking all the milk I want all day! We've just got to get past a few obstacles, nya."

The blonde Bael smirked at his [Queen], "You're right, Kuroka…it won't be long, guys….soon, we'll be the one's in charge."

"Shit, well we need to hurry up and kill all those old geezers! I wanna live in a castle as soon as possible!" shouted Kisame, "And then I'll buy all the orange juice in the Underworld!"

"How admirable…" muttered Orochimaru, staring at the blue-skinned [Knight] in disapproval, "Anyway, I'll get in contact with both the Stiri and Gremory Clans for a possible group meeting. Until then, we'll wait until our next challenge or we'll make on our own."

"And if the next one wants to live, they better not make fun of my skin color!"

 **Timeskip**

 **Heaven**

A group of Angels stood outside of a large, golden door with a nametag that read 'Gabriel'. Worry was evident on their faces as they whispered to each other, wondering why could have caused Gabriel, the always happy, strongest woman in heaven, to be in such a sour mood.

When the Seraph arrived back home in Heaven, she made a beeline to her room, only giving those she passed by a small smile and a wave, which was highly unusual for Gabriel. All of the servants were so used to the Seraph being happy, especially since she was with Naruto Bael, a prominent Devil in the Underworld. While there were many Angels that were unhappy with Gabriel's decision to be with a being a sin and didn't see their relationship to be possible, seeing Gabriel's smiling face killed any doubt in their hearts. The Angels were just glad to see Gabriel in her happiest state she's ever been in.

The crowd of Angels outside of Gabriel's room hushed when Michael, Gabriel's older brother and the leader of Heaven and Angels, made his way towards the group. "Is she in there?" he asked.

"Yes, Michael-sama, but something must be bothering her…" answered one of the servants, "She was so quiet…she wasn't even scheduled to return today. I fear something must have happened while she was gone."

The leader Seraph sighed, running his hands through his luscious locks of hair, "I feared as such…" he whispered before making his way to her door, the group splitting in order to make a pathway for their leader. Michael thanked his servants before knocking on Gabriel's door. "Gabriel…are you available?" he asked lowly, but at a high enough volume for Gabriel's keen ears to pick up on through the door.

Seconds went by in silence as Michael waited for his sister to reply, and his patience was rewarded as Gabriel soft voice was through the door. "Yes…" she said before the sound of the bed moving was heard. Not long after, Gabriel opened the door, revealing her red, puffy eyes as if she had been crying, which instantly put Michael and the other Angels on edge.

"Gabriel, what happened?" questioned Michael, worried for his little sister, "You have everyone here worried for you."

The beauty sighed in distress. She didn't know she had everyone worried about her. "Forgive me, everyone…I tried to hide it, but I'm…going through something currently…my heart hurts…"

"You're going through pain, Gabriel-sama? If so, we have many healers here at your disposal." said one of the nearby Angels, "Just come with us."

"Thank you, but physical pain isn't the type of pain I'm talking about…" she whispered as she placed a hand over her heart, "…it's emotional pain that's torturing me…"

The grim feeling emitting from the usually-happy Seraph was like a knife to the hearts of everyone nearby, Michael especially. Not even during the Great War had he seen his sister in such a drought.

"Let's talk about this privately, Gabriel." he said. Understanding that the two needed some private time, the rest of the Angles bowed in respect before leaving to return to their individual positions. Gabriel closed the door behind them and joined Michael on the edge of the bed. "This is about Naruto, isn't it?" he started.

Gabriel's silent nod answered Michael's question, "It's been different…with him ever since his conquest to become Great King started. H-He's been on a killing spree…along with everyone in his peerage! I hate to see them like that, Michael!" she said with another round of tears following.

A comforting hand rested Gabriel's back as Michael listened to his younger sister. "Have you told him how you feel about this, Gabriel?" he asked.

"I-I…I have…but he won't listen…" she stated, "And then…not too long ago…we had our first verbal fight…..Michael….he used Asia Argento ag-against me…and Xenovia…G-Griselda's ward."

"Asia and Xenovia?" said Michael, thoroughly shocked at what he was hearing. Asia Argento, now Rias Gremory's [Bishop] and [Knight] respectively, were both sore spots for the siblings. Once she found out that God was dead, they had to excommunicate Xenovia from the church to protect Heaven's creditability. Of course, they didn't want to do it, but they had to take the necessary precautions. And while they didn't have anything to do with Asia's unfortunate situation, the fact that they failed to protect her from such a punishment just for healing a Devil was saddening.

Michael sighed, realizing just how serious things were. "This…is troubling…" he started, "I didn't know you two were going through something so sensitive. It's clear that Naruto-san is very passionate in achieve his goal as you are in wanting peace between the Three Factions, Gabriel. However, you must understand that the Devils have their own way in working things out and we have ours. We can't fully understand why the Devils do what they do because we are Angels-we're not meant to understand."

"I understand that, brother," she said between sniffs, "But I'm not used to seeing Naru so…violent…the look in his eyes as he….tore…through his opponents was unsettling…and the grin he had while he did it…" the words died in Gabriel's through as an image of a laughing Naruto covered in blood appeared in her mind. A violent shudder washed through her body as she tried to rid herself of those thoughts, but was having a hard time doing so. "That same darkness I keep telling him about….is always there when he fights….I don't like it, Michael."

"Is….is that all that troubles you?" asked the leader of Angels.

"No." she stated immediately, "He's been acting weird lately…as if he's been hiding something…" Gabriel sensed her brother tense at her words, confusing her entirely. "Michael….do you know something?"

Michael's grim-look all but confirmed that he was withholding information from his sister. "Oh, brother! Please tell me what's wrong with Naruto! He keeps denying that he needs help but I know he does! If you know anything, please, PLEASE Michael, just tell me!" she pleaded out of concern for her boyfriend.

Michael sighed for what felt like the tenth time that day. He had learned something very interesting…and by listening to Gabriel talk about Naruto, he understood what was really going on. "Okay, Gabriel, I'll tell you…..but I'm not sure you'll like what you'll learn." he said, his words causing Gabriel's beaming face to switch with one filled with confusion.

"Why, brother, it can't be that bad." she answered, "And if it is, it's nothing Naruto and I can't figure out together."

"I'm…not so sure…." said Michael as he began to reveal what he knew, with Gabriel listening intently.

 **The Next Day**

 **Kuoh Town**

"…Can you tell Riser what we're doing here again?"

"Waiting for something…something you need to see…"

Sitting on top of one of the various buildings that littered throughout Kuoh Academy's campus was Hao Asakura and Riser Phenex. The duo watched the students fill the courtyard under the guise of a barrier that forced any lesser-human's focus away from them.

"Waiting for something, or someone?" questioned Riser with narrowed eyes, "The only reason why you'd bring Riser here is to see Rias Gremory."

"That's mainly why I brought you here, but it's not the only reason." said Hao as a small flame hovered in his palm. The older Asakura's eyes stared down at all of the students that were ignorant to their presence. "Humans….are such insignificant creatures…don't you agree?"

Hao's question caused Riser to raise an eyebrow in confusion at the older Devil, "What's this all about?" asked the Phenex, "While Riser knows you hold a disdain for humans, you didn't have to bring me all the way out here just to talk about your hatred for weak beings."

Hao hummed for a few seconds before answering, "I…don't hold as much contempt as I used to for humans. It's funny because while humans are just walking flesh bags of pure stupidity, they are God's favorite creation and…ouch…Devils wish their lives were as simple as a human's…."

"What is this leading to?" asked the impatient Phenex.

"I'm saying that I'm slowly starting to realize the potential that they hold, especially since there are humans who are reincarnated into Devils…like my colleagues Orochimaru and Lee." said Hao, "With the rising importance of reincarnated Devils, they will want more rights….something my [King] will be pushing for when he becomes Great King of the Underworld…I'm not the type of person who cares much about politics and social classes because I do judge based off of strength and skill, but my master's wishes are my own…" the older Devil was silent for some time, seemingly thinking over his next words before continuing, "How do you feel about that, Riser?"

The blonde Phenex hummed in thought, "Riser…understands you somewhat." he admitted, "While I do believe Full-Blooded Devils to be superior in terms of magic and talent, I don't doubt their ability since most of my peerage is made out of reincarnated Devils. They have skill, it's just the matter of improving and harnessing that skill to better themselves." said Riser.

Hao nodded in approval of Riser's answer, "That was a good answer, Riser. Seems my lesson have humbled you. Glad that you're thinking rationally now and not blurting out anything stupid."

"Hmph…Your lesson did nothing." huffed Riser in arrogance, "Riser was always smart and could come up with logical responses."

"Hmm…whatever you say, Phenex." smirked Hao, "Hopefully this 'maturity' that you always had will continue to grow."

"Enough about Riser." said the Phenex, continuing his trend of referring to himself in third-person, "What about your last fight against a Bael Council member? How did it go? I'm assuming that you won since you aren't dead."

"It went fine." started Hao as his tunic ruffled in the strong gust that blew through, "Everyone on our side made it out alive, however, as for the other peerage…I believe the only members currently alive are two [Pawn]s and both [Knight]s….though I'm not quite sure."

"You all really don't have any mercy for your opponents." smirked Riser, "The brutality you all have is unmatched. You're really getting away with the fact that you can kill anyone without punishment."

"Naruto-sama says he would leave more alive, but because most of the enemies we fought were so devoted to their [King]s and the Bael Council, they had to go." stated the Asakura, "It's not that we want to kill everyone-even though we don't have a problem with that-it would just be better and less problematic to send them off to the next world."

"Understood." nodded Riser.

The two's eyes shifted down below when they felt a spike in magical presence. Down below, standing in the middle of the courtyard, was Rias Gremory's peerage, staring at the duo in shock and confusion. The group was wondering why they were sitting on top of a building, and why Hao was with Riser of all people.

Riser say the emotion in Rias' eyes change from shock to anger as she glared at him. "Seems like she hasn't forgotten about the past." he said to Hao, referring to his past engagement with Rias that Hao ruined.

"The Gremory child…is a very weird case to me." muttered Hao as he stared down at the group, "Honestly, I don't see why so many people are interested in her or her peerage members….my master, Orochimaru, and Lee all seem to like them. While Issei, the Red Dragon Emperor, does have potential to be a beast, he hardly knows how to control his magic, choosing to amp his physical strength and blast his magic recklessly in battle. Even you seemed to be enchanted with her 'beauty', but she doesn't seem all that attractive to me."

"That's because you hardly have an appreciation of feminine beauty, Hao." laughed Riser, "And only someone like you would find the Stiri heiress attractive! Hahah!"

"Please. I like what I like and there's nothing wrong with that." said Hao as he stood up. A magic circle grew under his feet as he prepared the duo's transportation. "So…now that you see her with the Red Dragon Emperor….how do you feel?"

After Riser calmed down, his blue orbs stared down at the red head beauty that was Rias Gremory: the woman was once supposed to be his wife had Hao and his master not meddled with his marriage plans. Riser was certain that if he had fought Rias in the Rating Game instead of Hao, he would have defeated the Gremory beauty with ease. Back then, he would have faced anyone to claim the red head as his own to flaunt around, but seeing her with Issei, glaring at him with an unrestrained hatred…

The third-born son of the royal Phenex Clan rolled his eyes while releasing a sigh. Standing up and joining Hao, Riser glanced at Rias one last time before turning his back on her. "Yubelluna can probably cook better than her anyway…" he grumbled as he stepped into Hao's magic circle.

The older Asakura flashed a true smile, patting the younger Devil on his back as the two slowly disappeared, "Good job, Riser. You just avoided a massive headache…"

 **Timeskip – Two days later**

 **Sitri Mansion**

The trio of Naruto Bael, Orochimaru, and, surprisingly, Kuroka stood in front of the magnificent Sitri Mansion. They were there for the meeting Orochimaru called a few days prior in order to discuss about being able to talk about Naruto's sealing to the public. While Naruto and Orochimaru anticipated on going to this meeting alone, Kuroka had volunteered to go as well, saying that she was bored and wanted something to do. Never wanting to deny his [Queen] of anything, Naruto allowed Kuroka to come, ignoring Orochimaru's attempts at convincing the blonde-haired Bael at leaving Kuroka home.

And so, the group were back at Sitri Mansion with the last time being there was a few weeks ago when Naruto and his peerage had a massive meeting with the Devil Council, Satans, Gremory and Sitri Councils. "Ugh…this place…" Naruto said with a sigh, "Never thought I'd be back here so soon."

"We'll try to make this quick, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru as a group of Sitri servants greeted them.

Kuroka suddenly yawned loudly, interrupting the servant's introduction. "NNYyyyaaaaaAAAAaa….." she stretched out, flashing her fangs while doing so, "Will there be snacks here?" she muttered, asking the servants that were confused with her passive behavioral.

"We…we can provide you something to eat during the meeting if you want, Kuroka-sama?" asked one of the servants.

"Ooohh!" lit up the Nekoshou, "Can you get me some warm milk? Oh-and some fish? Anything would be nice, just make sure it's cooked perfectly, nya. Thanks!" she smiled.

"Uh..ye-yes ma'am. We'll start on that right away." said one of the female servants before heading inside to the kitchen to prepare the cat girl's order.

Orochimaru glared at Kuroka, clearly mad at how she was handling herself as the group slowly followed the servants in front of them. "Kuroka, that was highly uncalled for." started the snake man as they began their walk down the massive hallway, "Ordering food? At such an important meeting? This is why I wanted you to stay home."

"Aw, come on, Orochimaru. Kuroka was just a little hungry." defended Naruto with a smile, "Honestly; I should've jumped in on the opportunity to get some food. I skipped out on breakfast this morning…plus, I like that Kuroka's with me. Now that she's here, I have someone to joke with." he grinned.

"See, Snakey?" said Kuroka with a mischievous grin centered at pale [Pawn], "Naruto LIKES that I'm with him! Maybe if you weren't so boring all the time, I wouldn't have to come!" she huffed.

Seeing Orochimaru's annoyed stare, she grinned in satisfaction, taking his silence as a victory. Her nose shriveled up as she whiffed at the air, "It smells like Sitri in here, nya….ew!"

"Agreed, hehe!" laughed Naruto, especially at the frowns on the Sitri servant's faces. _'It's always fun to poke fun at anything related to the Sitri, hehehe!'_

After a small walk, the servants led the trio to a different meeting room than before, much smaller and convenient for a group of at least ten to talk amongst each other comfortably. The round table took up most of the space within the small room, seating Sigil and Amur, Lord and Lady of the Sitri Clan, along with Zeoticus and Venelana, Lord and Lady of the Gremory Clan. However, the unexpected person in the room is what caught the trio off guard.

Serafall Leviathan, formerly Serafall Sitri, was also there, sitting next to her parents at the round table. She bit her lip and looked down at the table once she felt Naruto's gaze centered at her. Even though she stood up for him at side with him during the last meeting, she hadn't had the chance at talking with him since then, so she didn't know where the two former lovers stood. Once her parents told her of the meeting that Orochimaru called, she swiftly asked if she could attend as well.

"Good morning, Naruto-san." Serafall heard her father say, following the sound of Naruto and his two peerage members taking their seats, "Before we start, I must commend you and your peerage in their efforts against the Bael Council. From what I've heard, you have thoroughly thrashed each of your opponents without the loss of any of your peerage members…quite the feat, indeed." he praised.

"…..thanks…" answered Naruto, but his focus was on the speaking Sitri, rather, the pig-tailed girl sitting five feet away from him. By this time, Serafall had garnered enough confidence to look Naruto in his eyes, entering a staring contest with the Bael.

"Is….something a matter, Naruto-san?" asked Lady Sitri with hesitation, uncomfortable with how the two powerful Devils continued to stare at each other. Knowing the history the duo had, she was glad that Naruto didn't blow up when he saw her, but his dead stare was a little unsettling.

Naruto didn't answer for a few seconds, continuing to stare at Serafall, before finally being able to voice his opinion. "Yea…uhm…..what is Leviathan-sama doing here?" he asked.

Internally, Serafall flinched at Naruto calling her by her title. At the last meeting they had, he had called her by her real name without any honorifics when she defended him, but she was slowly coming to understand that it was probably just a ruse while in front of so many people. _'Which means he still hates me….of course he would, though…'_ she thought sadly.

However, she kept up a neutral façade, hiding her real feelings, and answered, "Well…when my parents told me that your [Pawn] requested a meeting, I knew you would be here…since it's been a while since I last saw you, I just wanted to take this opportunity to…..check up on you, Naruto…" she answered honestly.

Serafall wasn't the only one hiding their true emotions with mask. Kuroka internally emotion was that of an active volcano ready to shot hot lava out and melt anything that touched it. The cat girl didn't trust any of those that had anything to do with Naruto's sealing, so when Naruto and Orochimaru prepared to leave, she decided to join not because she was bored, but to protect Naruto at all cost. _'And I'm not buying her damn bluff at all….'_ Kuroka internally growled as she listen to Serafall, _'She's just trying to look innocent, but I won't let her put a finger on Naruto!- or any of those old geezers that dared to harm him. They're all enemies in my book….'_

Naruto took the answer for now with a nod, and turned towards the Gremory's and Sitri's, "Sorry about that…..anyway, I hope this meeting didn't interfere with any other plans you may have."

"No, no." stated Zeoticus, "I...I actually wanted to talk to you, Naruto. You calling for a meeting actually did me well."

"We weren't particularly busy with anything, but if we have the opportunity to help you with something, than we shall act upon that." said Lady Sitri with a serene smile, wanting to start the process in creating a strong, political relationship with the predicted soon-to-be Great King of the Underworld, "So please, ask anything and we'll answer truthfully."

"Great…also, Kuroka ordered some food earlier." he said while pointing to his [Queen], who eyes were narrowed at the Devils sitting across from her, " She didn't get the chance to eat breakfast this morning. Hope you don't mind."

"They don't." Kuroka answered for them, cutting Lord Sitri off before he could speak, "Right, nya?"

"Co-correct. Please, help yourself to whatever you like." said Lord Sitri, somewhat intimidated by Kuroka's aggression, "Now….what is the reason why you called this meeting, Naruto-san?"

"For a simple reason, really, however, before I acted, I wanted to make sure it would be okay with both the Gremory and Sitri." started Naruto, "After my victory against Entei Bael, I was approached by someone who offered me and my peerage an interview…basically, they wanted to know all about us, but specifically want to know why I was gone for so long…which means I'd have to talk about my sealing…."

The atmosphere of the room quickly tensed after Naruto revealed his wants. A few glances were shared between the Gremory and Sitri clan heads, along with Serafall. The last thing they wanted to talk about was Naruto's sealing, which would have been an awkward conversation for sure. However, it seemed as if there would be no running away from that tragic event that happened hundreds of years ago.

"Oh…." Zeoticus muttered, slowly connecting the dots as to why Naruto was asking for permission. However, the Gremory Clan leader wanted to fully hear out the Bael before coming up with any conclusions. "If you don't mind me asking…why did you feel the need to ask our permission to public talk about your sealing?"

It was Orochimaru who spoke for his master, "We know that if we talk about Naruto-sama's sealing, we will have to talk about the Sitri and Gremory's involvement…including Leviathan-sama's past relationship with Naruto-sama. While Naruto-sama will draw sympathy from the public for what he went through, it is almost guaranteed that you three parties will suffer backlash with your involvement being public knowledge. Again, if we would have gone forth with this interview, Naruto-sama's public image would skyrocket in terms of interest and respect, but since we have an alliance with you all, we didn't want to move without sitting down and talking about things."

"It makes sense, I suppose…" said Lady Sitri as she thought things over, "...we are living in a sensitive time with the Devils from the lower-classes demanding to be treated right…learning that their champion was subjugated to such a harsh punishment will surely cause problems for the Sitri, Gremory, and my daughter."

"This does sound concerning…but I think it would be alright if you spoke freely about what we did to you." said Lord Sitri, causing Naruto to perk up in satisfaction, "While we may suffer some backlash…I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." he said with a small smile, "Most of the Devil Clans now about our past deeds, so we'll only take heat from the Middle and Low-Class Devils. Our image as a clan may continue to be tarnished, but under your liege as Great King, we, as a clan, will have the opportunity to cleanse ourselves of our sins."

"Thank for seeing things our way, Lord Sitri. Lady Sitri." thanked Orochimaru. The grouped ignored the servants that entered with Kuroka's food, causing the cat girl to drool at the sight as a plate of baked fish and a glass of milk was set in front of her, "We'll work together with the Sitri in the future for damage control."

The snake man's golden orbs then shifted towards the two Gremory's in the room. Orochimaru took notice to the slightly troubled look in Zeoticus' eyes, along with the stern frown cemented on Venalana's face. "Do we have a problem coming from the Gremory's side?" questioned Orochimaru with narrowed eyes.

"Why yes there is, Orochimaru." said the disgruntled Venalana, speaking for the first time since the meeting started, "It's a problem that we need to discuss before talking about your intentions of revealing what happened to you so long ago."

"And that is?" stated Naruto, not liking Venalana's commanding tone. He never liked the brunette beauty. She reminded him of her little brother, Kyruem, the current Great King.

"My dear husband will inform you. Zeoticus, if you would please tell them of what we've discussed prior to this meeting." Venalana said to Zeoticus, who now seemed to be on the edge of his seat as he slowly gathered words in his mouth.

"Uhm…A-after…after thorough discussion...with many of my clan members," he started with a noticeable amount of hesitation, "the House of Gremory…has decided to discontinue its alliance with you, Naruto."

The effect of Venalana's and Zeoticus revelation happened spontaneously. The Sitri's and Serafall were overcome with shock and astonishment, with Serafall's losing the ability to keep her mouth close while Sigil had to catch his glasses from falling off as he coughed. Amur couldn't form words at the revelation, and could only stare at the Gremory pair, wondering what in the hell were they thinking.

However, Naruto and his two peerages members didn't seemed to be shocked at all. The trio stared dully at Zeoticus, but more specifically at Venalana. Said brunette didn't seem bothered by the bombshell her husband just dropped, closing her eyes while maintaining her strict demeanor.

"You're letting her do it again, Zeoticus." were the first words spoken after the moment of silence the group shared. It was Naruto who spoke, who was directly glaring at the red-headed man, "You're making such a decision just to please your wife. You better think about this shit before you make the wrong move." he threatened, dismissing his gentleman-like façade for a more threatening one.

Venalana didn't take the threat lying down, however, as she answered for her husband, "My husband, along with the fine members of the Gremory Council, believe that you aren't competent enough to be Great King, you imbecile." she spat, her beauty face scared by the devious scowl. Her violent orbs were filled with a restrained anger as she continued, "The fact that you think you can take over the position of Great King with such baractic actions is dispeckable an-

"No!" jumped in Zeoticus, cutting off his wife, "No…Naruto, I know that you'll be an amazing Great King…one that the Underworld needs right now!"

"Then tell us why you're doing something so stupid." said Kuroka, munching on her baked fish, "Cause how it sounds now, it like your pussy-whipped by your wife."

"There's…." Zeoticus gulped before continuing, "there's a reason as to why I am very…uncertain about this entire ordeal...After learning a key fact from my wife that she never told me, I knew I couldn't support what you were doing, Naruto."

"And that is?" Naruto asked/demanded for an answer.

Zeoticus sighed, feeling the stress upon his shoulders, "My wife…..is Kyruem Bael's [Queen]."

If Zeoticus revealing that the Gremory wanted to cut ties with Naruto was surprising, nobody could have suspected that Venalana was Kyruem's [Queen]. Even Naruto, Orochimaru, and Kuroka's shock was visable on their faces as they processed the information

"Vena…" muttered Lady Sitri as she stared at the former Brown-haired Ruin Princess, "When…when did this happen? Even I never knew that you were Kyruem's [Queen]." she exclaimed. Since Amur and Venalana held a close relationship, she would have believed that Venalana would have told her about her status as Kyruem's [Queen].

"It's something I've kept under wraps for a long time." answered Venalana, "While my younger brother and I don't see eye-to-eye most of the times, we do have an understanding between each other. He's my brother, and I, his sister. We protect each other. He made me his [Queen] years before I met Zeoticus, but he never had to prove his strength in any Rating Game, so I never came out public as his [Queen]."

"And that's where things get complicated." said Zeoticus, shifting the attention from his wife back on himself, "Based on your battle against Bianca Bael, and from the rumors about your fight against Entei Bael, your peerage doesn't hold back on showing mercy, almost killing everyone you combat against. I'm afraid…that if you to fight against my wife that you'll kill her as well."

"Smart deduction, because I wouldn't be so at Venalana being on the receiving end of my Power of Destruction." answered Naruto as he stared down his former clanswoman in front of him, "Just an annoyance that continues to find ways to pester me…"

"I could say the same for you, Naruto." she replied back with an equal amount of disdain, "You're causing an unnecessary ruckus in the Underworld. And this plan of yours to become Great King? You'll have to get past Honest before you even have a chance at laying a hand against my brother, and I'm sure you'll fail in your efforts to break out of your marriage with Esdeath. Soon enough, you'll be her little play thing and I won't have to deal with you anymore…"

"That won't happen." said Naruto's [Queen], deciding that she had enough of listening to Venalana's slander, "We'll kill that bitch and that dumbass Honest, too." she growled, "And if you stand in the way of stopping Naruto from obtaining his goals, I'll kill you, too. I don't care if you're the wife of the leader of the House of Gremory, nya. Mess with Naruto…and you mess with me…"

"N-now, now. We don't need this to become a battleground." said Lord Sitri, hoping to calm the two sides, "Zeoticus-san, if you wish to back out of your alliance with Naruto-san, than I best that you and your wife leave for now."

"Or…" said Naruto as he laced his fingers together, "We make a compromise."

"A compromise?" said the head of Gremory in curiosity, hoping to somehow retain his relationship with the blonde Bael.

"Yes…I promise that if I do fight your wife in my Rating Game against Kyruem…that I won't kill her. You're many worry was that your wife would be killed while fighting me, no? Then I shall eliminate that factor. Now the, Zeoticus, do you still wish to break our alliance?"

"I…I still won't be able to agree, Naruto." stated the Gremory in disappointment, "While I believe that you are qualified to become a Great King, there are members of my council who believe you to be unfit for such a position…and the fact that even though you won't kill her….you'll hurt my wife in your fight against her brother, something I cannot support…"

Naruto suddenly chuckled, not believing that Zeoticus was so weak. "You've really got him by the balls, huh?" he smirked at Venalana.

"More like my husband respects me and my affiliation with my brother." the brown-haired beauty countered, "The Gremory has been put in an awkward situation picking sides when having a relation with both. It'd be best for us to sit this political dispute out."

"You speak as if your best interests are with Gremory, but it sounds like you care more your former clan's interest." stated Orochimaru.

"Preposterous." Venalana said with a hand wave, dismissing Orochimaru's claim, "My first and best interest is with the House of Gremory. Your attempts at creating distrust between me and my husband are laughable." she ended with a smirk.

"If that's it, then you two can leave." stated Naruto. He glared daggers at the duo as he held back his demonic rage, "Zeoticus, you continuing to be a disappointment. For this moment forward, I won't conduct any business or political deals with you or your clan."

"Wait, Narut-"

"Because of your inability to control your own damn clan, I can't deal with you and your incompetence anymore." Naruto's eyes flashed red as he moved his sights onto Venalana, "When I see you in the Rating Game that will happen between your brother and myself, I will deal with you personally." he threatened, "The only reason why I won't kill you is because of the relationship I have with your son and daughter..." stated Naruto, referring to Sirzechs and Rias, "…but I can't promise that you'll leave our fight with all of your limbs intact…."

"Let's go, Zeoticus." stood Venalana, not wanting to hear anymore of Naruto's threats, "We have better things to do with our time than deal with a hurt dog." she said. Zeoticus quietly stood from his chair and stepped into the teleportation seal that his wife had made for the duo."

"And you need to make up your mind…is your last name Bael…or Gremory…" were the last word's Venalana Bael heard from Naruto as the duo disappeared, leaving Naruto, Orochimaru, Kuroka, Lord and Lady Sitri, and Serafall Leviathan to themselves.

"I was not suspecting things to come to this…" said Lord Sitri once the Gremory's left as he rubbed his graying beard, "This turn of events is quite surprising."

"Surprising and energy-consuming." sighed Naruto as he quelled his growing anger, "But they don't matter anymore. Leviathan-sama," Serafall perked up as Naruto called for her attention, "are you alright with speaking about our past?"

"Oh…Y-yes, I'm fine with it." she nodded, "I've come to terms with it, so it won't bother me when everyone learns about us. But I do wa-

"Fine." said Naruto as he stood from his seat, Orochimaru and Kuroka following his actions, "Then this meeting shall be considered a success. I'll contact you all if I need anything else." he said as he created a magic circle underneath his feet.

"Good day, Lord and Lady Sitri. Leviathan-sama." bowed Orochimaru in a respectful manner, while Kuroka just shot them all a glare before disappearing.

Serafall sighed in disappointment, seeing her chance at talking with the blonde Bael now gone. "Damn it…" she uttered, "Again…"

"You wish to talk to him, dear?" asked Amur after seeing the disappointment in her oldest daughter's eyes.

"Yes, mother…but I'm always busy…there's also the fact that I don't know where he lives at, too." she pouted childishly.

"Daughter…do you still love Naruto-san?" Lord Sitri asked his oldest with interest, "If so, I'm sorry to say that…"

"I know…" Serafall replied with a sad smile, "While I don't love him like how I used to…there is still some lingering attachment…but I know it will never happen. To be honest, he probably still hates us. He has a skill for hiding how he truly feels about someone."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Serafall." replied Lady Sitri, "However, if you do wish to know where he lives, I can provide you with that information."

"Really!?" exclaimed the Leviathan Satan with stars in her eyes, "Can you tell me, pleasseeeeeee?"

"Of course, dear." Amur said as she chuckled at Serafall's childish antics. Sometimes it was hard for the woman to believe that her daughter was one of the most powerful Devils in the Underworld. "Naruto-san lives with his peerage in the southern countryside of the Bael Territory. There is hardly any Devil inhabitance there, seeing as the Bael's use that territory as a place to send any clan members that broke rules or are seen as shameful."

"Alright! Got it! See you two later!"

"Wait, Serafall!" the Leviathan's father called out before his daughter could follow Naruto, "While I know you want to talk to Naruto-san now, I think you should wait some time before going. He seemed to be quite mad before he left. You should wait until he's cooled down some before talking with him."

"Alright, I will." she said with a nod, "Thanks for allowing e to come today. It really means a lot."

"We're always wanting to see you more, Serafall, so we were glad that you could come. Stop by the house anytime." said Lady Sitri.

"Yes ma'am. I'll see you two soon!" she waved as he body was consumed by her teleportation seal.

 **Timeskip – A few hours later**

 **Outskirts of Bael Territory**

After waiting a few hours after their meeting, Serafall teleported to the area her parents told her about. After flying around after sometime, she finally located Naruto's house. While it wasn't large like her own house or any noble Devil's homes, it was large enough for all of Naruto's peerage members to live comfortably. _'Plus, Naruto isn't the type of person who likes big, fancy mansions- he's more humble and would like for his house to be on the smaller size…that's all going to change when he becomes Great King, though.'_

Recalling her wings once she made landfall, Serafall walked on the small walkway available in the front lawn which was invaded with tall grass. "Why don't they tend to their front yard?" she asked herself as she continued to walk towards the front door. Her question was answered when, suddenly, a snake darted out of the tall grass and wrapped its long body around Serafall's ankles.

The undeniable, supreme fear of the reptile caused her entire body to shake as the snake hissed at her flashing its dangerously sharp fangs at her. "H-h-h-hhhhhiiiii…m-m-mr-Mr-s-s-ss—sss-sssnakkeee…" she stuttered, "Can y-y-y-you pppppllleeeeeeaasssseeeeee let m-me go?"

The Leviathan's request fell on deaf ears as the grass around her started to ruffle, increasing the already intense fear inside of her. Slowly, the Satan was surrounded by numerous snakes of all sizes. It was as if she had walked right into her worst nightmares, which was why she released her fear in one, powerful-

"SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Of course, it would be you trespassing on our land." said a raspy voice coming from the porch.

Blinking away the tears from her eyes, Serafall saw Orochimaru standing on the porch, looking down at her in annoyance. "Just our luck that you of all people found out where we live." he said.

"Mr. Orochimaru….can you please get them off!?" she cried out, "I promise you I'm not here to do anything wrong!"

Orochimaru sighed, "I swear, it's one thing after another…" he complained while snapping his fingers. All of the pale man's snake minions retreated back into the tall grass that filled the front yard. The Leviathan Satan released a breath of relief now that she was freed from all of the creepy snakes.

"Thank, Mr. Orochimaru…" said the beauty, "I just wanted to come by and see if Naruto was available."

"Oh fuck no!" the front door was suddenly kicked open by none other than Kisame, Naruto's first [Knight], "I don't want you anywhere near him, or us, or on our property!" he shouted as he marched towards the short woman.

"Wait! I'm not here to start any problems!" said Serafall with both her hands in the air. She had to avoid Kisame trying to poke her with the end of Samehada.

"Start problems my ass! Unless you have food that taste as good as Gabby's cupcakes, you can get the hell on out!"

Slowly, the members of Team Pickle Rick started to funnel out of the house, including Naruto himself. "So that's why we couldn't fully sense who was outside…It was an annoying Satan trying to sneak on us." said Hao with disinterest.

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on anybody! And stop poking me!" shouted Serafall, slapping Samehada away from her, "I just want to talk to Naruto!"

"About what?" the Bael said with a small, but noticeable, amount of anger in his voice. He had changed cloths since the meeting, now in a pair of black gym shorts and an orange muscle shirt.

"Just…about everything…" she began, "I just want to clear the air between us. That's it."

Naruto, filled with distrust, stared at the hopeful eyes of his past lover. He didn't sense any deceit from the woman, but spending time with the girl wasn't how he wanted to spend his afternoon.

"I say you do it." said Anna, suggesting for her master to take up the offer, "You've got something's you need to get off your chest, and she probably does as well. Since she's now officially an ally, I believe it would be best for you to settle your differences or come to an understanding at the most."

Again, Naruto stayed silent, but he did process Anna's words. The two were 'technically' allies, but only on a political level, which meant nothing to someone like Naruto who put those he loved before himself. _'The last time I talked to her was back in Kuoh during the Three Factions Meeting….I was overcome with rage back then….but now….I guess I could deal with her for a couple of minutes.'_

"Follow me." Naruto said to Serafall as he walked off the porch and around the house, walking towards the beach.

Before Serafall could follow after the blonde, Kuroka blocked her off. The Nekoshou was expelling an immense amount of **KI,** all of it focused at the Satan. "You better not do anything to him…" she threatened as Kuroka used her mastery of her Senjutsu to manipulate the tall grass around them, turning the ends into sharp blades and turned them all towards the former Sitri, "Satan or not, anybody that hurts Naruto is my enemy…He's made so much progress with his mental state ever since WE got him out of that damn seal that you caused….make sure you don't add to the damage you've already caused…" she stated with all seriousness, even dropping her usual verbal tic to express just how much she meant what she said.

"I understand." nodded Serafall in respect, "I just want to say that I'm sorry for all the hurt I've caused him…and thank you for helping him…" she said with a smile.

Kuroka, while she was still displeased at the fact that Serafall would be with Naruto, accepted the apology for now. Returning the tall grass back to its original state, Kuroka turned around and headed back into the house. "Come on, Sharky. She won't do anything stupid…not on my watch." she said as she passed by the large man.

"Tch…..the least the bitch could've done was bring some ice pops or sum shit like that…" he grumbled as he strapped Samehada on his back and followed Kuroka's lead. "Hey, shit face!" he shouted to Anna, "Go make me some food! I'm hungry!"

"Yoh's cooking tonight." said Anna with her usual monotone voice, "Ask him." she said as she entered the house.

"How about we order something, huh?" smiled Yoh, hoping to cheese his way through his cooking chorus by ordering out.

"YOSH! How about some pizza!" suggested the ever excited Yoh, "Oh! I should invite Seekvaira, Gaia, and Ryuga over!"

"Please refrain from having other people over just so they can eat our food." said Hao as he entered the house with his fellow peerage members, leaving Serafall outside by herself.

The Leviathan Satan sighed in relief, glad that she avoided a fight with Naruto's [Queen]. The dangerous skill she has in manipulating the environment to do her biddings was scary. "At least I got out of that alive…" she muttered as she pushed her way through the tall grass. She made sure to watch where she was stepping, not wanting her foot to land on any of Orochimaru's snakes.

Making her way to the backyard, she was greeted to the sight of Naruto leaning on a tree, his back facing her. He was staring out at the beach not too far from them in silence. She had closed the distance between them, now standing at his right side as she joined in, watching the small wave crash into the sandy shore.

"Sorry if they were too harsh on you." he stated, breaking the silence between them, "They can be protective over me…"

"It's alright. I'm just glad you have people that watch over you." she replied, "Them being protective means that they care for you...I'm glad you have a family again."

"Yeah…" he muttered, "As long as I have my peerage, I'll be fine. They've taken care of me."

The two shared a brief silence, unsure as to what to say to one another. The last time they talk, things hadn't gone so well- and now that they were together again without any interference, it was awkward. The two shared a complicated past, one that will continue to affect them for the rest of their lives, so speaking to each other would always be a hard task.

"Do you hate me?" Serafall asked suddenly, finally building up the courage to ask one of the main things she wanted to know.

"Absolutely." he replied almost immediately as he pushed off of the tree he was leaning on and started to walk down to the beach, a saddened Leviathan following him, "I hold grudges, Serafall. You knew that your old man was up to something, but acted as if nothing would happen because you were lost in your love…" the blonde released a sigh as he continued, "…and I acted too late to protect myself from what your father was planning because I was blinded by my love, as well…" he admitted.

"…Oh…" she muttered with guilt, "…Then all that time….we both knew something was going to happen…but we didn't do enough to stop it."

"I should have done more…" Naruto said, his hands balling into a fist as he thought back, "I should have told someone…anyone…even you…but I didn't want to ruin everyone's happiness. We won the war and everyone was enjoying the peace….I didn't want to disturb that."

"I…can understand that…" replied Serafall, "You were always the selfless-type, worrying for others more than yourself. While some may call that trait honorable, it can also be one's downfall….I'm sorry I wasn't there…no…I was there…I was just scared." she muttered, "I'm sorry I was scared and useless…I should have done something! I don't know why I didn't do anything! I loved you! I still do! But I didn't do anything back then to save you….and I can't do anything now to heal you…."

The two were now on the beach, now facing each. Serafall was huffing somewhat after her small rant, looking up to him for any sign of reaction. Naruto's face remained emotionless, as if he was unaffected by her words.

She did get a reply; however, after a few moments of silence, "I have Gabriel now, Serafall…"

"I know…" the small but voluptuous woman said as she sat down in the sand, pulling her knees to her chest, "I know you hate me…but when I first saw you…back in Kuoh…those emotions came back. They're not as strong as they were before, but they've resurfaced." she admitted, "I know we'll never be together again…but if the chance were still there, I'd take it in a heartbeat and make sure to never hurt you again."

"…Emotions really do complicate things, huh?" Naruto said, joining Serafall on the sand, "While I do appreciate the apology…somewhat…I can never see you in that light again." he said. She didn't seem to be affected much by his words, probably because she already knew how he felt on the manner, "I'm with Gabriel now….I've just got to deal with some obstacles, though…"

"You mean your engagement with Esdeath?" said Serafall, wanting to ignore the pain her heart felt after Naruto denied her feelings, "I heard about that. How do you plan on breaking the engagement?" she asked in curiosity.

"By killing her when I face Honest Bael in battle." the blonde-haired Bael answered, "Dealing with that woman was awful." he admitted with a tired sigh, "A headache I never want again in life. I was forced to be with her when she kidnapped me after my fight against Tannin. She was able to read me like a book, which was very uncomfortable for me. That woman is dangerous and needs to be taken care of. After that, there won't be anything standing in my way with Gabriel."

"Killing your fiancée so that you can be with the woman you love. How romantic." giggled Serafall. She was glad to see a small smile grow on Naruto's face, too. "Does Gabriel know about Esdeath?"

"No…" groaned Naruto as he dropped his back into the sand, "…and I feel guilty every moment I'm with her…"

"You…you didn't tell her?!" shouted Serafall in surprising amount of shock/anger, "Naruto! No girl wants to find out that their boyfriend is engaged! Especially from anyone other than the person she trust the most!"

"I know, I know, I know…" he repeated, covering his face with his hands in dramatic fashion, "I'm just scared that she may break up with me because of the engagement…Gabriel's a Seraph, and if she's involved with somebody that is scheduled to be with someone else, she might just leave me. It's…I-It's a complicated situation, so I've got to hide it from her until I figure things out. Once Esdeath's out of the picture, everything will go back to how they were."

Serafall stared at Naruto, processing his words in her head. He didn't understand why she was taking too long to respond, nor did he get why her face was scrunched up in disbelief, as if he had said something stupid. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Naruto…who told you that was how Gabriel would react if she found out?"

"….Esdeath did….."

"Are you kidding me!?" she shouted as she slammed her small fist into the ground, causing a large column of sand to shoot up in the air from the pressure exerted upon it, "Naruto….a-are….are you stupid!?"

"I'm not stupid…just scared…" revealed the blonde as he lightly face palmed himself, "Esdeath…she really got to me when we were forced to be together for a few days. She convinced me that if Gabriel found out about us…that she'd break up with me. It felt like she was reading me like a book…and I was at my weakest and most vulnerable state since being freed from my seal…" he uttered.

The Leviathan Satan 'hummed' in understanding, "I…I see now…She must have really said the right things to break you down. It's just surprising to hear that someone out played you, Naruto. You're usually so calculated and in control of things…"

"And that's why I hate that woman with a passion…" growled Naruto as a laughing Esdeath appeared in his mind, "She's probably even more cunning and manipulative than me. When I was with Gabriel, I destroyed our TV because it mentioned our engagement. Whenever I'm with Gabriel, I'm haunted by her words…and she knows my weakness…"

"Weakness?" said a confused Serafall. For as long as she had known Naruto, she never noticed any weakness that he may have, at least, not any physical weaknesses. _'Maybe a mental weakness then? Does she a secret of his and is using that as leverage?'_ "If you don't mind telling me…what weakness do you have?"

" _ **You'll be my number one…The number one person in my life…"**_

Naruto sighed, running his hands through his hair as Esdeath's words echoed in his head. "Let's just say…that I'm selfish…" he answered softly.

However, his answer only left Serafall with more questions. _'That doesn't make any sense at all. Naruto is selfish? If anybody would have told me that, I would have taken it as a joke…but he looks like he's serious…'_ she thought as she stared at his face which was scrunched in thought.

Serafall released a short breath as she stared up at the red sky of the Underworld. The fake moon the Satan's had created for the reincarnated Devils to have a sense of time was steadily rising into the sky. "Even though things are troubling…" she started, catching the blonde's attention, "I'm glad that you've found someone, even though it's Gabriel of all people. Couldn't you have found someone better? She is my rival, after all!" said the Satan with a childish pout.

"Maybe I got with her just to spite you." chuckled Naruto, causing the woman to growl at him, "Although, I think your rivalry with Gabriel is one-sided. She really doesn't see you as a rival."

"I don't care! As the most powerful woman of the Underworld, it's only natural for Gabriel, the most powerful woman of Heaven, to be my rival!" she shouted while pounding her chest.

"Whatever you say…" said Naruto with a roll of his eyes, propping one leg on top of the other as he leaned back into the soft sands of the beach.

"Like, you could seriously be with anybody else…" said Serafall, "Like…..like your [Queen]?"

"You mean Kuroka?" said Naruto in surprise, "Uh…What make say that?"

 **Same time – With Kuroka and Orochimaru**

"What are they saying, nya!?" Kuroka screamed into the ears of a clearly annoyed Orochimaru as he looked through a set of binoculars. Kuroka had ordered Orochimaru to spy on the duo with her since she knew he was proficient in reading lips. Forcing a random set of binoculars in his hands, Kuroka pulled the pale man outside with her and told him to relay everything they said and she wrote it down in the same pad she would write down any random ideas Naruto would have.

The only [Pawn] of Naruto Bael sighed as he peered through the binoculars. Even though he could read lips, he had been giving Kuroka false information in order to protect his master's privacy. _'This girl is really annoying and stupid…I'd rather be with the Gremory and her little peerage members than her…'_ he thought.

His eyebrow rose as the conversation topic shifted to Kuroka, with Serafall suggesting that Naruto should be with her instead of Gabriel. _'What's this?'_ he thought in general interest.

"Snakey! What are they talking about!?" Kuroka asked again as she prepared to write down anything the snake man said.

"Oh, they're talking about pickles. You know how Naruto-sama is, fufufu…" he lied smoothly, causing the cat girl to groan in disappointment.

 **With Naruto and Serafall**

"Just think about it!" said the black-haired beauty in excitement, wanting to play match maker, "She's pretty! She's loyal! And she's really strong from what I saw during your fight against Tannin-chan!"

"Why are you even making love suggestions for me?" asked Naruto with a laugh, "In your situation, you wouldn't want to me to be with anyone so that you could make your move."

"Nah…even though I do still have some lingering feelings for you, I've given up on us ever getting back together." she said with a shrug, "Just being able to talk comfortably like this with you is enough for me-BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT! You're [Queen] is obviously a better choice than Gabriel for sure! And whatever this 'selfish' weakness is, I'm sure she'll always remain loyal."

"Hehehe!" laughed Naruto, "If that's your take, then yes, Kuroka is very loyal, but she isn't-

 **Flashback**

"You handled that well." said Naruto, watching the encounter from the corner of his eye, "I thought you would have jumped at those two for blocking your way to your little sister."

"I was thinking about it, but I didn't want to cause a scene and make things worse." said the older Nekomata, "Plus, Shirone doesn't need me anymore. She has her own family now. If she doesn't want me around, I'm not going to force myself on her. Whenever she wants to talk, I'll be here."

"That's very grown up of you. Why are you taking your time with her? I can just tell Rias to let you two talk." asked Naruto.

"Because she doesn't need me….plus, I'm needed elsewhere..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest, "Where?" he questioned.

"With you, nya." she said softly, her golden orbs gleaming in the sun as she looked Naruto in the eyes, "I need to be with you."

"W-what..." Naruto was actually at a loss of words, something that Kuroka had never witnessed before. She was actually surprised at the fact that Naruto was shocked by her revelation. However, she kept her thoughts to herself as he continued to speak, "But…I mean…s-she's your sister. Don't you think she's more important than me?"

"She is my sister, "started the cat girl, "but over these past few years, I've been learning to let her go I'm not going to stop loving her, nya, but she doesn't need me. As of now, she doesn't even want me to be her sister, so I'm giving her the space she needs. My main focus right now is helping you recover so you can accomplish whatever plans I know you have in that crazy brain of yours, nyayaya!" she finished with a cute laugh.

"I….I'm first?" he muttered quietly, as if he was scared of the answer.

"Of course." You know, Naruto,, even though you care for your peerage members more than yourself, you're actually a very selfish person, nyayaya!

 **Flashback End**

Naruto suddenly stiffened as the memory of Kuroka's confession was brought forth from the back of his mind. He hadn't thought about his [Queen]'s words since then because of everything that was happening at the moment. _'She did…she did say that…'_ he thought as the memory was replayed over and over in his mind.

His sudden silence puzzled his past lover as she saw his face was scrunched up in thought. "Naruto?" she said, her voice bringing him back to reality, "Everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh yea…yea, I'm fine." he said, realizing that he wasn't alone after zoning out, "What we're we talking about?"

"Nothing important…" she said with a sigh as she stood up, "…it's time for me to go anyway. I'm glad I got the opportunity to talk to you."

Walking behind Naruto, Serafall dropped down to her knees and hugged the Bael from behind, resting her chin on top of his head. "I'm sorry…if this makes you uncomfortable…" she muttered as Naruto's familiar warmth calmed her, "I just haven't done this in a long time…"

"I know you still hold hatred for me because of what I did, and I completely understand," she continued, "but I just want to thank you anyways."

"For what?" asked the blonde.

"The memories…" she answered softly. _'I could stay like this forever…'_ she thought as her hold around his chest tightened slightly. She inhaled his scent, which brought back memories of the two sharing a bed when they were dating hundreds of years ago. _'…but I know he doesn't feel the same…'_ she said to herself as she slowly released the blonde.

Standing back, the Leviathan Satan created a teleportation seal under her feet. She stared at his back for a few more moments, as if she was scared to go, but she knew she had to. "Goodbye, Naruto." she said with a sad smile.

"Goodbye…Sera…"

 **Timeskip – Two days later…**

 **Kuoh Town**

Things were not going how Naruto planned them to…

It had been two days since he talked to Serafall. He didn't do much during that time frame, but he did contact Gabriel and asked her out on a date. His goal for the night was to make amends for their argument they had a few days ago and maybe-just maybe- tell her about Esdeath.

However, it was his nerves that were stopping him from having that conversation with his Angel-girlfriend. Naruto had the entire date planned out: first the two would go to an arcade since Gabriel had been asking to go for the longest, then they would go out to eat for pizza (one of Gabriel's most favorite foods), and then the duo would end it off with a walk through Kuoh Park, something the couple have done various times before.

One paper, this would have been a great night for the two, but Gabriel was oddly not as excited as she usually was. For one, she was frowning, which was an automatic red flag for the Bael. The only time the Seraph would frown is if something was wrong. Secondly, there were moments were Naruto would catch Gabriel staring off into space, as if she were thinking heavily about something. What made matters worse was when Naruto would ask her if something was wrong, with her response being something similar to, "No, I'm not…but I'll handle it soon." And since Naruto knew Gabriel was incapable of lying, the 'handle it soon' part really meant that she would deal with it soon….and he had a feel the 'problem' she had dealt with him somehow…

And now, both Devil and Angel were holding hands as they silently walked through Kuoh Park. Gabriel's frown had disappeared for a more neutral look, but it was still a foreign sight whenever she was with Naruto-since she would usually have the largest smile that flashed a luminous light during their dates-causing his anxiety to increase further. His mind was running rampant with theories on why she seemed so upset, and the main one that would repeatedly come back was that she had found out about Esdeath…

Which scared the shit out of him …

"Alright…" Naruto said after finally gathering enough confidence to get down to it, "What's wrong, Gabriel?" he asked as the two stopped walking, "You've hardly smiled at all today…it's not like you even want to be here."

Gabriel's frown returned in full force as she stared at the ground, avoiding Naruto's worried-filled eyes. "There is…there's something I need to talk about with you, Naruto…" she muttered. Looking around, the Angel spotted a nearby park bench and led Bael over.

After the two sat down, Naruto waited in anticipation for Gabriel to reveal what was going on. She didn't speak for a few moments, gathering her words before she finally spoke, "…there's been something troubling me lately…and it needs to be settled."

"Is this about our argument we had a few days ago?" Naruto said with a sigh, "Listen, I'm sorry for what I said. I was just acting off of pure emotion and-

"Naruto," the Angel interrupted, "you would lie for me, won't you?"

"….I…I 'would' lie for you?" sputtered Naruto, confused at how Gabriel worded her question, "Do you mean I wouldn't lie to you?"

"No, I didn't ask you that because I know you'll lie to me." she stated sternly, "You've done it before when you hid the fact that you were planning on taking over the Bael Clan…and when we were at the movies not too long ago."

"You….you knew what was happening?" asked a surprised Naruto. He thought he had killed Tatsumi and Honest's servants in secret, and Gabriel didn't seem to be aware as to what was happening.

"I could sense you creating a lot of your astral orbs underneath Rias-san's seat." admitted Gabriel, continuing to shock the blonde Bael, "I just didn't say anything because it seemed like you were trying to hide it. I still don't know why you were doing it, but you made a lot of them…so I assumed something major was happening…something you wanted to hide…" she explained.

The Bael groaned in dissatisfaction at her words. _'All that work I put in to keep everything a secret…but she knew from the beginning…'_ he said internally as he knew there was no hiding what happened at the movies any longer. "Yeah, somebody was there: a Bael Council member and his peerage member…they were trying to trick me up while taking notes on my astral orbs on how they work. Honest is really set out on defeating me and wants to know about any weakness I may have…" he admitted, making sure not to bring up Esdeath in anyway, "I didn't want to disturb us at the movies, so I decided to deal with it myself. I had a massive headache from splitting up my conscious so many times, but at least it all worked out, hehehe?" he laughed awkwardly.

But there wasn't a smile present on the Seraph's face, causing another wave of uncertainty to wash through Naruto's body. Gabriel was nothing but serious, meaning that their conversation wasn't over.

"So you lied about you being alright…so that you wouldn't disrupt the triple date with the others?" she asked, receiving a nod of confirmation from her blonde-haired boyfriend, "Is that the only thing you've lied to me about?"

He stiffened. A flash of Esdeath's grinning face entered his mind. He could only stare at the ground, not having the courage to look the saddened Angel in the eye.

"….."

"….."

"….."

"….You know about Esdeath….don't you….."

The mental picture he had of Gabriel at his side, sitting on top of Bael Clan's throne was demolished, shattering like glass as Gabriel replied, "I do."

First was guilt. Then anxiety. And now-fear. Naruto grabbed Gabriel's soft hands as he began to explain to his lover, "Gabriel…please, just listen to me and why I didn't tell you!" he began, "Esdeath…sh-she got to my head, okay? I knew it wasn't right to keep this away from you, but I-

" _This is how things are going to work. You'll try to hide the fact that you're engaged to me from Gabriel, but sometime soon, she will find out about us. Gabriel is a Seraph, one of the most powerful Angels in Heaven, both physically and politically. Once she find out you're engaged in a political marriage, she will remove herself from you. Angels usually don't engage in polyamorous relationships….usually, but it is still possible….but being a Seraph, Gabriel would never be in one…she has to keep her appearance up if she doesn't want to falter in political power. If her 'boyfriend' is now in a political marriage, she'll duck off…."_

"…..meaning I'd have to be with her…." finished Naruto, staring into Gabriel's deep, blue eyes.

Said Seraph was fighting off tears, water pooling at the edges of her eyes as she listened to Naruto's explanation. However, she knew she had to be strong, so she didn't allow the threatening tears to escape. With solid conviction, Gabriel replied, "That's…that's what she said to you…" she muttered at a low volume.

"Yes, Gabriel." he stated almost immediately, "It's fucked up, I know, but you have to understand!"

"Naruto…" the coldness in her tone was like a knife to the heart. She never spoke to him like that. "Why do you not trust me?"

That took the Bael by surprise. "Wha-what?" he stuttered as he processed her words, "You…..I do trust you, Gabriel."

"Stop lying." she denied with a shake of her head, "What about this entire situation shows that you trust me at all!"

The Seraph stood from her seat, taking a higher position over Naruto as she started her rant, "You can trust the words of a woman you despise…but you don't trust me enough to know that I would understand that the position your in ISN'T your fault!?" she all but hollered, "I've never met your fiancée, and she has never met me, nor does she know how our relationship works, Naru. How can she ever accurately predict what I was going to do when she doesn't know anything other than the political side of me!?"

The angry Angel didn't get a response from the astonished Bael as he stared up at his girlfriend with wide eyes. She didn't even wait for an answer for long as she continued, "This is how things should have gone, Naruto. The moment you were informed about your forced engagement, you should have told me immediately because you didn't do anything wrong and trusted me enough to understand the situation. From there, I would have supported you throughout this entire ordeal with you and your fight to become Great King-under certain conditions! If you would have trusted me from the beginning, you wouldn't be stressed out and I wouldn't be contemplating breaking up with you!"

"Breaking up…Woah!" Naruto stood on his feet and grabbed both of Gabriel's hands, "No, no, no, no, no, no…We don't have to go that far, Gabriel." he pleaded, "We'll figure this out if we just work together…"

"Now you want to work together? After I've found out your secret?" Gabriel shook her head in disappoint while pulling her hands away from Naruto, "I don't even know if you're capable of working together, Naruto…because you'll never fully trust me…"

"That's…listen…listen-I'll work on it." said Naruto, trying to find some type of angle to appease his girlfriend, "From now on, no more secrets. I'll tell you everything about me, what's going on-everything. Is that what you want?"

"No." she quickly stated, surprising the Bael, "At first I wanted that, but now that I've scared you with the threat of breaking up with you, I know you'll keep that promise. I want something that will be difficult for you to do…"

"Just tell me and I'll do it." sternly said the Bael, "I want things to go back to how they were between us. If making a sacrifice is what's going to save this relationship, then I'll do it one hundred times over."

It was the Angel's turn to feel nervous as she stared into the Devil's eyes, noticing that they were filled with conviction. "I…want you…" the Angel gulped, knowing that her next words would surely be something hard for Naruto to accept. Her soft hands gently landed on the sides of Naruto's face, rubbing his whisker marks. "During the continuation of this…battle for the title of Great King…I don't want you to kill anyone…let them live, Naruto."

Silence greeted her after she finished her request for the blonde. All emotion that was once in his eyes was gone, now a blank slate, which highly worried the Seraph. She couldn't read Naruto at all, which could either be a good or bad thing. Based off of their first argument a few days ago, she believed that he would deny her request without any second guesses, but with their relationship on the line, he must have been contemplating on accepting it, she assumed.

The few moments of silence cut when Naruto grunted, his face scrunching up in pure anger as he pulled away from the Seraph, turning his back to her. "This is ridiculous." he said, hurting the Angel in the process, "You know….You know, Gabriel, that I'm NOT going to spare ANY of those monster's lives."

"Please, Naruto!" she pleaded, grabbing hold of his arm, "Please reconsider! This murdering spree isn't good for you! Didn't you promise to me that you would try to learn how to forgive those that wronged you? You need to learn that your feelings for someone, whether positive or negative, shouldn't be what determine your life! Revenge isn't the answer!"

"Do I look like a damn Angel to you, Gabriel!?" he shouted as he faced Gabriel again, pure rage leaking from his body, "I'm not going to fucking Heaven for showing mercy to a bunch of old geezers that deserve to put in the ground! I'm killing the people that put me in a box for over 500 years! You think I can just forget about that!?"

"I'm not telling you to forget-I'm telling you to move on!" she yelled back, "This…insane obsession...you have with getting revenge…it isn't worth it! Not in my eyes."

"Because you didn't go through it…" he growled as he step closer to the Angel, causing her to take a step back, "Those fools deserve to die…I don't care what anybody has to say. Not only did they take away over 500 years of my life, but they have abused their power, oppression those beneath them and benefitting from everyone's struggles. My plan to kill them all isn't fully off of my want for revenge-this is bigger than me! The Underworld deserves and needs a better Great King and a new Bael Council! It just so happens that killing them is like killing two birds with one stone, and with every Bael Council death by my hand, I'm ECSTATIC with joy and satisfaction! Don't tell me that their death isn't worth it from your perspective when you're talking to someone that was personally affected by their transgressions!"

"So…so this is it…"huffed Gabriel, her facing reddening as a lone tear shot down her cheek, "You just can't stop…"

"I can't stop, Gabriel, but that doesn't mean we need to stop what we have!" he countered, "All you have to do is let me take care of this….turn a blind eye-just this one time!-and in a month or two, everything will be back to how it was…probably even better!"

"I can't do that, Naruto!" she screeched, not holding back the stream of tears rolling down her face, "You're trying to save our relationship by killing your fiancée! I can't turn a blind eye to this because I'm connected with you…and the fact that you plan to kill somebody on my behalf puts me in a very uncomfortable predicament! L-like…..like I would be responsible for her death! It goes against my beliefs! My Father would not approve of this!"

"Your pops wouldn't approve of a lot of shit, but that isn't my problem." said Naruto with a scowl, "I don't owe your father anything. I don't live by your morals, and I damn sure am not going to ignore the fact that these behemoths you want me to show mercy to continue to parade around off of the suffering of those beneath them! This shit needs to end now!" he yelled while stomping his foot on the ground, causing spider-web cracks to dance along the surface.

"So when you told me that you'd work on letting go of your hatred-that was a lie too?" she said with a glare so fierce it made Naruto's heart skip a beat, "Don't you remember? You said that it wouldn't be an immediate process; you'd work on letting go of your hatred if it made me happy. You telling me that you were lying to me the entire time?"

The blonde growled at the memory, which happened the last time the couple was at Kuoh Park. It was the day that they made their relationship official-one of the happiest days of Naruto's life. "Yeah, it was lie, but I did it because I thought I could hide all of this chaos from you! Everything would have gone smoothly we could have been happy!"

Gabriel shook her head in denial, "No…no matter what you say, I can't deny the fact that you are planning to kill somebody for me. I can't and I won't agree with this! That's why I'm asking you to just leave her and the rest of the council alive…it would make me feel so much better and not guilty!"

"Gabriel, I can'-

"Yes you can!" she shouted as she pounded her fist into his chest, "Because you love me more than you love your quest for revenge, right?" her tears scared her beauty, a sight that almost caused Naruto's knees to go weak with guilt and regret for being the reason of her current state, "I know you..sniff…I-I know that you care about those you love more than anything in the world….even more than yourself….so please….please…..sniff….it hurts to see y-you like this…."

"….Gabriel…"

"….sniff…"

"Gabriel….."

"…..ye….yea…."

"Who is your first love?"

"..sniff…w-what?" she stuttered, not understand the question, "May you please…ask that again?"

"I asked you who your first love is," he said as he stared the beauty in all-seriousness, "because you are a part of my number one: apart of my family with my peerage members. My family is my god…you make up my god…I'm asking you what you consider to be the first love in your heart…." he whispered softly.

The Seraph wasn't crying anymore, having calmed down somewhat, but she was still shaken up a little from the tense atmosphere. Taking in a few breaths, the Angel settled back down in the park bench as she gathered her thoughts. "Who…do I consider to be first in my heart…." she repeated. It didn't take her long to come up with answer as she spoke, "It has to be my Father...Y-yes…my Father…."

Naruto's sigh of disappointment confused and scared Gabriel, feeling as if her answer wasn't what the blonde wanted to hear. "I knew it…." he whispered, slowly lowering himself into bench next to Gabriel, "I…I knew it…." he repeated, burying his face into his palms.

"W-wait…" stuttered the Angel as she sat next to the Bael, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder for extra support, "Why…why did you ask me that? Why is that important to you?"

"Because…" whispered Naruto, sounding utterly defeated and depressed, "...our goals…and beliefs….they'll only get in the way of each other, Gabriel…" he started, "…It's just…it's something that we can't avoid…and something we can't stop."

He pulled his hands away from his face and leaned back into the park bench, staring up at the star-riddled sky as he continued, "There's no running away from the fact that I'm going to kill the Bael Council and Kyruem, Gabriel. As much as you don't want me to…I'm going to do it…and the reason why you hate it is because you feel as if my revenge is damaging and unnecessary….and you'll feel responsible for Esdeath's death since I'm killing her so that we can stay together…"

"So you at least understand where I'm coming from?" she asked, "You plan on killing her…just so that we can stay together. It doesn't feel right to me," she said with a shake of her head, "and so I won't support you killing Esdeath. I get that you have been nervous about telling me about her, but understand that this entire predicament you're in was forced on you, not chosen, so I would have understood…but it's the trust factor that's really making it hard for me to continue this relationship, Naruto."

"I know…and that's the problem…that I'll never trust you fully…"

"Wha…w-why?" said Gabriel in utter shock. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't fully trust her. "Was it something that I did?" she asked, wanting to know if she could amend the hurt she caused.

"No, it's nothing that you did, Gabriel. It's just who you are." he replied, turning his head so that he was facing Gabriel, "I am….a very selfish person, even though most people who know me wouldn't say that…I…I am scared of…being hurt again, so the only people that I have my full trust are those who make up the upper-echelon of my heart…my peerage members are the only people that are a part of this piece of my heart…and I want you to be there as well," he stated as he looked her in the eye, "but you have prior commitments…something you consider more important than me."

"You mean my love for my Father?" she asked, getting a nod in response, "But that's something I can't change, Naruto. My Father created me, and gave me a reason to live. I have to carry out his wishes because it is my duty."

"And your duty and belief will collide with mines…" said the blonde-haired Devil, "Gabriel, as long as you're with me, I will do things that I deem necessary for the Underworld to prosper, meaning that it will be possible that I will continue to spill more blood in the future to rid the Underworld of Devils that really don't care for it. Can you truly say that you will continue to hold my hand even though its covered in blood? Would you support me more than you support your own beliefs? And would I be the most important person in your heart?"

Gabriel processed Naruto's words, slowly coming to a realization as to what he wanted. She sighed as she removed her hand from his shoulder. "I can't…I can't fulfill what you're asking." she finally said, "Because it sounds too similar as to what my Father is asking….a lot of Christians describe my Father as a 'jealous' God because he wants all of their love and admiration-which is true. What you're asking for is the same thing-all of my love-but that is something I cannot give, nor will I even try to attempt to do, because that would be betraying my Father…"

"And I understand that…"he replied with a sad smile, "I'm basically asking you to love me more than Him, just like how I love my peerage more than anything…and because you can't, I won't be able to fully trust you…which isn't your fault…isn't just one of the various demons that has a grip on my heart…."

"So…..so you knew that I would reply like this?" she asked him in curiosity.

"Yeah…"he admitted with a sigh, "It was when I was with Esdeath when I realized that…that our ideals and way of life would be set onto a collision course…and we wouldn't survive the crash. The only way will I fully trust you is if we hold each other on the same standard…but because we don't, I will never be fully truthful…I'll continue to lie and be deceitful because at the end of the day, I know that your loyalty lies in the will of somebody else…"he thoroughly explained.

"If that's what you predict…why did you continue to stay with me?" she asked as she stared into his deep, ocean-blue eyes, "We wouldn't be going through this hurt right now if we would have had this conversation earlier…"

The blonde Bael released a long breath, ignoring the awkward feeling of vulnerability as he continued to pour out his thoughts, "I was lying to myself for a while….because I was so happy with you….and the craving for having someone special was satisfied with you…I continued to lie and lie to myself, saying that we could probably work out some type of way…whatever the hell that 'way' is…." he chuckled sadly, "but I've got to face the facts…..and stop it here before we continue to hurt each other."

"…..I see…." she muttered back, clearly heartbroken and befuddled, "While this...is hard to grasp….it is very mature of you to admit your weaknesses….especially for you, since I know you hate not having full control over anything…"

"Yeah, which is why these past couple of weeks have been the most stressful of my life." he replied with a grin, "The Rating Games, dealing with Honest, Esdeath still in my damn head, managing my time with you, the fucking politics….it's slowly drowning me and I feel as if I can't handle it sometimes…but I keep pushing anyway because I know my end goal is in reach-and nothing's gonna stop me…" he glanced over to the blonde-haired beauty with a sad look in his eyes, "…sadly, that includes you as well…"

"And I will never be able to supply you with the love you ask for, so I guess…it's safe to say that we're no longer together…." she whispered with a lone tear falling from her cheek.

A tough silence was shared between the two as they stared at the ground, not knowing what to say to the other. They had just broken up-the same action both wanted to avoid at the start of this conversation, but then came to the decision that it would be best for them to call it off now. It was a weird and new sensation for the duo, having been together for quiet sometime now, but now breaking up so suddenly.

Gabriel, however, was the first one to speak, breaking the tense silence. "What do we do now?..."she asked, with Naruto not knowing if she was asking him or if she was thinking out loud since that was the same question that echoed in his mind repeatedly without end.

"I gues…we go our separate ways…" he replied quietly after a few seconds of thought, "We…we aren't together anymore, so you d-don't have to feel guilty any when I…take care of Esdeath…"

Glancing over to Naruto, Gabriel's heart was filled with an immense sadness when she took in the sight of Naruto's blue eyes that were filled with sorrow and regret. Almost immediately, she scooted over to him and threw her arms around his shoulders, embracing him one last time.

"Thank you…" she whispered in his ear, "…for everything…we'll still be in touch, Naruto…just in a different way…" she said as she closed her eyes, focusing on absorbing his warmth and comforting her former lover.

The blonde Devil didn't make any noise, closing his eyes and absorbing the Angel's warmth for what may be the last time. "Yeah…" he answered after a few moments of comfortable silence. He forcibly held back the tears as throughout the duration of their hug. _'I'm…..going to miss this…'_ he thought to himself.

Sadly for the both of them, their time was up. Gabriel, in one last symbol of her love for the blonde, kissed his whiskered-cheek before pulling away. Standing up and smoothing out her robes, the Angel flashed the Devil a large, true smile. "Thanks you, Naruto…and goodbye….." she finished as the teleportation seal consumed her, leaving Naruto alone in the darkened park.

 **Underworld – Bael Territory**

 **Naruto's Peerage House**

"You know what they should make a show about?"

"..sigh…what should they make show about, Kisame?"

"We need a show on how shows are made! That's a moneymaker right there, baby!"

"YOSH! That sounds like a great idea!"

The collective group of Anna, Hao, Orochimaru, Yoh, and Kuroka, who were all seated in their individual couches, stared at Lee and Kisame in utter disappointment as the duo talked about the show idea like it was the best idea in the world. The group had gathered to watch TV together while Naruto was out with his date with Gabriel. Since it was clear that the Angel/Devil couple was going through some bumps in their relationship, they were all either worried or interested in how the night would turn out for the two.

"The stupidity they share is revolting…." muttered a tired Orochimaru as Kisame and Lee continued to shout at each other in excitement.

"Hehe…You know Kisame and Lee…" chuckled Yoh with a head scratch, "…not a boring moment goes by when they're together…"

"I just want to watch my TV in peace…." muttered the monotone Anna with a noticeable eyebrow twitch, showing her internal annoyance with the yelling duo.

Hao himself had zoned out the noise, not really bothered by it all as he continued to read his book in silence. Kuroka was laying next to him, taking up a majority of the couch with her body, playing with a ball of yarn. "I'm hungries, nya…" she said before releasing a quiet yawn, "Is there anything in the fridge?" she asked the group while patting her empty stomach.

However, the cat girl's question went unanswered as all of them sensed a familiar presence teleport outside down by on the beach. "It's Naruto-sama…" stated Anna as she stood from her seat, "He's back…but something's wrong…"

"Something is wrong?" asked Orochimaru, with Naruto's return waking him up somewhat, "What is it, Anna?"

"…It's like he's a walking cloud of sadness…" he replied quietly as she sensed a massive amount of sadness, grief, sorrow and depression all bundled up in Naruto's body.

"Alright…" groaned Kisame as he jumped out of his recliner and slung Samehada on his back, "…let's see what the dumb ass is crying about this time…"

The peerage all made their way outside to the back porch that overlooked the dark beach. Peering through the darkness, the group saw Naruto in the sand, on his knees. His face was shoved into the sand and his hands gripped his blonde locks. Clearly, their master was upset about something.

"He….Naruto-sama doesn't look to well…." whispered Lee as he stared at his master, truly concerned for him.

Yoh frowned at the sight as he lightly gripped Anna's hand, "I guess….things didn't turn out to great with Gabby…."

"I mean, they didn't break up though right?" said Kisame with a distressed frown on his face, "…it's not like I care for the idiot's feelings or anything….just that if they did break up…ya know…..Gabby won't be around to make any cupcakes anymore…"

"You're concern for Naruto-sama is special in your own way, Kisame…" the pale snake man said with a side-eye glance at the shark demon, "Nevertheless, I'm sure things aren't quite as bad as we thi-

" **FFFFFFUUUUUCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"**

The once quiet blonde suddenly erupted in rage as he shot up, outstretching his hand out to the large body of water in front of him and released massive, continuous stream of Power of Destruction that lit up the environment. The amount of magic the blonde was releasing was so powerful that a strong gust of wind threatened to uproot any nearby trees. Sand shot everywhere, blocking the vision of Naruto's peerage members as he continued to fuel his attack. The large column of red energy ate through any water that touched it, evaporating it into nothingness, as it stretched out further and further before imploding far off in the distance. The aftershock was terrifyingly strong as the ground rumbled as if a earthquake had occurred. The water washed in as it filled up the space where there was once water, and also filled up the massive cavern that started in front of Naruto's body. The amount of water within the river seemed to have decrease by quite a noticeable amount as the shore of the beach grew longer as there were new parts visible that was once submerged in water.

The aftershock of Naruto's release last for sometime before everything settled. The beach was a mess, with sand blown every, trees bent at old shapes and the new cavern that was now filled with water that stretched out to the mainland. However, Naruto didn't care about any of that was he slowly re-entered his bowing position.

"Woah…" muttered Kisame as he analyzed the newly-decorated beach, "I guess now's not the time to make jokes….."

Kuroka ignored the shark man as she summoned her wings and flew over to the downed Bael. Landing softly on her knees next to him, she placed a comforting hand on his back and knelt down onto his level. She saw that Naruto had his eyes closed tight, but tears still found their way to escape and dribble down his face. His body was shaking and his face was scrunched up in rage as he suddenly slammed his fist into the wet sand.

"Naruto…" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his body and pulled him into her chest. Her ears flattened atop her head in sadness-she always hated seeing the usually happy Devil sad, but this was a new low that he had reached. Naruto hated showing weakness and vulnerability, so for him to be openly crying and showing his emotions truly meant that he was upset like never before.

"It's gonna be okay, nya…" she sang as she slowly rocked her body back and forth. She could feel his arms snake around her as he latched onto her, his sobs and cries reverberating throughout the beach.

 **The Next Day**

"And welcome to 'Undisputed' with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless. Today, we have a guest that has been requested for since his sudden appearance in the Underworld and has been brought up numerous times in the past by Shannon himself. We have his entire peerage here as well-Naruto Bael and Team Pickle Rick! Thanks for joining the show!"

"Hehehe! Thanks Jenny!" said a smiling Naruto, dressed in an all-black suit with a white dress shirt and a black tie, "I'm really glad to be here, especially since I haven't seen ole' Shannon here since our war days!"

"HAA! He remembers that we we're in the war together-SEE SKIP! HE REMEMBERS!" shouted Shannon with a laugh, "Oh my goodness, it's great to see you, Naruto! The stories we have together are endless!"

"Like that time the Old Devil Faction attacked our base while we were still drunk of our asses from celebrating the last fight we won?" questioned the blonde with a grin.

"PLuuu-HHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" laughed Shannon as he slapped his hand on the table, creating a decent sized dent in it, "I remember that! Boy, oh, boy I'm never drinking that shit again! We're on our ass that night!"

"Uhhhhuh…." muttered Skip as he watched the laughing duo awkwardly since he didn't have much to put into the conversation, "Anyway…it is great to have you and your peerage here, Naruto-san." he stated.

"Watch out, Naruto."Shannon jumped in before Naruto could reply, "Skip gonna be hating a lot cause he's old and doesn't like the fact that I was right about you taking down everyone you fought in your Rating Games. I won a lot of cases of Dew beating on you!" he laughed.

"That's absolutely not true." said Skip in denial, "I'm not a 'hater' or anything…just very objective if you will."

"I understand." replied Naruto, "A lot of Devils were speculate of my chances of winning Rating Games based on who I was facing, so it makes sense. But I must say, Mr. Bayless, you look great." said the Bael, complimenting Skip on his wardrobe, "I may need to ask you for pointers when it comes to dressing up."

"Well, ya know…" Skip brushed off imaginary dirt from his shoulders as he felt empowered by Naruto's compliment, "They do call me 'Drip Bayless' on Twitter…"

"Aw shut up!" yelled Shannon, "We not here to talk to you about you're little fashion trends, Skip! We're here to talk to Naruto and his amazing peerage!" he said while motioning to all of Naruto's peerage members sitting on an all black bleacher that looked like a staircase behind Naruto. The group was uniformed with Naruto, all wearing black suits for their first TV debut.

"Yea, yea, we'll start then." said Skip while smoothing out his dress top, "So! We have a lot of questions for you all…while we may know about your abilities; the public would like to know more about you as a team, like your origins and such. How did Team Pickle Rick come to be?"

"Well, Skip," started Naruto as he laced his fingers together in a business-like manner, "It's a long story, so I hope you and your audience is ready to listen…."

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 **Me: *Updates this chapter and slams my computer shut to avoid all the hate I'm gonna get for breaking up Gabriel and Naruto**

 **Also Me: *Checks back on FanFiction to read the celebration reviews from the NarutoxKuroka shippers out.**

 **Me Again: *slams my computer shut and runs again because the Gabriel-stans found out my address and threatens to kill me unless fix what I did.**

 **LOL, SORRY BOUT THE LONG WAIT! As you all know, college is bitch in a half and it's taking up a lot of my time. I really wanted to update the story earlier, but things kept on getting in the way.**

 **However, I hope you somewhat enjoyed the chapter. A lot happened, but I guess what I'm going to talk about now is what probably either: A. pissed you off or B. made you do the happy dance. So, yeah, Gabriel and Naruto are over….like, over over, my g.**

 **I hope I did a good job in explaining both sides and how their relationship wouldn't work out. Basically, Naruto wants to be Gabriel's number one, but that would be impossible for the Angel because her love for God is what she cares for most. Because of this, Naruto will always withhold information and never, completely trust the Angel because she will always see him as second-unlike the peerage members that he considers his family and, in his own terms, his god.**

 **Also, because of their split, and Serafall stating that any chance at getting back with Naruto is 0, the only other girl we have left is the great Kuroka the Cat. Congratulations, you Kuroka lovers! Your best girl is the last one standing!**

 **The question is now, will she be able to win over Naruto's heart? I mean, she fits all of the qualifications, but will they work out? What type of crazy plan does NarutoPlug have in store for the King and Queen? When is Naruto gonna actually be able to eat a pickle?!**

 **All this and more will be answered….in the coming chapters, lol.**

 **I've realized that this story needs to end…like, fast. College is really taking up my time and I can't fully commit to this story anymore. I see this story getting at least another 4 chapters before it's a wrap. I wasn't going to add Naruto and Gabriel's break up in the chapter at first, but I realized I've got to pick up the pace if I want to end this damn story sometime soon…at least having it finished by the end of the year (which is probably not going to happen, but a guy can dream, ya dig?)**

 **I knew from the beginning that I would have Kuroka end up with Naruto, it's just how it will happen is the question. That question won't be answered next chapter, because it's gonna be another Cannon:Filler type chapter like before (Chapter 18). This chapter will focus on Naruto and, something a lot of you have asked for, Kisame and their relationship. I've basically gotten into the back story of each of Naruto's peerage members, but only hinted at Kisame's. This second Cannon:Filler chapter will shed some light on their past and relationship.**

 **Also, GabrielxNaruto fans, please don't kill me for this….and don't drop the story too. You've made it this far. Trust in ya boy, NarutoPlug.**

 **I kept telling yall that there was gonna be a surprise coming soon, and to keep it a buck, Gabriel and Naruto's split isn't the big reveal. It's literally the last thing you all will expect. It won't happen next chapter, but the chapter after that. The cliff hanger on that chapter is gonna be tense…..**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **Thanks for all the support everyone. It really means a lot.**

 **Again, congratulations to all of those who favored Kuroka out of the trio of girls who could have ended up with Naruto. And for those that don't understand why I chose her, I used that old flashback as an explanation. I'm really surprised nobody caught onto it earlier, but eh.**

 **I love you all**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**


	32. Cannon:Filler2

**(Day of update-November 16, 2019: sorry for everyone that has waited for this chapter. College has been a bitch to me and its taken up so much of this time. I typing this right before I update the story. A better explanation for why I was late with the chapter is at the bottom Author Notes. Enjoy the story.)**

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 **Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, just got up from reading a fire as My Hero fanfic. I'm really loving evil/villain Deku stories…actually…I like all stories where the hero of the story becomes evil…maybe because I'm secretly evil…eh, if I am, at least you all can enjoy my evil mind.**

 **To remind you all, this chapter is another Cannon:Filler chapter. It won't be so long like the others (Day of update: well this was a lie. Prepare for over 24.1k word chapter. Thanks for the support) , but it will be important to the coming chapters, so make sure you pay attention because the big event I've been pointing to will be happening in the next chapter…hehehehe…oh how I love my mind…**

 **No long intro Author Note this time! Enjoy the chapter.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **Cannon:Filler2**

 **Flashback – Devil Civil War**

 **Outside of Vapula Maximum Security Facility – Lions' Den**

"Hahahaha!" laughed a younger, shirtless Kisame Hoshigaki as he ripped through a nameless Devil's armor and stomach with his trusty Samahada, its dangerous scales etching its mark on the poor woman's body as the blade sucked up all of her magic in the process. His eyes darted to his left when he sensed a presence next to him. Grinning, he shifted his body to left, avoiding being skewered by another Devil solider that had noticeable trembles **.**

"Looks like you guys are starting to run out of people to defend the prison…." he said as he grabbed hold of the spear's handle. The owner of the spear tried to rip it out of Kisame's grasp, but the hold the shark demon had on it proved too strong for the man. "Look at you…shivering in fear just at the sight of me. I'm surprised that you could even find the balls to even approach me." he said with a devilish grin.

"I-I-I….I h-have to stop y-y-you…." stuttered the fear-stricken Devil. While he saw the blue-skinned man slowly raise Samehada over him, the man couldn't move his legs because his fear for Kisame paralyzed him. "For…for t-t-t-th-the Anti-Sa-t-t-t-tan Faction's v-v-v-vic….victory…."

"Pfft." laughed Kisame as he flexed the muscles in his arm that held Samehada, "…you should know by now that only one man can stop me…." he grinned as he brought Samehada down onto his prey, causing a fountain a blood to spray into the air.

Kisame groaned as he released Samehada's handle, allowing the sword to munch on the dead man's body. The shark demon stood in the middle of hundreds of bodies that were ripped open in various places. The battleground was covered in a layer of deep red blood from all of Kisame's victims, pouring into the cracks of the ground like a flood. Kisame didn't care for the mass genocide he just caused as he casually looked around the body-ridden battlefield, "Where the fuck is that blonde idiot anyway? He's usually here by now…" he muttered as he decided to take a break from the fighting.

Kisame was currently working for the Old Satan Faction, hired as an extremely strong piece sent out to clear battlefields-something the Demon was known for. He had no personal ties to the Old Satan Faction, but they paid him well, so of course he would take the opportunity to be paid to slaughter people. Since he already liked killing, it was even better for him to do it for a fee.

His mission was to help assist Legion 23 of the Old Satan Faction of breaking into the Vapula Clan's famous prison, which housed many captured Old Satan Faction-members and, possibly, future members. The Faction wanted to add onto their slowly decreasing numbers, so invading a maximum security prison to recruit high-tier Devils was an obvious choice the leaders of the group decided on.

At the beginning of the battle, it was a fairly even, but that was until Kisame decided to join, splitting off around 20% of their opponents away from the main group with his massive water spells. After secluding them away from their legion, Kisame began his feast, cutting anything he saw into ribbons while Samehada absorbed their magic. It was nothing that the weakened legion of Devils could do-they weren't trained to deal with Kisame's physical prowess and magic-absorbing skill, leaving them to be slaughtered.

Kisame stared off in the distance, looking at the massive prison that was a major staple for the House of Vapula. Large, golden lion statues surrounded the walls, as if they were acting as guard dogs for the famous prison. "Hehe…." he chuckled suddenly at the sight of the Lions' Den, "I bet I could make it out of there easily…"

He could see the rest of his assigned legion slowly making process to the entrance of prison. The legion the Anti-Satan Faction couldn't handle the onslaught now that over 20% of their forces were taken out by one man. It was only a matter of time until the Vapula Clan's prison would be taken by the Old Satan Faction…

However, the shark man grinned when, in the distance, streaks of red light appeared, a red hailstorm attacking Legion 23 faraway from his current position. "Finally…" sensing the magic of who was attacking back, and the large amount of new magic energies coming from the east, he deducted that the Anti-Satan Faction had finally sent in reinforcements to defend the prison. "…you kept me waiting, Naruto Bael…." grinned Kisame with a lust for battle as he grabbed Samehada's handle. The demonic sword shrieked in delight at the chance of meeting their favorite opponent as used his immense physical prowess to leap over to the battle happening not too far off.

It didn't take long for the shark demon to land right in the middle of the on-going. His eyes quickly analyzed who was friend and foe before beginning his hack fest to the energy his was searching for. Jumping to action, he created three water sharks that tore through a few Anti-Satan soldiers before jumping in the air again, Kisame laughed like a child in a candy store as he planted his foot into an airborne female, sending her flying into the sturdy walls of the prison. Landing on his feet again, Kisame ripped through anything he saw moving, hardly even caring if any of his 'allies' got hurt in the process. _'They'd probably do the same to me if they had the opportunity.'_ he thought as he absorbed a magic blast from another Devil.

"H-he absorbed my magic!?" the shocked Devil yelled in both confuse and fear as he backed away from the monster that was effortlessly destroying them while, seemingly, not losing any energy at all.

"You dumbass!" laughed Kisame as he blitzed towards the Devil, ready to steal all of the magic from his body, but was caught by surprise when a volley of red needles curved through the mass of Devils fighting and entered Kisame's body-specifically his joints. He lost his footing and hold on Samehada as he dropped to the ground, surprising those around him.

"He….he fell?"

"What happened?"

"No! Only one person could do that!"

The grin on Kisame's face grew to max proportions as the blonde-haired man he was looking for dropped down a few meters away from him. He was wearing the standard Devil armor that the Anti-Satan Faction foot soldiers wore, but instead of the usual black and red color way, the blonde-haired man's armor was a bright orange. He wasn't equipped with the regular spike-axe most Devils had either, but his body was coated a light, transparent veil of red energy. "Finally…you fucking idiot!" Kisame shouted, scaring some of the nearby Devils with his rage even if he was immobile at the moment. "What the fuck took you so long! I was bored out of my mind with those weaklings!"

"We just came back from a battle not too far away, Kisame." spoke a calm Naruto. The blue demon took time to look at Naruto's body and did notice that his cloths were somewhat tattered and his armor was scratched up. "I heard that you were causing a ruckus over here so I had to come and stop you." he said with a small smile, "Now get up from the ground. We both know that you can heal from any attack quickly."

"Hehehe…." Kisame chuckled as he grabbed Samehada's handle and stood back on his feet, clearly healed from Naruto's signature move-Needles of Destruction, "This will be the 11th time we fought. This time…" Kisame shot forward, ready to slash through Naruto, "I'LL KILL YOU FOR SURE THIS TIME, NARUTO!"

The blonde summoned his Power of Destruction and engaged the shark demon, a noticeable grin on his face as the battle between rivals began.

 **Timeskip**

The battling shark demon and blonde Bael continued with ferocity. Their massive battle caused them to move away from the main fight over the Lion's Den- the two now at a more secluding area from the others. Their fight had been going on for some time now, but it was clear that Kisame was winning. Because of Naruto's fatigue from the previous fight he was in before facing Kisame, Kisame was slowly overpowering the Bael.

Kisame's grin grew when he saw Naruto clutch at his side-a large gash was pouring out large amounts of blood. The blonde was using his left hand to cover up the wound as he tried to heal it with a minor-healing spell. The Bael was visibly tired as well-his breathing was ragged and he was littered with injuries. The sight thoroughly pleased the shark demon as slammed Samehada tip into the ground dramatically, "Seems like I'm gonna win this one, idiot." he chuckled evilly.

Naruto flinched at the sharp pain coming from his side, but made sure to focus on the fight. He couldn't lose focus for a second because Kisame would take advantage of that split second to end him.

A weak grin grew on the blonde's face as gasped for breath, "Well…t-that's only because I was tired from before. If I was at full capacity…..t-this battle would be entirely different." he said with a few stutters when waves of pain interrupted his speech.

"Ehhh, excuses, excuses." dismissed Kisame with a wave of his hand, not noticing the forming, ominous thunderclouds in the sky, "If you knew you're assigned to fight me whenever we're on the same battlefield, it's your fucking fault for coming unprepared…Now ya gotta die."

"I don't think that's gonna happen, Kisame." grinned Naruto as he created a few magic circles behind him, "Plus, if you were successful in killing me, you wouldn't have anything to look forward to in life. I know your allegiance isn't with the Old Satan Faction."

"Of course I'm not loyal to those pussies!" barked Kisame, "I'm loyal to my damn self! They just happened to get to me first and pay pretty fucking good."

Naruto laughed, abet painfully, at Kisame's words, "Living for yourself….that must be a lonely life you live, Kisame Hoshigaki…"

' _Wha-wha…what the fuck does that mean?'_ thought the demon was a troubled look on his face. Naruto's words struck Kisame's heart, but the Demon didn't know the reason for the small silver amount of pain he felt. He shook his head, clearing himself of the annoyance. "Fuck you…you're an idiot, so you don't know what you're talking about…"

Kisame's grin returned full force as he entered a crouching position, ready to blast over to Naruto and continue their fight, "I've got this fight in the bag. I'll be sure to keep your head and put over my mantle!" he shouted as he rocketed off his feet with bad intentions.

However, before either Kisame or Naruto could attack each other, a wall of ice blocked them off from one another. "Naru!" The blonde's blue eyes shifted to his left as a beautiful, black-haired girl landed next to him. Her hair was tied up in pigtails and she had on metal guards on her legs and arms, along with a chest plate to protect her core. She wore a black skirt with stockings underneath to hide her privacy as she fought off her opponents.

"Sera? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked his partner in confusion.

"We've been called off. I came to pick you up just in case you were having trouble with Sharky." she stated, surprising the blonde with the new information.

"Call off!?" said Kisame at the same time he burst through Serafall's ice barrier, "What the fuck! We just started!"

"We've been fighting for over twenty minutes, Kisame…" sweat dropped Naruto, talking casually as if Kisame were a friend instead of an enemy.

"I don't give a damn! I was about to kill you!" he shouted, clearly displeased that his favorite entertainment was being taken from him, "Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?!"

"Well, Sharky," said Serafall as she wrapped her arms around Naruto's stomach to support him, "While we're leaving, another Legion is coming in our place….actually, they are here now…."

"Eh?" it was then that Kisame looked up to the skies when an ear-piercing roar of thunder filled the atmosphere. The once red-skies of the Underworld was now enveloped by dark clouds with flashes of lightning. Kisame's eyes narrowed in suspicion when, in the skies, was a man floating with his Devil wings out. The man was the same size as Kisame in terms of height, but his build is what was threatening, along with his heavy armor and terrifyingly large gauntlets on both of his arms. He stared down at Kisame in disgust, thoroughly pissing off the shark Demon.

"Hey! Who's the asshole in the sky!?" he shouted to Serafall and Naruto as he pointed to the massive man.

Naruto looked up at the man, his eyes narrowing once he felt the tremendous magical presence the man had. "I don't know…" he muttered truthfully, just as lost as Kisame as the man slowly descended to the ground.

"That's the Great General Budo." Serafall said with bow once the newly named Budo made landfall, "He commands many legions and came as back up.

"That is correct." Budo stated with a deep voice, his arms still crossed over his chest, "You two did good fighting so far." he complimented while giving Naruto and Serafall a small nod of appreciation, "I'll take command here. Re-group with your allies and escape. I assure you that the Vapula Clan's pride and joy will be protected and secured."

"Thank you, General Budo." Serafall said with another bow. While Naruto didn't know who Budo was, seeing Serafall bow in respect for the man told him that he was someone of high-regard-especially since he was a general-so he mimicked his girlfriend's actions by bowing as well. "I wish you well in your efforts to victory." the powerful Sitri said before flying away with Naruto.

"Oh, hell no!" shouted Kisame in anger as he gripped Samehada's handle, "I was about to kill that idiot and nobody is gonna stop me!" he shouted as he jumped after the fleeing Devils.

The enraged Kisame was intercepted Budo, who used his wings to fly up and catch Kisame by using his massive arms to hug the blue-skinned man to his chest. Kisame only grinned at the action, not caring that his bones creaked under the pressure of Budo's bear hug. "Stupid Devils…" he muttered as he started to quickly absorb Budo's magical reserves, "You just committed suicide thinking you can hold me back!"

"Negative." Budo said over the sound of lightning crashing around them, "I know all about you, Kisame Hoshigaki, the Blue Demon of the Underworld. I know how you can absorb any magical attack and add it to your strength…and I also know your weakness."

"Ha!" laughed out Kisame in disbelief as he continued to drain Budo's magic, "And what weakness could that be? Even that idiots Power of Destruction isn't a true weakness, so I'd really like to know how you think you can defeat me!"

Budo didn't answer Kisame's question, adding to the rage Kisame felt. However, he was cut off as and lightning crackled dangerously close to them, and the blue Demon realized that they were close the ominous thunderclouds.

Faster than Kisame could react, a massive bolt of lightning shot down and crashed on the two. The strike happened at an instant, but did its job. The two were filled with electricity, burning through Budo's cap, Kisame's cloths, and Samehada's bandages. The thunderclap disabled Kisame's hearing and his entire body went numb.

The Demon slumped in Budo's grasp, dropping the unresponsive Samehada in the process. His vision went blurry, unable to identify anything around them. He could hardly feel Budo's arms before the man released him, allowing Kisame's body to plummet to the ground.

' _Wh…why co..couldn't I…..ab….absorb it…..'_ thought Kisame as his body drew closer to the ground. He could feel some of the electrical charge coursing through his body with some of the nerves he still had, causing him to come to a dangerously scary realization for the Demon.

' _Th….tha-that lightning…..was natural…'_ he thought before he succumbed to darkness once his head hit the ground.

 **Flashback End**

Kisame's eyes jumped open, now staring at the gray ceiling above him.

Instantly his hand moved to his stomach, feeling the slow 'thump' of his heart underneath his tough skin. He sighed, blowing out a small breath as he patted his heart lightly. "Fucking dreams….." he uttered as he pushed himself out of bed, "I swear, the next time I see that bastard, Ima fucking kill him." he swore under his breath.

Getting out of bed, revealing that he was only wearing a pair of purple boxers, Kisame yawned as he marched over to his dresser and pulled his favorite plain-black pants. Forgoing the black rob he would wear, the [Knight] of Naruto Bael threw on a plain, white t-shirt and before sliding on his sandals. Grabbing a naked Samehada, who was snoring away at the bottom of the bed, Kisame threw the massive sword over his shoulder before exiting his room.

Walking down the stairs and into the living room, Kisme was greeted to the sight of Orochimaru walking around Naruto, who wore a very expensive-looking suit. At the sight of any lint, Orochimaru used the lint brush in his hand to remove it from the suit's surface. Kisame looked on stupidly and watched as Orochimaru got uncomfortably close to Naruto, expecting his suit for any mishaps.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" questioned the large man as he walked over after watching for a few seconds, "If I was anybody else, I would think that you're tryna eat the idiot's ass."

"Good morning, Kisame, and no, I wasn't trying to…never mind…" sighed the snake man as he took a few steps back from Naruto, "I'm prepping Naruto-sama's suit for the party he's going to tonight…and he better behave himself since I won't be able to go." Orochimaru said with a small glare at the blonde.

"I promise ya, Orochimaru," began Naruto in a calm tone, "everything is gonna be okay. It's just Lord and Lady Furcas' anniversary party. I'm just gonna talk a little, drink a little, make a few Devils laughs and then I'm gone. I'm the only Bael that's gonna be there, so there won't be anybody trying to kill me. It's gonna be a laid-back night."

"I hope it is." muttered Orochimaru with a small amount of distrust in his voice.

"Why ain't ya going, Snake Person?" asked Kisame as he jumped into his favorite recliner, "You usually go with the idiot to these types of things."

"Unfortunately, I have a promise I have to fulfill today." said Orochimaru, ignoring Kisame's 'Snake Person' jab, "I told Sairaorg and his peerage I'd help them today in their training. After making that promise, both Naruto-sama and I found out that he was invited to Lord and Lady Furcas' anniversary party, which was scheduled on the same day." he finished.

"And I keep telling Orochimaru that I can handle myself, but he really doesn't trust me. What type of servant are you? Not trusting your [King]!" huffed Naruto childishly.

"I trust you with certain things, Naruto-sama, like handling yourself in a Rating Game or breaking down one's mental state with your cunningness and creativity…." started Naruto's only [Pawn], "…but when it comes to politics, you tend to lack in that department."

"But this really isn't a political event; so again, I'll be fine." the blonde retorted, "So go have fun with Sairaorg. You could try to connect Sairaorg with little Mal now that that they are both free from their family responsibilities pressuring them. It would be good for them." he suggested.

Orochimaru hummed in thought at the suggestion, agreeing that it was a good idea. "If the opportunity presents itself, than I shall try to mend their relationship, even though mending relationships isn't my forte…but anyway," said Orochimaru, wanting to get back on task, "You look good in your suit. Hang it up so you can wear it tonight."

"Gotcha. Thanks again, Orochimaru." Naruto said as he took off his suit jacket, "I'll see you tomorrow, or whenever you come back from your time with Sairaorg. I'll be out most of the day to prepare for a special day coming up."

"Special day?" Kisame perked up in curiosity, "And what could that be? Is Gabby coming back to make cupcakes?"

Orochimaru wanted to slap the shark man across the face for bringing up the Seraph-now Naruto's ex-girlfriend. Glancing over to Naruto, Orochimaru saw the visible sadness on the Bael's face-frowning as he stared at the ground in silence. It had been over two weeks since Naruto and Gabriel split, and, to Orochimaru's credit, Naruto had been taking the entire ordeal better than he expected. While the blonde had a small depression slump for a few days, he was back to his usual sometimes calm, sometimes crazy self. While he hadn't fully recovered from the split, it was Naruto's maturity over the situation which Orochimaru praised.

"No, Kisame…Gabriel won't be coming back…" he sighed, "The special day is a secret, and if I tell you, I know you'll snitch."

"Snitch!" yelled Kisame, clearly offended by the accusation, "The word 'snitch' isn't even in my vocabulary! I'm not even that type of person!" he screamed.

"Alright, Kisame…" groaned Naruto as he winced at Kisame's loud shouts of disapproval, "…you can come with me today if you wa-

"Naw! Fuck you!" shouted Kisame as he stood up from his recliner and grabbed Samehada, "Since you wanna go do some 'super-secret-stupid-shit' that probably isn't even fun, Ima go do my own thing! Yup! Today is Kisame's Day Off! I'm going on strike!"

"But Kisame-"

"No buts! Bye, idiot! Orochimaru, get in a tanning both!" shouted Kisame from the hallway. It wasn't long after that the front door opened then slammed closed, signaling Kisame's exit.

Orochimaru sighed at Kisame's antics, "Everyday, Naruto-sama, I wonder why you let him into your peerage." he said in annoyance.

Naruto chuckled at his [Pawn]'s irritation towards Kisame, "That's just how Kisame shows love and appreciation, Orochimaru. I've known him long enough to know that…" he smiled, a few memories of the two flashing through his head.

"If you say so, Naruto-sama…" whispered Orochimaru, a bit unsure but didn't comment on the topic any further, "Anyways, it's time for my departure as well. I hope you gather all the 'preparations' you need for that special day of yours coming up." said the snake man as he readied himself a teleportation seal.

"You know what day I'm talking about?" questioned Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I do, Naruto-sama. While I don't know why I remembered that day is coming, seeing as I wasn't around this time last year, I know you wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Hehehe…" Naruto chuckled lightly, "Seems you've caught me. I just wanna make sure that day is enjoyable…..but I know you have to leave, so I won't hold you any longer." the blonde said with a small smile, "I'll see you later, Orochimaru. Have a nice trip."

"Thank you, Naruto-sama." said Orochimaru as he bowed in respect towards his master, "I hope tonight is successful for you. I will see you soon."

Naruto waved off his [Pawn] as he disappeared, leaving him alone in the living room. "Whelp…I guess I'm by myself for the day….unless somebody wants to spend the day with me!" Naruto thought out loud. The blonde made his way out of the living room and up the stairs to see who was available for the day.

Passing by Kisame's empty room, Naruto knocked on Anna and Yoh's door first. _'I haven't hung out with Yoh or Anna in a while. I hope they're free…'_ he thought as he waited for one of the duo to open the door.

After a few moments of waiting, Naruto was rewarded for his patients with a bored-looking Anna opening the door. She didn't have her favorite red bandana on, which was unusual for the Shaman. "Naruto-sama?" she questioned, opening the door some more, revealing Yoh sitting on their bed as he put on his sandals, "Is something a matter?"

"No, no-nothing's wrong." stated the older blonde, "I just wanted to see if you two were free for the day. I wanted to go buy a few things before I leave for the Furcas anniversary party tonight."

"Forgive us, but we won't be able to go with you today." she stated, causing Naruto deflate in sadness, "Yoh and I are going to try to get married again….hopefully…" she growled.

"Pfft…you know that's never gonna happen with the luck you two have…" joked Naruto with a grin.

Anna shot a small glare at Naruto before slamming the door in his face, leaving him alone in the hallway. "Aww, come on, Anna! You know I was just playing!" he shouted through the door, still holding back his giggles. Listening through the door, he heard a teleportation seal and felt Anna and Yoh's signature disappeared, meaning that they had left the house.

Naruto pouted, clearly annoyed that the duo left him, "Can't take a joke….hmph…now I really do hope something fucks up today…" he muttered, cursing their attempt at tying the note while moving away from their door.

Moving onwards, Naruto stopped in front of Kuroka's open room. One look inside and any neat-freak would be disgusted by the state of the room: clothes were thrown everywhere, Kuroka's bed was messy, the nightstand was littered with open snack wrappers and the trash was overridden. Naruto sighed at the state of the room, but perked up when he saw a note sitting on the end of the bed. Picking up the note, he proceeded to read its contents, " _Gone fishing,nya…"_

"Man, that sounds like fun…why didn't she invite me!" complained Naruto, throwing the note over his shoulder, "We haven't fished together in a long time…"

Naruto walked over to Hao's closed door with a little less pep in his step. While Hao wasn't the type of person that liked hanging out in public, the blonde hoped his [Bishop] was available for just a few hours. However, before Naruto even had the chance to knock, the door was suddenly pulled open by the older Asakura himself, staring blankly at Naruto.

"Oh! Hey, Hao." waved Naruto with a smile.

"Good morning, Naruto-sama." replied Hao with a small head bow, "How are you this morning?"

"Good, good…" Naruto replied with a grin, "I was just wondering if you were free today? I wanted to go shopping to prepare for a special day coming up, and I wanted to invite anybody in the house that was available."

"Don't you have the Furcas' anniversary party tonight?" asked the fire-expert.

"Yeah, but I've already prepared for that." stated Naruto, "Orochimaru checked my suit for the party this morning before he left, and I already bought my gift for the Furcas', too. Got them an entire jar of pickles." he said with pride, confident that the Furcas' would like his gift, "I was gonna eat them, but I put my selfish desires aside so that someone else could appreciate the wonders of pickles."

Hao stared at his master in disbelief, hoping that the blonde was joking. Realizing that the Bael was absolutely serious, Hao sighed, "How nice…I'm sure the Furcas would appreciate your contribution…" he said with a sweat drop.

"Yup, yup, yup!" smiled Naruto.

"I hope that goes well for you…" muttered Hao, "However, I was just about to head to the orphanage, so I won't be able to be with you today. Maybe next time…I want you to meet someone special from the orphanage soon, anyway."

"Oh…" replied Naruto, stepping aside so Hao could exit his room, "Well, I hope you have a good day today."

"You as well, Naruto-sama. I'll see you later." Hao said with a backwards wave as he headed down the hallway, leaving his blonde-haired master alone in the hallway once more.

"What is going on today?" Naruto muttered while scratching his head in confusion, "Everyone has something to do all of sudden…" Naruto perked up when he remembered he had one last peerage member that he could ask, "Maybe Le-

"YOSH! COMING THROUGH!"

"Whoa!" yelled Naruto, jumping out of the way of his youngest peerage member, Rock Lee, who was running at max speed down the hallway, "Lee, what the hell are you doing?!" shouted Naruto.

"Sorry, Naruto-sama!" shouted Lee from down the other side of the hallway, "But I have a date with Seekvaira-chan today and I haven't made my protein shake for the day!"

" _It's not a date!"_ shouted a familiar girlish voice coming from the green magic circle hovering next to Lee's ear, _"We-were just hanging out b-by ourselves for the day!"_

"Ah! Yes! Sorry for misunderstanding!" shouted the excited Lee, "I just thought that this was a date because you asked me specifically- "Let's go on a date and don't invite that bitch, Gaia!"- remember?" he asked the Agares heiress.

Said heiress could be heard sputtering profusely as she tried to come up with an excuse. _"J-just get over here! You're ten minutes late!"_ she shouted before canceling the connection.

"Yesh, a mad Seekvaira-chan is a scary Seekvaira-chan…" muttered Lee, "But I have to go! I'll see you later, Naruto-sama!" he shouted as he jumped down the stairs.

"…..bye…." whispered Naruto, alone once again in the long hallway.

 **Timeskip**

 **Bael Territory – Capital City of Reshiram**

Walking amongst the citizens of Reshiram, Naruto Bael walked around with a hood over his head to cover his face. Being a Devil that was challenging, and winning, against the most prominent Devil council in the Underworld, along with having an amazing peerage filled with monsters that helped him win each of his Rating Games, the blonde's notoriety had increased dramatically ever since he revealed himself to the public. While it could get annoying sometimes, Naruto did appreciate all of his fans and supporters.

Wherever he went in the Underworld, he would receive love, something that fueled him to continue striving for his goal in becoming the Great King of the Underworld. Even when he was on his date with Esdeath a few months ago, the only reason why nobody approached the blonde was because of Esdeath-her sudden spikes of KI she expelled whenever someone got to close to her fiancée to her liking caused everyone to stand clear of the duo.

While he did appreciate everyone's support, there were just times when he would be in public but couldn't deal with everyone-like now, as he was on a mission to prepare for the 'special day' that was coming up.

Naruto Bael was currently wearing a red hoodie-his ocean-blue eyes covered by a set of black sunglasses. For pants, he wore a pair of khaki jeans followed by a set of black sneakers. He was suppressing his magic just so no one around would notice him, allowing the Bael to freely walk around as a regular member of society.

"Damn it, that was like the fifth store I went to…" Naruto uttered as he walked out of the store in disappointment, "I'm not the best when it comes to doing things like this…"

Naruto sighed as he walked down the crowded walkway of the massive outdoor shopping center. Becoming one of the crowd, Naruto glanced from storefront-to-storefront, looking for anything of interest. "Since when did shopping become difficult!" he grunted, "I just want to buy a damn gift, but everything is either overpriced or just won't work!"

Naruto's shopping struggles continued as he visited every store he could possibly go to, looking for something could quell his want to find something worthy of the 'special day' that was coming.

In an effort to prevent himself from going crazy from all the searching, Naruto decided to take a small break at a nearby bookstore. After buying a coffee and bagel from the bakery inside the bookstore, Naruto found a nice, comfortable seat for him to relax his feet and nerves in for the time being.

'I've only got a few more hours left until I have to go to the Furcas' party tonight…' Naruto thought to himself as munched on his bagel, 'The Furcas' are nice Devils. I'm glad I got them on my side. If it wasn't for Agares' help…I should stop by his territory soon to say hello…'

"Well isn't this a surprise." said a voice that sounded oddly familiar to Naruto, "I never would have thought I would find you here, Naruto-sama."

Glancing to his right, Naruto was greeted to the sight of an attractive, platinum-blonde haired, golden-eyed male. He wore a white rob over a black shirt and pants with a brown belt, and a feather pin behead his ear. He was holding three books to his chest as the man approached Naruto with a kind smile.

After several seconds of studying the man's figure, wondering where he had seen him, realization it hit the blonde Bael like a ton of bricks. "You're…You're Run…" Naruto identified the man as being one of Honest's peerage members.

Run halted when he felt Naruto's **KI** along with the intense glare the Bael shot him. "Now, now, Naruto-sama. I don't want any confrontation between us." stated Honest's servant, "Since I have the opportunity, I'd like to have a mature conversation with you-if that's alright?" he asked with a polite smile.

While Naruto didn't trust the man, seeing as his last encounter with Honest and one of his peerage members, Tatsumi, caused him immense stress, he didn't sense any negativity from the mysterious man. His glare softened as he motioned to the seat in front of him, a small coffee table separating the two. "Sure." he uttered, offering Run to sit with him.

"Thank you." replied Run with a smile as he took a seat, setting his books on the available coffee table, "I've wanted to have a one-on-one with you for a while now, Naruto-sama. To start, how have you been since your quest to become Great King?"

"I've been alright…" Naruto uttered after a few seconds of silence, unsure on whether or not it was a good idea to be talking to someone he considered an enemy. Nevertheless, Naruto continued, "A little stressed out now that I've got the pressure of the Underworld on my shoulders, but I have my peerage helping me out. With them, I'll be fine." he answered.

"Seems you have complete faith in your peerage…" said Run as he nodded in approval, "…it's admirable how much trust you have in them. I believe that will be a major factor in our coming battle."

"I'm glad you know nobody will knock us out of bracket before facing your master's peerage." said Naruto with a small, cocky grin.

"But of course." replied Run, "We have been preparing to face Team Pickle Rick for some time now-ever since the start of this 'tournament' you've started. Almost every day, Esdeath-sama has us watching film of you and your peerage's past Rating Games so that we are for any situation against you all. Honestly, I've never seen Esdeath-sama like this." admitted Run, "She's never taken precautions against anyone we've faced in the past."

"We would do the same, but seeing as in all of your Rating Games, only Esdeath and that big, giant guy do all the fighting, we don't have much to go off of." shrugged Naruto, "It doesn't matter though. While I do consider myself to be a humble guy, I'm confident that we'll win…and I'll be free from that blue-haired monster who's obsessed with me."

"Esdeath-sama does love you a lot, Naruto-sama." said Run, "At first, I was glad she found someone to pursue because I've never seen her interested in someone, but it's how she's pursuing you that sadness me…"

"Really now?" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "I thought everyone apart of Honest's peerage got off on the suffering of others. Are you saying that there are actually good people apart of that devil's peerage."

"Y-yes…" stuttered Run, something Naruto caught. Run seemed uncomfortable as he looked around, watching for any prying eyes, "We should have this conversation outside, Naruto-sama. The chance of someone listening is high if we're in one place."

Nodding, Naruto finished off his bagel and threw away his coffee before following the mysterious blonde out of the store with interest.

 **Same time**

 **In One of the Lakes of the Underworld**

Swimming through the calm waters of one of the hundreds of lakes that litter the Underworld was Kisame. He was holding Samehada's handle, which wasn't wrapped in its usual bandages, revealing all of its dangerous scales that threatened to tear through anything it touched.

"Been a while since we've been here, eh, Samehada!" Kisame said to his partner, getting a shriek as a reply from the demonic sword.

"Yeah…" he uttered. If there was anybody near him, they would be able to hear the sadness in his voice, "It's been a long while…"

The blue-skinned man swam for a little way until he arrived at his destination: a small island with a small tree growing from it. The island couldn't have been 8 meters in length with tan san covering the surface. It was the only land that could be seen for miles and was abandoned.

Stepping on the island, Kisame pulled Samehada out the water and made his way to the middle of the small land mass, "Home sweet home…" he said to his partner as he sat in the sand. Samehada purred as it slithered next to Kisame's side, leaning on its master as it proceeded to fall asleep.

The blue [Knight] of Naruto Bael sat in silence, staring out at the mass of water that surrounded him. The crash of water washing onto the shore was the only noise heard for miles, and the only noise that filled Kisame's ears as he sat in silence-unusual for the obnoxious male. His seldom facial expression was similar to a troubled child's as he sat.

His right arm rested on Samehada's scales and stroked them, careful not to injure himself while doing so. "It's been….shit…..how fucking long has it been?" he asked himself, "Like….342? 343 years? And I'm like….uhhhhhhh….."

Kisame scratched his head in thought as the number of his true age escaped him. "When the fuck is my birthday...where the fuck are my sibli-Oh wait, I ate em all!" he chuckled without remorse.

However, his chuckles died down as the feeling of loneliness-something the monstrous demon hadn't felt in a long time-washed throughout his body. His grin slowly morphed into a frown- any humor he once had diminished into nothingness as his isolation brought forth memories he hadn't thought about for sometime…

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **Location: ?**_

A beaten and battered Kisame was trapped in a wooden chair. Iron cuffs gripped against his wrist and ankles tightly, digging into his skin to the point that blood dripped out of the open wounds and to the disgusting floor beneath him. Kisame's body was littered with cuts and gashes, with a particularly disgusting injury on his shoulder. A pair of scissors was stabbed into the open, keeping it open and exposed to the cold air in the small room.

A lamp hung over Kisame's still body, spreading light to all of the blood that covered the floor. Pinned on the wall was Samehada, held up by three swords piercing through its body and sticking it to the wall. Its blue blood leaked down the wall, mixing in with Kisame's red blood.

The room was eerily silent with neither Samehada nor Kisame showed any signs of life. They didn't even react as the metal door that separated them from the outside world creped open. A blue-haired beauty stepped into the room with a wicked grin as she closed the door behind her. Her white boots were stained by the blood on the floor as she walked over to Kisame with bad intentions.

"It's been eight days, silly demon…" uttered the woman as she stood over the unresponsive Kisame, "….after all that torture…both you and your little pet…you've still remained silent. I must say, I'm impressed." she said with an evil grin.

Reaching over to Kisame's shoulder, the blue-haired woman pulled out the scissors that kept Kisame's injury open, "I guess I'll have to resort to something even more painful to get what I want from you. Never have I ever tortured someone for so long..." she stated as she created a spike of ice in the palm of her hand, "Most usually cave after a few hours with me, but you?...You really are the most stubborn subject I've ever had…"

The woman lifted Kisame's chin with her index finger, her face inches away from his on as her blue eyes stared into Kisame's swollen eyes with glee. "….but it'll make it all the more enjoyable when you finally break…and get the information I want~."

The woman chuckled evilly as she waited for a response from Kisame, but was disappointed when he continued to stay silent. "If we continue this, you will die…" she threatened, "…all you have to do give up the Old Satan Faction's plans, and you'll have a chance at living the rest of your days in prison…after I've had my fun with you…"

"…"

"Still nothing?" said the woman, clearly disappointed Kisame wasn't pleading to be spared like how her other 'playthings' would. She sighed as she stalked over to the demon, "I guess we'll start off today's sessi-

"…..heheh…."

The blue-haired beauty stopped once she heard chuckles coming from the trapped man, confusing her. "You're laughing…" she said, "Why are you laughing?"

Still chuckling, Kisame lifted his head so he could stare at the woman directly in the eyes. Even with all the injuries that filled his face, he couldn't help but grin, flashing off his incomplete grin as some of his teeth had been knocked out of his mouth during some of his previous torture sessions with the beauty. "You fuc-fucking bitch…" he chuckled.

Kisame's torturer frowned, her disappointment slowly turning into anger as she listened to the demon, "You're….*cough cough*…" he wheezed out painfully before continuing, "You're so...f-f-fuc…..fuck stupid…."

"Excuse me?" said the woman with a glare, clearly offended by Kisame's slander, "Are you sure you want to say something like that again?" she said as she stabbed her ice spike into Kisame's chest.

The woman was confused even more when, instead of wincing in pain at the new injury, Kisame's grin only increased in size. Ignoring the blood that leaked from his mouth, the prisoner continued, "I fin-finally….remember you….little girl…"

An invisible pressure was thrust upon Kisame's tattered body as the woman released a massive amount of **KI** centered on him. However, the images of death that flashed before his eyes didn't affect him in the least; his grin ever growing as the woman's eyes was shadowed by her hair. "It was a couple of y-years ago, huh? When me and that idiot had ou-" Kisame entered a raging couching fit, increasing the onslaught of blood that poured from his mouth, "…our third fight…." he gasped out.

He was greeted to silence, which only added to his overall cockiness. "Ah…." he said, his grin strong as ever, "So that was y-you…you tried to defeat me…..jus-just b-because you thought bei…..being a General really meant you co-could….defeat me. Ha…Hahaha!"

Again, the blue-haired beauty remained quiet as Kisame roared in laughter. "I should've shredded you to pieces, but that orange-wearing idiot saved your dumbass! How does it f-feel….b- being saved by an idiot like him!"

"Be quiet…" muttered the woman through gritted teeth

"Hehehe….what a waste…" chuckled Kisame, "The weak are meat, the strong eat is what I always s-say…You w-were a good fight-I'll give ya that-but you was..s-s-stupid…taking me on by yourself. I should have ate all of your magic, leaving you to die like the weakling you are, but that dumbass had to get in my way…hohoho, it woulda been fun shutting your arrogant mouth up! You're just a weaker copy-cat of that idiot's idiot girlfriend! I swear to god that bitch is..like…l-like 9 years old with big tits! I don't understand!"

"Be quiet!" shouted the blue-haired beauty, summoning a group of ice pillars to stab Kisame in multiple parts of his body. The woman growled in fury, a nasty snarl on her face as her rage intensified. "I'm stronger than the Esdeath from the past. I don't need anyone saving me now. Damn that orange-clad lowlife that 'saved' me. I'm strong enough to defeat you myself now!" she stated, revealing her name in the process.

"Sure you areeee….." stretched out Kisame while rolling his eyes, unbothered by the fact that his body was impaled by multiple ice spikes, "…and my ass is blue….I mean green..." he joked.

If glares could kill, Kisame would have been sent to the afterlife ten times over as Esdeath's furious blue eyes glared at him with an unrelenting fury. "At first, I was torturing you with the priority of fishing out information from you…but now…" she stated with utter hatred as she stood over the grinning shark Demon, "…I'm going to thoroughly break you, intel damned. Nobody….nobody disrespects me like how you've done."

"And in what way have I disrespected you?" Kisame asked with a head tilt, "Are you talking about me making fun of you…or me leaving you alive?"

"Both." she admitted, "The strong survive and the weak die…we both have similar outlooks on life, but yet you still let me live when you should have finished me off. I deserved to die!" she yelled.

"Bitch, I just told you, I would've killed you, but that fucking idiot saved ya goof-ass." he said with a blank stare, "Let me out of these restraints, and please believe I'll murder you with a smile on my face."

"You should have finished me off when you had the chance." said Esdeath, denying Kisame's offer, "Now that you're talking, maybe I'll get to hear you squeal during this session."

"Heh..." grinned Kisame, "Sorry to piss on the mood, but that won't be happening, Sera-knockoff."

Suddenly, to Esdeath's surprise, her body tensed before being paralyzed by an unknown source. "What?" she said, her mouth the only thing mobile as she looked downward. Underneath her feet was a faint glow of red, which mixed in with Kisame's dark red blood that covered the ground. _'A paralysis spell!? But his magic is restricted right now!'_

Esdeath's eyes glanced towards the magic-suppressant seals that were imprinted on Kisame's iron binds- or what was left of the seals as Kisame, in a display of pure physical strength, broke through both the iron binds and Esdeath's spikes. "Dumbass bitch…You really thought that those simple ass seals would hold me forever? Pah!" he laughed as he pulled out the broken ice spikes that were lodged in his body, "You fuckers really underestimated me! Samehada! Let's go!"

For the first time in days, Kisame's demonic sword showed signs of life as it released an ungodly roar. It's body suddenly expanded three times its original size, forcing the swords that was pinning it into the wall out and releasing Samehada in the process. Samehada dropped to the ground, now free from its position on the wall. Kisame walked over to his partner and pulled the swords out of Samehada. "Good girl." he praised as he threw Samehada over his shoulder, mixing his magic with its own, "Sorry you had to go through that, but it took a while for me to gather my magic."

Kisame grinned at the paralyzed Esdeath, arrogance reverberating off of him in waves. "I would kill you now, but I wanna do it when I'm fully healthy and when you're at your strongest, just so you can grasp how weak you truly are…you and that oversized thunder-buddy of yours." growled Kisame, referring to Budo who defeated him. However, his grin returned as an idea popped up in his mind, "Hmm…actually…this might kill you…"

Esdeath grunted in pain as Samehada jumped to action, biting the woman in her midsection and began to drain a large portion of her magic, refueling Samehada and Kisame's own reserves in the process.

"Hehehe…" he chuckled, feeling the magic flow through his body, "It's great to be me!"

On the ceiling of the small room appeared four large, blue magic seals. From them spilled out continuous geysers of water, quickly filling the room up. Kisame's shit-eating grin never left his face as Samehada released Esdeath's midsection and started to fuse with his master. Large fins grew from Kisame's back and arms as his appearance grew more shark-like. Kisame's hands were now webbed and his gills were more pronounced.

The level of water grew to Esdeath's chin, and Kisame had finished his transformation. "You're gonna drown if you don't break out of that seal. I hope ya do, so I can kill ya myself. Later bitch!"

Kisame slammed his new tail into the iron doors of his once-prison, knocking them off the hinges with extreme force and flooding the dimly-lit hallway with water. Kisame's water-producing seals multiplied by three and increased their outpour, instantly flooding the hallway and allowing Kisame to swim through it rapidly.

Swerving around a corner, Kisame continued his escape, slashing through a passerby that didn't know what was going on with his claws, absorbing a bit of the nameless Devil's magic. The shark Demon used his sensory abilities to locate every magic source in the facility. He was scanning for any guards that may be towards the exit protecting it, and found three possible escape routes.

Kisame swam through the flooded-hallways with swiftness, cutting through anybody that tried to stop him or was helplessly caught by the violent waters that filled the facility. Nearing what Kisame assumed was an exit by the number of magic sources he sensed, the shark Demon prepared for battle with deadly intentions.

Swerving around a corner and bashing through a large door, Kisame entered what was a sleeping quarters. All the Devils inside was confused as to why the room was halfway filled with water or surprised at the fact that an oversized shark broke down the door. "Well shit…" he muttered, glancing around, "Guess this isn't exit…and I don't feel like looking around anymore…"

"H-hey!? What the fuck is that!?" shouted one of the Devils in the large room.

Kisame's head snapped up as he senses was tingling. Something was happening to his water. "Shut up!" he shouted to all of the Devils in the room, effortless scaring them to stay quiet for a few moments. Concentrating, Kisame's felt out his water and noticed that it was starting to drop in temperature. He grunted as he felt his water was being frozen from the far side of the facility he just left-exactly where he left Esdeath.

The shark Demon clicked his tongue in annoyance, "See, now I gotta blow this bitch up."

"Huh?" said one of the nearby soldiers, overhearing Kisame talk to himself. The man's heart dropped when he saw Kisame open his mouth as a collection of black magic gathered together into a small, black ball that reeked of power."W-wait! Don't!"

But it was too late as Kisame released the compressed orb like a missile at a nearby wall. The explosion that occurred wrecked the entire facility with no mercy- a mixture of fire and water flying everywhere. The facility caved into the massive trench created by Kisame's nuclear bomb-like attack, destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Meanwhile, Kisame was safe from the explosion as he encased himself in a water bubble and swam into the nearby forestry. Not looking back once, Kisame continued to swim for hours upon hours, wanting to be as far as possible from Esdeath and anything to do with the Anti-Satan Faction. While he had escaped, he was nowhere near at full capacity and didn't have enough magic to heal all of his or Samehada's injuries.

Kisame didn't know how long he was swimming for, but he didn't stop for nothing. Even when he was low on magic and couldn't heal his aching muscle, he kept going. After a while, he made it to a lake and submerged into it, releasing his water bubble in the process.

He continued to swim until he found a small island. Deciding to use it as a rest point, Kisame dragged his tired body out of the water. "Shit…"he groaned as he split from Samehada and dropped to the sand ground. Samehada curled next to its master, getting comfortable for their long-awaited rest.

"Guess we'll just camp out here for a while, girl…." he muttered as his eyes started to close, "Hopefully, we got away from that crazy ass bitch…I was p-put up a good front…that bitch actually scared the hell outta me...just gotta…get some rest…for now…" he finished as he succumbed to fatigue, sleeping for the first time in eight days.

 _ **Flashback End**_

Kisame hummed as he remembered his first run in with Esdeath: after being defeated by Budo, he was captured and tortured by the ice users for days. However, even with the magic suppression seals applied to him, he meditated for days to call forth as much magic as he could to use in his escape.

"I didn't even get to eat when I was locked up….that evil bitch…" muttered Kisame, thinking of Naruto's fiancée, "When I see her and that fat ass bum, I'm gonna kill em' this time."

 **Same time**

 **Bael Territory – Capital City of Reshiram**

Run and Naruto Bael had left the shopping area they were once in for a nearby park area within the city. While there still was a large amount of Devils in the area, there wasn't as much compared to the mall the duo had left. People were focused on other things, so they two other people casually walking through the park wasn't anything of interest to the park-goers.

Walking on the brick road that traversed through the park, Naruto decided to be the one to pick up where the two left off. "I'm sure this would be a good spot. Nobody seems to notice us…"

"Yes, this is fine." replied Run, however, Naruto could see that the man was nervous about whatever he wanted to talk about. "Sorry if I seem a bit jumpy…it's just that I haven't talked about this to anyone before."

"It's alright." said Naruto with a small smile, "Just talk to me like a regular person. Since I haven't sensed any hostility from, I'll listen and give you my honest opinion about whatever is troubling you."

"Thank you, Naruto-sama." Run said with a smile in return, "That makes me feel more comfortable. I see why Esdeath-sama holds you in such high regards."

"A little to high if you ask me." Naruto said with a smile, "Now tell me what's worrying you."

"Yes sir." he nodded before beginning, "Your time with us a few weeks ago…didn't accurately represent how we truly are…many of us have a fear for Esdeath-sama and Honest-sama…and we can't do anything to protect ourselves…" he said, looking down at the ground in sadness.

Naruto stared at the blonde-haired man with interest as he continued to talk, "Honest-sama and Esdeath-sama are very demanding. They want things done their way without any form of protest. I was one of Honest-sama's first peerage members-with Budo-sama and Esdeath-sama being the only one's before me-so I know all about the creation of Honest-sama's peerage."

"I'm assuming it isn't a good story…" muttered Naruto.

"It…it isn't…" sighed Run, "Before becoming a Devil, I worked as a school teacher in a nice, peaceful town. I returned to class after making an errand one day, only to find all of my students brutally murdered." he revealed, "The anger I felt from seeing my students bodies was something I never felt before. What only added to fuel to my raging anger was that the townspeople wanted to keep the incident under wraps, not wanting a mass murder to stain the town's spot clean reputation. Desperate for answers, I found out that a group of stray Devils were responsible for my class's slaughter and killed them with my newly awakened magical powers. However, I was lost after that – my life no longer holding any purpose. I didn't want to go back to teaching…I felt like if I did, I would be acting as if my student's death never happened, something I could never forget….but then Esdeath-sama, Budo-sama, and Honest-sama found me."

"At your lowest point, huh?" said Naruto, "Feels like this story is familiar. Many Devils make peerage members out of humans that have lost everything or have no purpose in life. Being reincarnated is like a chance at new life."

"And it was…" replied the platinum-blonde, "Being a part of Honest-sama's peerage refueled me with a new purpose: I wanted to be as useful as possible. Now that I was apart of a new world, there was an infinite amount of knowledge for me to learn-so I began to learn everything I could about magic. From Devil, Norse, Egyptian, Angel, Yokai, Buddhism, Hinduism and more, I learned anything I could about the supernatural, even about magic I couldn't use because of my status as a Devil. While being with the others, I grew to know that they could be somewhat sadistic at times, but I would always please them with my growth so I was never punished…..but then Bols and Akame were reincarnated…"

"I remember Akame." said Naruto, perking up at the mention of the dark-haired beauty, "We went to the same school as kids…and I think Bols is the happy guy with the mask, right?"

"Correct." confirmed Run, "Akame and Bols were added to the peerage around the same time. Akame is a very talented Devil from the start, but Bols seemed to be a bit lacking…something Honest-sama didn't appreciate. He, along with Esdeath-sama, put Bols through rigorous training exercises to keep up with Bols….and whenever Akame would speak out with how they treated Bols, Esdeath-sama threatened Akame with her sister."

Instantly, Naruto's eyes narrowed after hearing Run's revelation, "Sister? I didn't know Akame had a sister."

"She does…a younger sister named Kurome…she's such a kind girl and Akame would do anything to protect her little sister. If you don't know, Kurome and Akame grew up in an orphanage, not knowing how they parent's died or if they were just unwanted. They grew up together in poor conditions, causing the two to depend on each more than regular siblings would. While Kurome wasn't a member of Honest-sama's peerage, she knew that if Honest-sama were to hurt her sister, it wouldn't matter if she tried to tell any authorities. Being a member of the Bael Council, Honest-sama's influence stretches long and wide in the Bael Territory. Any attempt at exposing the man wouldn't be taken seriously or ignored, so she had to listen to keep her sister safe from Honest-sama's clutches."

"That's…rough…" whispered Naruto, leading Run to a park bench the duo could share, "Does he still hang Kurome over Akame's head? Does she even know?"

Run shook his head in denial, "No, Kurome never knew, and still doesn't. To Kurome, Honest-sama is the nice man that accepted her elder sister into his peerage, granting her land and money, something the two lacked for much of their childhood. Kurome is now a High-Class Devil with her own peerage, but Akame still believes that Honest-sama will use Kurome against her if she is ever disobedient."

"So since she couldn't defend Bols, I'm guessing his training was extremely harsh." assumed Naruto.

"Worse than harsh…he was put through hell." solemnly answered Run, "Esdeath-sama really pushed Bols into becoming stronger. He didn't have much natural talent, and his progress would always be compared to Akame and my own. He was put through rigorous training and would be constantly injured every day." Run sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks, "I couldn't watch sometimes…especially during his 'punishments', as Esdeath-sama would call it…his cries when she would take Bols to her personalized torture rooms still haunt me."

"Hold on." Naruto said, not liking the direction of the conversation, "A fucking torture room? That bitch is that crazy?"

"Y-yes….Esdeath-sama…is very sadistic…" replied Run, "But it wouldn't happen as much over time as Bols progressed with his training. Following Bols was Leone, then Wave…..and then Tatsumi….."

Naruto scowled at the mention of Tatsumi, having a bad run-in with the boy a few weeks prior. However, by the way Run said Tatsumi's name, he was sure that something worse was coming. "Tatsumi was a special case…" started Run, "Honest-sama found Tatsumi at the Dragon Mountain located in the Gremory Territory. Tatsumi said that he always had trouble controlling his powers, so Honest-sama offered him a spot on his peerage in order to train him. Esdeath-sama instantly took interest in Tatsumi due to his lineage…but Tatsumi was stubborn…he didn't like being told what to do, so Esdeath-sama decided to…." Run gulped as a shiver ran through his body. Fear was evident on his face as he leaned forward, trying to find the words to describe what had happened to Tatsumi.

"What did she do?" asked Naruto with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

Sighing again, Run sat back into the park bench in silence for a few moments before answering, "….break his spirit…."

"I don't know what he went through…" continued Run with a disturbed look, "…but Tatsumi disappeared for over a month a few years ago. Whenever we would ask Esdeath-sama where he was, she would always reply with something along the lines of he was 'learning his lesson.'" he said with air quotes, "The next time I saw Tatsumi, his left eye permanently changed from its usual green to a dark red. Afterwards, Tatsumi would only have minor moments of disobedience, but nothing major that had him on the receiving end of Esdeath-sama's sessions."

"So almost one half of Honest's peerage is controlled by fear." stated Naruto, "That really sucks…I'm sorry you all had to go through that….have you ever thought about running away?"

"The thought has occurred to me multiple times, but I never act upon it." said Run with a sad smile, "No matter how much pain I've been in, I can't deny that I see this peerage as my family and only purpose I live for. Turning my back on them would be like forgetting about my dead students."

Naruto hummed in thought, processing everything that Run told him. "I didn't know that you all went through that…." he uttered, "…but just because I know your sad story, that doesn't mean you'll receive any mercy…if that's what you were gunning for…."

Run turned towards the whiskered-blonde next to him and was surprised to see Naruto's blue's eyes had morph into a dangerous red, glaring at him with a controlled rage. Honest's servant had to suppress a shiver as he stared into Naruto's eyes, almost able to feel the power hidden within Naruto.

"You are still the enemy, Run…" muttered Naruto; his voice pulling Run out of the small hypnosis he entered by staring at Naruto's eyes, "You could be trying to pull at my emotions, hoping that will be hesitant in our nearing battle, no?" he said, narrowing his red eyes in suspicion.

"N-no, Naruto-sama!" Run said in a small panic, "It isn't anything like that at all! The opposite really!"

"Oh?" the blonde Bael said with a raised eyebrow, "And what's the opposite?"

The platinum-blonde man's expression morphed from worried to slightly distraught as he clenched the sides of his robes. "I….I have a request…" he mumbled, which was unusual for calm and collected-Run, "Even though Bols went through so much, he's happy now…he has a wife and a child…things really has changed for him." he said with a smile, "Leone is happy now that she's rich, and Wave has adjust despite the fact that he went through a similar situation like Bols. Akame, while not truly happy herself, only cares for her sister-if Kurome is alive and well, then so is Akame. I, myself, am fine….but I fear for Tatsumi. His mind is tattered from whatever Esdeath-sama did to him. He's hurting internally, but keeps a fake smile on his face. I ask if you free Tatsumi from his torment…by killing him."

Run's revelation actually surprised Naruto. His red eyes reverted back to his usual blue as he looked at Run in confusion. "You actually want me to kill one of your teammates?" he asked, just in case he had heard differently.

"Yes sir." Run said with a nod, "Almost everyone, including myself, has accepted the possibility of us dying in our Rating Game…with the exception of Honest-sama, Esdeath-sama, Budo-sama, and Tatsumi….Tatsumi has been through a lot…I ask that you end him so that he won't have to suffer anymore."

"Uhh….Okay…" said Naruto with an awkward head scratch, "I mean….it was already on my 'to-do' list that Kuroka has sooooo…..sure." he finished with a simple shrug.

"Thank you, Naruto-sama. You are truly kind and easy to work with." Run said with a kind smile as he stretched his hand out to Naruto, "I am also looking forward to facing you and your peerage in a Rating Game. I'm sure we'll be the talk of the Underworld when the time comes."

"Yup, yup, yup!" said Naruto with an eye smile as he shook Run's hand, "And hey! If your still alive after the Rating Game, maybe you could work for Sona's Rating Game school she plans on building? I'm sure she'd appreciate someone with a lot of knowledge on magic like you."

"While I don't know who that is, I'd be intere-"

Run's head shot up as he looked at Naruto in utter shock. His mouth was ajar and his hand shook somewhat as Run continued to gawk at the blonde Bael. Naruto, not knowing why Run was staring at him like he had on clown make-up, began to check his cloths and feel his face to find out what Run was looking at. "Uhhhh…..Everything okay?" he asked Run.

"You….." Run said shakily, "…y-you have….."

Run bit down on his tongue, holding himself back from…..something. He shook his head rapidly, forcing himself out of the spell he was in, though; the cause of his spell was unknown to the Bael. "Excuse me, Naruto-sama. Sorry for spacing out…I-I just realized something and I must go, though I do appreciate you listening to me. I hope you have a good day."

Before Naruto could ask Run anything, the platinum-blonde stood from their shared park bench and disappeared via teleportation seal, leaving Naruto by himself.

"….That was weird…" Naruto said to himself a few seconds later. With what felt like the hundred time today, Naruto sighed as he slowly got up from his seat. Adjusting his hood and putting his shades back on, Naruto marched through and out the large park by himself, using his walk to think about a few things.

Naruto founded himself walking through another shopping center when something from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Looking through the store window, he saw a collection of elegant kimonos available for purchase. Looking around, he noticed that he had unknowingly ventured into a high-end section of the shopping complex. While there weren't as many Devils around compared to where he was earlier, he still stood out in his underdressed-state.

' _Well, ever since we started winning Rating Games, money hasn't been a problem…'_ Silently nodding to himself, Naruto entered the store, hoping that he could find something that could please him.

 **Timeskip – Evening**

 **Furcas Territory – Capital City of Yumiya**

"Hey, Driver-san, do you know how long it'll be 'till I'm there?"

"Just about ten more minutes until we're at the Furcas Palace, Naruto-sama."

"Cool." sighed the blonde as he leaned back into the backseat of the vehicle he was riding in.

Naruto Bael was currently riding over to the Furcas Palace for Lord and Lady Furcas' anniversary party. Because this event was very formal, it would be rude of Naruto appeared to the party via teleportation seal-or so what Orochimaru says. He expressed that anybody that knew anything about these type of events knew that just teleporting on someone's property is highly frowned upon. Naruto and his peerage got away with it most of time, however, because most people knew how he acted.

Instead of teleporting to their palace, Orochimaru rented Naruto a room in one of the nicest hotels near the Furcas Palace and a vintage sportscar made in the Underworld. Since Naruto didn't have a driver's license, Orochimaru hired Naruto a driver for the party. The car Orochimaru rented had a sleek design with tinted windows for privacy. The seating was exquisite, made from an extremely comfortable material that Naruto wasn't familiar with, and was black in color. Even with all the various intricacies the supercar had, Naruto only cared that the car's color scheme was orange and black, something he greatly appreciated.

The Bael was wearing a simple black tuxedo and black shoes, also showing his rebellious side as he kept tux jacket was open instead of being buttoned together; showing off his black belt, white shirt and the orange tie Naruto wore underneath. Sitting next to the Bael were to boxes-one large and the other small-which were meant for Lord and Lady Furcas as a gift.

' _I wonder if everyone is doing okay…'_ Naruto thought, letting his mind wander to his peerage members as he stared out the window. The capital city of the Furcas Territory, Yumiya, was filled with many rivers of hot water that cut throughout the city, causing there to be many brides that hovered over the steaming water. They were currently riding over the largest bride in the city that led to the richer side of Yumiya-which is where Furcas Palace was located.

The ride was silent, excepted for the sound coming from the miniature television-screen that was on the back of the driver and passenger seats. A news station was playing, talking about something about Devil politics, but Naruto wasn't paying attention to it all. His thoughts drifted back to his conversation with Run that happened a few hours prior. The way Run described the hardships that he and his friends had to go through while being members of Honest's peerage, they really did sound like a family…. a deranged family, Naruto admitted to himself, but still a family.

' _I still think its crazy he asked me to kill Tatsumi…'_ he thought as the driver took a turn down a long road, closing in on the Furcas Palace, _'Like, I was planning on killing that annoyance anyway because of that stunt he pulled during my date with Gabriel and the others…but for a teammate to ask me to kill one of his own…but I really can't judge, since there was a time when I would do the same…'_

The time he was referring to was around the time he first came out of his seal. Back then, while he was glad he was free and could finally meet his peerage members, he didn't quite fully trust them. Back then, he was both overprotective and somewhat controlling. His philosophy at the time was that any threat to his peerage, both inside and out, which was why he was fully committed to killing Hao after their fight for his disobedience and endangerment to his family. If it wasn't for Kuroka stopping him, Naruto would currently have only one [Bishop] in his peerage instead of two.

'… _.but I don't think I could kill anybody in my peerage now…'_ he thought with a small smile as the driver slowed to a stop, halted by the long line of luxurious cars all headed into the Furcas Palace property, _'…No…..I wouldn't be able to…they mean to much to me now…entirely too much…'_

"It won't be long now, Naruto-sama." said the driver in the front seat, "We're making our way towards the entrance. It seems like we arrived around the same time many others did."

"Thanks for telling me. I appreciate the ride." Naruto said while checking over himself and his gifts, wanting to make sure everything was straight.

"No problem, Naruto-sama. It was an honor driving someone of your status…. someone with a goal I personally agree with…."

Naruto glanced up at the rear-view mirror and saw that the was grinning at him. "Oh hoh? Seems I've gotta supporter."

"Absolutely, Naruto-sama…and personally, I can't wait for you to beat that fake 'Great King's' ass on TV. A couple of friends of mines plan on having a cookout while watching the Rating Game. Expecting great things out of you, Naruto-sama."

By this time, the driver had pulled the car around the massive fountain the released dozens of gallons of Yumiya's hot water in the air. The fountain was surrounded by a transparent barrier, blocking any stray droplets of boiling water from landing on any unsuspecting Devil.

As Naruto's driver lowly opening the door for dramatic effect, Naruto stepped out of his rented sportscar as a convenient gust of wind rattled his blonde locks and open tuxedo jacket. Thanking his new friend, Naruto started his walk up the many stairs into Furcas Palace-gifts in hand. His presence instantly caused those around him to call out his name in awe and appreciation.

To please those that recognized him, Naruto grinned as he waved and gave quick greetings to anyone nearby before entering the massive palace.

 **Timeskip**

"-so when Tannin first appeared in his miniature form, I thought he was a lizard-not the owner of one of the most powerful peerages in the Underworld!"

The group of upper-class Devils that surrounded Naruto entered a laughing fit as the Bael retold the story of his first meeting of Tannin before their Rating Game. He was talking with a group of about ten Devils, a mixture of male and female, as they casually talked amongst themselves in the bustling room filled with Devils.

"Goodness, Naruto-san," said a nearby female Devil in between her chuckles, "only you could say something so outlandish in front of Tannin-sama himself."

"Agreed!" laughed an oversized man with two well-dressed ladies hanging on his sides, "I'd probably shrivel up in fear if Tannin-sama so much as glances at me- hahahah!"

"He's not so bad when you get to know him." said Naruto with a coy smile, "He's somewhat loud, though…and doesn't like to be wrong, but still a nice person…I mean dragon."

"If you didn't have any fear facing, Tannin-sama, then I'm sure you won't have any fear facing the remainder of the Bael Council?" asked another.

Naruto nonchalantly waved off the Devil's question, "None at all. I have complete faith in my peerage's abilities. While it may get tougher from here on out, I know that we'll win the coming fights."

"I hope that you do, Naruto-sama. I believe with you in the driver's seat, things will change around here." Said another, with a collective agreement coming from the others.

After a few more minutes of conversation, the group split ways, leaving Naruto to himself. The blonde Bael slowly crept through the crowd until he found his way to the bar, which had a few seats for anyone want to order.

Taking a seat for himself, Naruto ordered before turning his barstool around and leaning his back into the bar as he watched the party unfold. He was left to his own thoughts, only being interrupted when Naruto's drink was ready by the bartender. He casually sipped from his glass in silence as the anniversary party continued without a hitch. He had already been there for some time, dropping off his gifts on the gift table near the back of the party hall. Now, he just wanted to take a small break before entering the massive crowd.

Taking a good look at the hall, Naruto was thoroughly impressed with the Furcas level of decoration. Since the Furcas' clan symbol was purple, there was a lot of purple…everywhere. Even with the mass amount of the same color from the streamers in the air, tablecloth, paint and even the servants' purple handkerchiefs, it all looked well done to blonde. And the turn out for the party just showed how much people liked the Furcas. _'Gotta say, the Furcas really know how to throw a party…'_ he thought as he took another sip of his drink.

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts when a familiar voice filled his ears, "There's the man I've been looking for." Turning to his right, Naruto was greeted to the sight of a young, brown-skinned man with short, spiked purple hair and black eyes. He was wearing an assortment of royal robes, and the official pin of the Furcas Clan set proudly on his right shoulder for all to see. "I must say, when I heard that one of the gifts for my parent's anniversary was a jar of pickles with a bow on top, I knew that you were here."

"Hehehe! You know me so well, eh, Torumaru?" said Naruto with a wide smile and head scratch.

Torumaru Furcas was the heir of the Furcas Clan. Naruto had met the man during the various meetings he had with Lord and Lady Furcas in the past about his plan on dethroning Kyruem and becoming the new Great King. Over the course of those meetings, Naruto had gotten closer to the clan, specifically the royal family. It was inevitable that the clan would support him in his goal in becoming Great King and was one of the first clans to officially join his side.

"It's not that I know you like your peerage members do, it's just that you stand out a lot so it's easy to remember your antics, Naruto." grinned Torumaru as he took a seat next to Naruto, "Enjoy yourself so far?"

"I am." started the Bael, "While I usually have Orochimaru with me to help with everyone trying to talk to me, it's going good so far. I've gotta talk to your parents before I leave though. How are you all doing? I know that you're going through the process of becoming the actual leader of the Furcas Household."

"Yeah, it's a bit stressful." stated the man as he scratched at his beard, "My father and mother are retiring soon, so I've been preparing to take over the family for some time now. I knew that I be the head of the Furcas Clan since I was a child, but now that it's actually happening, I feel like I'm in an awkward position now. All the studying of clan history, making connections, and continuing to hold back my urges of destroying all the paper that comes across my desk."

Naruto laughed at Torumaru's depression, somewhat knowing what the young Furcas was going through. "You'll get used to it, Toru." said Naruto, patting the man's back in support, "While I haven't done any paperwork yet, I've done everything else you mentioned at some point. Just stick it out and all your responsibilities will become normal."

"I guess…" the man said with a grunt, "There's also the fact that my parents are pushing me to find a woman to marry…." Torumaru sighed, gripping his wild hair in frustration, "Shit…I need a Hawaiian Roll. Hey there!" Torumaru waved down the bartender, "A couple of Hawaiian Rolls, please?"

"Uh…what's a Hawaiian Roll?" asked Naruto, thoroughly confused with his friend's order.

"You've never had a Hawaiian Roll?" asked a shocked heir of the Furcas Clan, "It's the Furcas Clan delicacy! Well, it makes sense that you've never had a Hawaiian Roll since your one of those Devils whose cultures is like Japan's on the human realm. Us Furcas relate more the American's culture…and we found out what Hawaiian Rolls were because…. well, we stole them, but that's how American's work anyway! We steal what we want and claim it as our own!' he said as the bartender set a pan of a dozen Hawaiian Rolls down, "Now try one out!"

"Okay…" Naruto said, expecting the roll with suspicion. Glancing over to Torumaru, Naruto watched as the man had already devoured one roll and was moving onto his next one. Shrugging off his doubt and bit into his roll, in which he found was the best decision he made that night as the sweet taste of the bread made his taste buds dance. "Woah…thi-this…. this has no reason to be this good."

"See? The best food of the Furcas in my opinion." Said Toru as he chomped on another roll.

"So…back to your problem with finding a wife," said Naruto, not afraid to reach for another roll to enjoy, "have your parents suggested anybody to you or are you looking for someone yourself."

"Mmmm…Neither…" started the purple-haired man, "They want me to find a wife, but they want me to find someone I actually like instead of forcing someone on me…which is pretty cool…I've heard horror stories of some parents forcing their sons or daughters with some terrible Devils…I'm glad my parents are cool…"

"Lord and Lady Furcas are cool…" muttered Naruto as he reached for his third roll.

"…but I'm not really in a rush to get married." continued the Furcas heir, "…I just wanna get used to my life as the future of my clan before even making an attempt at finding a wife. By the way, where is Gabriel? I would have thought that the two of you would have came to this party together as a couple…"

"Hehe.." chuckle the blonde in fake happiness, "…Gabriel and I…broke up two weeks ago…"

"Woah….really?" said Torumaru in disbelief, "That's surprising. I didn't know there was something going on with your relationship."

"We hid it…or ignored it…really well from the public." muttered Naruto, "We wanted different things, is all. We ended on good terms, but…I still feel empty inside." he admitted.

Torumaru hummed in thought as he took the last roll for himself. Looking around, he perked up when he saw something of interest within the crowd. A devilish grin grew on the soon to be Lord of the Furcas Clan as nudged his blonde friend's side, "Well, maybe somebody else will be able to clear your mind of her."

Following the direction of Torumaru's pointed finger, Naruto's ocean blue eyes landed on what could only be described as a creature of beauty. The woman that Torumaru wanted him to see had long, light brown hair with two large bangs framing the sides of her face and four thinner locks of hair branching out and curving downwards on either side from the top of her head. The gleam her blue eyes had reminded Naruto of Gabriel's own, and the unique blue, triangular and diamond-shaped marks adorning her cheeks and forehead only added to her exotic beauty. She was wearing an elaborate gown, consisting of a white robe revealing her legs, a white shawl, and an outer blue garment with a yellow, triangular trim that drapes over her shoulders and wraps around her upper body which hung loosely over her body like a jacket as it is joined in the front by a matching jeweled brooch. Finishing off the beauty's attire was the golden choker with five thin rectangular ornaments hanging from her neckline, a pair of simple golden bracelets on her wrist, heelless, open-toed, blue sandals covering her feet, and blue finger-less gloves that made the woman's natural appearance look divine.

Naruto and the unnamed beauty's eyes matched as they gazed at each other for a split second. It was all the time the woman needed to flash Naruto a smile that would have warmed the hearts of anybody on its receiving end.

"Not my type…" uttered Naruto, cutting off their eye contact as he moved his focus back to the bartender, "Some more of those rolls, please. They are delicious!"

"Not your type…now I know that's a lie." said Torumaru, still staring at the alluring beauty, "Shit, I know I just said I wasn't searching for a wife, but if I had the opportunity, I would ask for her hand in marriage right now!"

"Then do it…" said Naruto as he reached for a roll, "She was staring at you anyway."

"No way, man. She's staring at you…she still is." said the brown-skinned man, "Naruto, you should talk to her."

The blonde replied with a long yawn, slightly tired from his time at the party, "No thanks. Not my type."

"Aaaaannd she's walking over here…" said Torumaru.

A few seconds later, a soft hand rested on Naruto's shoulder as one of the most pleasing voices he's ever heard filled his ears. "Excuse me, but you are the Naruto Bael, correct?"

"He sure is." Torumaru said, wanting Naruto to take the opportunity to get to know the unnamed Devil, "My name is Torumaru Furcas, heir of the Furcas Clan, and this is Naruto Bael, soon to be Great King of the Underworld."

"'Soon-to-be'? You're either very arrogant of confident in yourself. Hopefully the latter." she said with a heavenly giggle.

Naruto turned his barstool around, now facing the brunette with a small smile, "Confidence. A humble confidence, if you want to be specific." Naruto held out his hand for the woman-now that she was here, he might as well be nice, "Naruto Bael."

"Belldandy." the newly named woman introduced herself as she shook his hand, I've heard quite a bit about you, Naruto-san."

"Good things, hopefully?" he grinned.

"A plethora of things actually, which made me very interested in you. Of course, your name is splattered on every news page there is, but I figured the best way to get to know someone is by them personally if you don't mind." she asked with a small smirk.

"He doesn't." Torumaru said, answering for his pal, "Listen, Naruto, I've gotta meet up with my parents now, but you should keep Ms. Belldandy company."

"I'll be sure to do so. See you later, Toru." Naruto said with a wave.

Once Torumaru was gone, Belldandy decided to fill his empty seat. "So what brings you to an event such as this? I've heard it's a spectacle seeing you at such a formal event, and I have never seen you at the events that I attend."

"Yeah, I'm really not one for the formal, political crowd, hehe!" he grinned, "But I know the Furcas…some of my favorite Devils, ya know? So, I came out to support. My peerage members were all busy, so I'm the only one here."

"Oh my! You're here all by yourself?" she said in fake despair, "Seems like we're in similar predicaments…. shall we keep each entertained for the remainder for the night?"

The way that Belldandy spoke…even with the aura of an innocent Devil, she had somewhat of a sass to her as she shot a coy, sideways glance and knowing smirk at the blonde.

Naruto would be lying if he said he didn't like that…

"Sure…" he said with a small smirk of his own. "Roll?" he offered, pushing the pan of rolls towards the brunette, "I hear they are the delicacy of the Furcas."

"Really now?" she said as she took up Naruto's offer, "I've never had one of these before…" she finished before biting into the roll. Her eyes widened as the taste invaded her mouth, thoroughly shocked at the surprising satisfaction she felt.

"Good?" he asked.

"Really good." She replied.

 **Timeskip**

The duo of Naruto and Belldandy moved from their original spot at the bar. Deep into their entertaining conversation about everything, the sweet tones of classical dancing music started to swell in the air, influencing Naruto to ask Belldandy to dance-which she accepted graciously. Now on the dancefloor slowly moving to the pace of the music, the two caused a lot of eyes to move towards their direction-one reason being that Naruto Bael was at the party, and the second reason being the unknown goddess that the blonde was slowly dancing with. The two hardly cared for what anybody else had to say as they continued their conversation while dancing, thoroughly enjoying themselves in the process.

"So if you had to chose between…lets sayyyy, city-life or country-life. Which one would you choose?" asked Belldandy with interest.

"Honestly, while I wouldn't mind either one, I'd probably chose the country-life." he answered, "While I did grow up in the city as a child, my peerage and I live in the countryside of the Bael Territory. I love the privacy that we have…. can't get that living in the city."

"Hmmm…I do understand where you're coming from. The country life has intrigued me during parts of my life." said Belldandy, "But I guess I'll go with living in the city since that's what I'm used to…and its easier for my work."

"What type of work do you do?" asked Naruto, "It's gotta be something high-end if you're coming to parties like this often."

"I'm actually a fashion-designer/coordinator," she began, "dressing those of the high-class for parties and balls much like this. A secret between you and me: I wasn't even invited to this party. A friend of mines who was going suddenly had plans and gave me their invite. I decided to come to scope out new clients, but I found someone entirely more interesting to be with for the remainder of this party." she said with her usual coy smile.

Naruto chuckled at her forwardness, "I've got to say, you really have made this party enjoyable for me so far. Usually, my [Pawn], Orochimaru, keeps me company and sweet talks anyone for me. I'm glad I ran into you."

"I understand how it is putting a façade for those these uppity-Devils," she said with a small amount of disdain, something that Naruto caught, "While I hate doing it, in order for my business to thrive, I have to do a little sucking up to stroke their egos. Fake smiles are the worst."

Now that peeked Naruto's interest. Having gone through the struggle of meeting with many Devils to back his plan, he had to wear a mask of his version of 'political correctness', something he hated doing. He felt fake. Unrealistic. Not himself.

"That is a very true statement." he replied, "I'm guessing you weren't born a High-Class Devil?"

"No, no. I was born a Mid-Class Devil." the brunette beauty answered, "My parents were had worked their way into the favors of the family's they worked for so that they could be promoted. I had an easy life, not really struggling for anything, but establishing myself as prominent designer was the hardest work I've ever done for myself…but it was worth it in the end."

"And at least you're doing something you enjoy…. or, I assume you are."

"I am. Maybe you could hire me sometime?" she offered with a sleek smile, "A famous man such as yourself needs to fit the spotlight placed on him. I could help update your closet space and prepare you for parties…if you would like that?" she asked with a certain gleam in her sky-blue eyes.

"I don't have a problem with it." shrugged the Bael, "The only 'fashionable' people in my peerage is Anna or Kuroka…and they never really help out when it comes to dressing me for parties now that I think about it…..I guess I could use a extra hand in these type of things."

"Then it seems I've achieved my goal in gaining a new client…and its one I'm actually interested in." she said with hidden intentions as she licked her lips sensuously, "Is it possible for tonight to get better?"

A large, cheeky grin grew on the blonde Bael's face, honestly enjoying the brunette's presence, "You've gotta stick around to find out..."

"Hmmm…." Belldandy grinned, realizing the undertones that came with his statement, "So…continuing with our previous conversation….do you consider yourself a trusting person?"

"No." he stated almost immediately, surprising his dancing partner, "I don't trust many…the only people that have my full trust are my peerage members…." he said firmly, "…nobody else."

"Such a bold statement…" she said with a frown, "Care to talk about it? It may take some weight off of your shoulders."

The blonde released a deep breath, mentally berating himself for coming across so aggressive. "Sorry about that…it's just a sensitive topic."

"I guess it's because of the wrongdoings towards you…" she muttered, truly sad that he had to go through what he did, "Being sealed…betrayed by the woman you loved….that must have frozen your heart."

"It did…but that isn't the only thing…." he replied as he closed his eyes to hide the sadness within them, "More…..there's more…but I don't feel like talking about it." he said with a sigh, "Just know that whenever I let someone special in….they abuse my trust."

He opened his eyes once he felt a soft hand on his cheek. It was Belldandly's, who was looking up at him with a beautiful smile that could have lightened the darkest of caves. "Well…maybe you just need to edit your definition of 'someone special'…..and you may find that what you were looking for…was in front of you the entire time…"

The two glanced into each other's eye for some time, unmoving while on the dancefloor. A light blush dusted Belldandly's cheeks, but she didn't make a move to hide it. She found herself become lost in his eyes that were mixed with different emotions: confusion, hurt, fatigue, want...and a hint of love. The man holding her was a cluttered mess of feelings just waiting to be fixed.

Breaking their shared eye contact, Belldandy rested her head on his shoulder. At a leisure pace, the two started their dance again, hugging each other close in a pregnant, comfortable silence-enjoying each other's body heat.

The blonde took the time to check around the surrounding area-having been so caught up with his time with Belldandy, he forgot the real reason why he even came to this party-to speak with Lord and Lady Furcas at least once.

Just as he started his search for the two, he found them talking to a few guests not too far off from where he currently was. They weren't on the dancefloor either, so he wouldn't have to worry about getting in the way of the other couples dancing to their hearts content. "Excuse me, Belldandy," he called, causing the beauty to perk up, "but I've spotted Lord and Lady Furcas and I need to speak with them for a moment if you don't mind."

"It's fine." the brunette said with her soft voice as she detached herself from the slightly taller blonde, "However, I will get bored if you leave. Do you mind if I come with you?"

"Nope. You can come with." He answered casually.

"Great." In a bold move that internally surprised the blonde, the brunette beauty grabbed his hand, making sure to lace their fingers together, "Then lead the way, Naruto~…"

' _Ohohoho…I like her…'_ inwardlythought Naruto, though his face remained neutral, to Belldandy's displeasure, as he led through the crowd and towards the Lord and Lady of the Furcas Clan.

However, once the blonde neared his intended targets, Belldandy released the hold she had on his hand and stood behind Naruto, allowing the Bael to have some privacy with the heads of the Furcas Clan. Not paying the move any mind, Naruto smiled as he spoke, "Well look at these two young kids having a good time!" he said, catching the duo's attention.

Lord and Lady Furcas were wearing matching robes like their son and had the same Furcas insignia pinned on their right shoulders. Lord Furcas, looking like an older, exact copy of his son, had a messy, but somewhat stylish, bundle of purple and gray hair. Unlike his son, Lord Furcas had a thin, long beard reaching mid-chest. Lady Furcas, who looked even older than her husband, had long hair that was grayer than purple, and had an assortment of gels on various golden chains around her neck.

"Oh my! Honey, its Naruto!" exclaimed Lady Furcas as she walked over towards the blonde with the intent of hugging him, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Nice to see you two living out your youth by staying up this late." joked Naruto as he returned the hug, "I know you can handle it, but I'm not sure your husband's old bones could keep up with you."

Lord Furcas chuckled at the blonde's jab at his age, "While you may be joking, what you're saying is only become reality with each day." he said as he shook the blonde's hand after his wife released him, "It's good to see you, my boy. Hopefully, you're enjoying the festivities."

"I am! You Furcas really know how to throw a party, hehehe!" laughed Naruto with a head scratch, "But I should be saying congratulations for the both of you. How long have you two been together?"

"It's been 2,450 years…" answered the proud Furcas leader as he wrapped an arm around his wife's waist, "The best decision I've made in my life was tying the knot with this queen right here…"

"Stop it, Philip." giggled Vivian as she lightly slapped his slightly bulging stomach.

"Isn't that cute." said Naruto, watching the interaction with an honest smile, glad that the two had each other, "I'm glad that you two are still going strong."

"And we're glad you're here, Naruto." replied the Lady of the Furcas Household, "I had a sneaking suspicion that you were here when my son informed to us that there was a jar of pickles set at the gift table. Your fascination with those things continues to confuse me." she said while shaking her head in fake disbelief.

"Hehehe! Sorry about that! I guess that you two would enjoy them! I did bring an extra gift as back up if that didn't work out." he stated.

"Thank you, Naruto. And if it makes you happy, we appreciate the pickles…" said Lord Furcas, "…..kinda…"

"By the way, Naruto…" started Lady Furcas, "Where is your girlfriend, Gabriel the Seraph? We would have thought that you would have brought her with you along with your personal advisor, Orochimaru."

"O-oh.." Naruto stuttered as he began to scratch at his whiskers awkwardly, causing the Furcas duo to look at him in confusion, "Me and Gabby-Gabriel…broke up a few weeks ago…" he revealed.

"What?" whispered a shocked Lady Furcas. Glancing around to make sure nobody was listening, though, she missed Belldandy turn her ear towards the group as she faked interest in the artwork on the ceiling, "I thought you two were doing good? Your relationship could have brought the Angels and Devils closer than ever before? What happened."

The blonde Bael sighed, not liking that he was having this conversation again. However, the Furcas' were nice people, so he knew he could trust them with sensitive information. "We…just had different interest…" he started, "Our priorities were on a collision course with one another…and we decided to end it on good terms before things got ugly. I'm sorry if you had faith in our relationship working out."

Wanting to comfort the down-crescent Bael, Lord Furcas placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Don't worry, my boy. It'll all work out. You've just gotta keep on looking…or maybe just focus on your goal of becoming Great King? Maybe you'll meet a nice Bael that isn't a loyalist to love after all of this is over."

"I'm not in a rush, Lord Furcas," said Naruto with a grin, but both Lord and Lady Furcas knew he was hiding a lot of pain behind it, "and thanks for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about m-

"Naruto-kun," the trio turned their heads as they all heard someone call for the blonde's name. It was Belldandy, who walked over towards the group with elegance, ignoring all of the preying eyes on her amazing figure as she stopped next to Naruto's side with two glasses of wine in her hands, "I got you something to drink. You seemed parched."

Naruto mentally cursed as he saw both Lord and Lady Furcas' eyebrows jump in surprise at the sight of Belldandy-but more on how comfortable the beauty seemed to be around him. "Thank you, though, I usually don't drink wine. Guess now's a good time to try it out." he said with a shrug as he gave his wine a sip. "Mmmm? That has some kick to it….a nice one though." he said as he looked at the content of his glass.

"I'm glad you like it." replied Belldandy with a caring smile, rest a hand on his arm.

"Er-hm…Naruto, who is this elegant woman with you?" asked Lord Furcas, wanting to know who the mysterious person that seemed so close to Naruto was.

"Oh! This is Belldandy…. she's my date for the night." he replied, thinking on his toes as usually. Since Belldandy didn't personally get invited to the party, having gotten an invitation from a friend that didn't end up coming, he didn't want his new…. friend…to get into any trouble. _'Better to just play it safe than to get her in trouble…'_ he said as he peeked at his partner using his peripheral vision, noticing the small, but visible, victorious glint in her eye. "She's used to these types of events since she's gone to many, so she's been keeping me out of trouble. So far, so good, hehehe!"

"That's…very nice…" said Lady Furcas, abet confused, but didn't ponder on it as much-not wanting to cause a scene-, "I'm glad you're watching Naruto. He can be quite the trouble maker!"

"Which I'm finding out more and more." answered Belldandy with an eye smile.

Wanting to avoid anymore questions, Naruto decided now was the time get away from the Furcas. "Well, I don't want to take up too much of your time. Again, congratulations on such a successful marriage."

"Yes. Thank you both for coming." said Lord Furcas, bowing in unison with his wife, "And know that we'll always support you in your endeavors."

"Noted. You two have a great rest of your night." Naruto stated before leaving with Belldandy in tow.

With the couple out of sight, Lady Furcas looked towards her husband. "Philip, you did catch when Naruto said that his date goes to a lot of parties?"

"Yes, dear."

"Now…out of all of the parties we've attend…have you ever seen that woman before?"

"That was exactly what I was thinking…"

Once the duo had retreated to the bar, where they first met, Naruto's judgmental eyes stared down at the slightly shorter woman. "What?" she asked with an innocent head tilt; the cuteness adding to her overall indescribable beauty, "Did I do something wrong?"

"You know what you did…" he said with narrow eyes, "I had to lie to the Furcas to make sure you wouldn't get in trouble."

"And your lying skills are impressive. Such a sly man…" she said with a small, but still seductive, smile, "Too bad what you said was a lie…we should work at amending that, no?"

Even though he was slightly peeved by the beauty, he couldn't hold back the snicker that escaped his lips. "I'm glad you find entertainment in me." said Belldandy as she perched her arm up on the bar to rest her chin in her open palm.

"Your forwardness is something to admire, ya know?" he replied, "Never seen anything like it actually. Most of the time, when women are interested in me, they're like mad dogs."

"Well, as you can see, I'm not like most woman." started Belldandy as she set her glass, "I find you very interesting…to the point where I can honestly say that I like you…You could say that I'm a fan of yours, since I see you on television almost every day…so when I saw you here, I had to take the opportunity to talk to you-which I've enjoyed thoroughly-adding onto this small crush I have for you." She stated with honesty, "And now that I know that your single….."

"Not technically single…." interrupted the blonde, "I technically have a fiancée…"

"But we all know that won't last." Belldandy replied almost immediately, "To me, you are a single man. An available man….a man that I want."

The goddess of a woman stared at Naruto with a controlled lust. While she exuded sexual tension just from her body and eyes alone, her posture and stance aligned with what was expected out of a High-Class Devil. Belldandy had come to him with a goal of getting to know him better, and, if that worked a little too well, pursuing a relationship with the blonde. While he didn't know specifically what she wanted from the Bael, he had a feeling that she wanted what he once had with Gabriel.

"And since I'm a Devil, there wouldn't be any controversy." stated the brunette, almost as if she were reading his mind, "But, I don't want to pressure you too much. I just want you to know that I'm interested….very interested." she finished with a bat of her eyelids.

The blonde Bael analyzed Belldandy with his eyes, looking for any sign of deceit. However, he couldn't find any. She just sat there with a confident smile on her charming face-as if she knew she had a good chance at getting what she wanted.

"Let's just enjoy the rest of the night…" answered Naruto, taking another swish of his wine, "We'll see….what happens after that…."

"That's all I want…." she said with a sensual lick of her lips as the two continued talking.

 **Timeskip**

' _My nuts itch…'_ thought Naruto as he exited the bathroom. By now, it was extremely late in the night and many of the partygoers started to leave. Lord and Lady Furcas had given a speech not to long ago, followed by opening many of the gifts the older couple received. Now, the couple, along with their son, was talking to a small group of Devils near the entrance.

However, Naruto didn't plan on talking with the two anymore for the night as he rendezvous with Belldandy at their spot and began to head out. Belldandy had laced her arm around Naruto's in a similar way Gabriel would, but he didn't comment on it as the couple blended in with the rest of the exiting crowd.

"Quite the night we had." stated Belldandy as they marched their way out of the massive palace, "A shame it has to end…if you want it to."

A blonde eyebrow rose on the Bael's face, obviously surprised by the woman's proclamation, "You've got something else you wanna do?"

"Not specifically, but tonight has been so well for us. I don't want it to end now." said the brunette as they stepped down the stairs, "Would you mind…if I stayed with you for the night for a little bit longer?" she said while batting her eyes at him with a mixture of innocence and allure in them.

"Hmph…" grunted Naruto, "I…wouldn't mind that…although, my stomach is starting to hurt for some reason…probably all those Hawaiian Rolls…"

"I'm sure its nothing. Is your carpool here?"

"Hmmmm…actually, I think I just want to go home for the night." he revealed, surprising his 'date' for the night, "I don't wanna go back to my hotel for the night. I just wanna lay in my own bed if that's alright with you."

"Uh, y-yes. That's fine with me." she stuttered with a light blush, "Do you live in the area?"

"No, but I have a way to teleport us both to my home."

After tracking down his driver, he informed his new friend that he would be going home instead of back to his hotel for the night. Promising to pay the man for his services, he waved the man off as he drove away before walking back over to his awaiting partner for the night.

"So how do you plan on getting us all the way to the Bael Territory?" she asked, "I've never visited that land, so I can't teleport there."

Suddenly, from the palm of his hands, Naruto summoned one of his trusty paper talesman. "I've got a way." he uttered as he created a teleportation seal and placed the tag on the ground. The seal morphed somewhat, editing itself to allow someone not apart of the Bael Clan or Naruto's peerage to be teleported within the seals range. In a matter of seconds, the duo had disappeared out of Yumiya.

 **Bael Territory – Naruto's Peerage House**

Belldandy was thoroughly surprised at the fact that she was now standing in front of Naruto's large house, which was hundreds of miles away from where they once were. "You really are a bag filled with tricks." she said with a grin as the two marched up the small walkway towards the front porch.

"I try, hehehe!" he giggled, opening the door for the beauty once they were on the porch.

Taking off their shoes at the door, Naruto and Belldandy walked pass the staircase to check who was in the living-since the TV was blasting at an unnecessarily loud volume. So it made sense to Naruto why the TV was so loud once he saw Kisame, his first [Knight], chomping on a bag of popcorn while in his recliner. Samehada was using one of the couches to lay out on as the duo watched a show about sharks.

"Eh?" said Kisame, looking past his shoulder to see who was behind him. "Oh, idiot! You're back! Did you…." When his eyes landed on Belldandy, Kisame's small eyes enlarged to massive proportions, disbelief over racking body. "Holy shit, she is sexy as fuck…" he uttered, a bit of droll escaping his lips as he stared at Belldandy's voluptuous figure. "Who the fuck is that!?"

"Kisame, this is Belldandy." said Naruto, introducing his new friend, "We met at the Furcas' anniversary party and decided to hang out for a little while longer."

"It's very nice to meet the great Kisame in person." Belldandy said while bowing in respect for the legendary Demon member of Naruto's peerage.

"'The Great Kisame?' I like this one." he grinned arrogantly.

"We'll be upstairs if you need us." said Naruto as he grabbed Belldandy's hand and led her back towards the stairs, "And make sure to take care of that problem we had, ya hear?"

"…okay…" muttered Kisame, which was uncharacteristic of the man as slouched back into his recliner.

"I'm glad he approves of me." said Belldandy once the duo was up the stairs and walking down the second-floor hallway, "He's very vocal-not one to hide his thoughts."

"Hehehe! That's Kisame for ya!" laughed Naruto, noticing that there weren't any magic signals on the floor, meaning everyone was still out. _'Good.'_ He thought as the couple neared his closed door.

"Ladies first." he offered, opening his bedroom door for Belldandy.

"Such a gentleman!~" she laughed as she entered the room with Naruto closing it behind him.

"Ignore the mess." he said, referring to all of the papers with diagraphs and seals littering the ground, "I'm caught up with an important experiment right now that will help me in my future battles against the Bael Council. I can't wait to use it against them…" he finished with an evil grin that would have made even the strongest Devils shudder.

"I'm sure they won't know what hit them if it's coming from you." she said as she examined the seals. After a few moments of study, her face scrunched up as she tried, and failed, at deciphering what type of seals they were. "These are seriously complicated seals," began Belldandy, picking up different pieces of paper to examine them better "and while I don't consider myself a fighter, I would have at least thought I could have a grasp of what this is…. "She looked back at him with eyes filled with awe and astonishment, "This is amazing, Naruto...truly..."

"Hehehe…." he laughed awkwardly at the praise, scratching his blonde locks to hid the small blush of embarrassment present on his cheeks, "Well….ya know….I try…" he whispered as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Slowly, a smile grew on Belldandy's beauty face; setting his notes back on the desk, she turned to him with a distinct glamour in her eyes. There was a sudden shift in atmosphere, which the blonde Bael took notice on as he bravely stared back at his partner for the night. While he wasn't sure, he thought he saw a quick flash of pink in the brunette's eyes before fading away. His body stiffened-not replying to any of his mental commands at all-as he sat on the edge of the bed, unmoving like a stone.

"I have a seal that I'd like to show you….." she whispered sensuously with a lick of her lips. The walls of the room glowed with a blue hue with a snap of her fingers, activating the silencing seals before they slowly faded into nothingness.

Her grin continued to grow, along with the pink aura that surrounded her body. Belldandy reached for the top of her garments, tugging at them while exposing her shoulder at a snail's pace. "The drug that I spiked your drink with earlier….you should be under its effects by now…seems even the great Naruto Bael is weak to poisons~…." she said sweetly.

Taking a step closer to Naruto, Belldandy's markings on her face emitted a faint blue light before her entire body was encased in a shell of blue and pink light. All Naruto could do was watch as Belldandy began her transformation-his body still immobile and unresponsive.

With the light now dimmed, Belldandy's fully body was now fully visible to her captive prey. The blue markings on Belldany's face were more pounced, and her sclera was now black-which emphasized her ocean blue eyes that were filled with excitement and a raging lust. On her forehead was a set of black horns that curved to the top of her head. As she smiled, Naruto got a glimpse of her slightly sharpened fangs as her elongated tongue dripped of saliva danced across her extremely seductive lips.

Her garments had disappeared, replaced with a set of red, see-through lingerie. The thin, barely existent bra that clung to her ample bosom was a size to small, squeezing them together and leaving little to the imagination. Her long, tan legs were coated by a skin-tight pair of red stockings and were just begging to be touched. The red thong she wore hardly covered Belldandy's front but left her rear fully exposed-the fatty fleshy rippling with step she took in a hypnotic motion.

"I really didn't expect this to be so easy!" she exclaimed with a dark grin as she stopped in front of the silent Bael, a massive grin on her beauty face, "When the Bael's hired me, I really expected this job to much harder. I mean, you are Naruto Bael. I wasn't even sure if I would make it out of this job alive, but the money was too much to ignore. Plus, who could say that they fucked Naruto Bael to death? Tehehe!" she giggled an anticipation, "OHhhhhhh, just the thought of having you inside of me already has me extremely wet!~ she exclaimed, flashing her drenched underwear as proof.

Careful with her actions, she slowly lowered Naruto's body onto the bed. "Sucking the life out of Naruto Bael. Sucking the life out of Naruto Bael!" the newly revealed succubus repeated in an obsessed fashion, "This is a chance of a lifetime! Oh my, my insides are turning, and I haven't even put you in me yet! The effect you have on me has never happened before! Probably because I'm actually interest in the person I'm gonna have fun with!"

Lifting his legs onto the bed, Belldandy stared at Naruto's privacy with a longing desire to see it for herself. "The drug I gave you was also a mixture of my saliva-it acts as a hyperactive stimulant to all of your pleasure buttons!~ I can see that you're really excited right now, but I'm sure it isn't excited as I am!" she said as he cravings began to be to much for her. With a vengeance, she tore through Naruto's cloths with her elongated nails, stripping the silent blonde in a matter of seconds.

The succubus' heart rate increased exponentially as she gawked at Naruto's muscle-filled body. His large manhood stood up at attention, painful throbbing in an angry rage as it wanted to be satisfied immediately "Oh….A-ah! I can't wait anymore!" she said with hearts in her eyes as she climbed on top of the Bael.

Sitting on his waist, she released a long moan as she rubbed her vagina against his member, "Oooohhh~…..this….this is different…" she began as she stared at Naruto's red eyes, "I really want you. This isn't a job anymore. I feel like it was destiny that brought us together. While this will be your last hours living, I promise to make them the most pleasurable hours of your life. Your nerves have been amplified by my saliva-packed concoction, and the pheromones I'm releasing is starting to override your brain. When the drug wears off, you'll probably be lost in a sea of lust and pleasure. You won't even notice that I'm slowly absorbing your entire being…."

"But don't worry~…" she whispered before spitting a glob of spit into her hand. Holding it over his mouth she pried open with her other hand, she was in a sick glee as the saliva dripped into his mouth, only adding to the current dosage she gave him before, "You'll feel it all…what the Leviathan couldn't give you…what the Seraph couldn't give you….trust me, beloved~…You've gone through so much from what I know about you. It's time somebody did something for you…..

"Now just relax…let Bell…..dandy handle the rest…"

"A…..a-all of…your…fears…all…a….anger."

"….-lease….i….inside….f…..e….."

…

… **.**

… **.**

" **BreakThrough"**

…

…

…..

Naruto watched from the entrance of his room as Belldandy continued to talk to herself.

He was leaning on the open doorway, arms crossed as his red eyes listened to Belldandy, the hidden succubus, reveal her entire plan being associated with the Bael Council and her utter desire to have him 'inside' of her. Sadly, for her, what she was seeing right now was nothing but an illusion. The fake him she was seeing was currently being raped by the woman, still motionless, as her cries and moans of pure ecstasy filled the room.

He watched with red, angry eyes as the woman who said he could trust 'satisfy' herself to her dream.

"Yesh…she's really getting down…" marching behind Naruto was his loyal [Knight], Kisame, with Samehada attached to his back, "I could hear her from the living room. That bitch is fine as hell, but she can't shut the fuck up to save her life." he said as he peered over Naruto's shoulder to peek at succubus in the blonde's bed.

"When did ya know she was a slut?" Kisame asked the quiet Naruto, who was still leaning on the doorframe with menacing red glare centered at the unsuspecting woman.

"….I noticed a shift in my body sometime after I digested her drug…" said Naruto after a few more seconds of silence, "I have supreme control of my body, something I learned during my time in that damn seal….the moment I noticed something was attacking me internally, I destroyed it with my Power of Destruction. I didn't want to kill her as soon as I found out because I wanted to know why she did it."

"And how'd ya put her in the sex dream?" asked the blue-skinned shark Demon.

"When I teleported her here." answered Naruto, "By teleporting her here, I had the excuse to inject my magic into her. She just didn't know how much. The spell started once she entered my room. I've been watching her from here this entire time."

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~!" shouted Belldandy, releasing a squeal of delight as her vagina gushed, signifying she had come to a climax. Her tongue was hanging out of her mouth and her eyes rolled back into her head as she was lost in the pleasure of her dream. "I'VE NEVER FELT SO GOOD IN MY LIFE!"

"Ewww…" Kisame said with a scowl, "Bitches ain't shit." He perked up when she started bouncing again, his eyes following her deliciously large breast and ass with a growing hunger. "Shit, can I fuck her?"

"No." denied the Bael.

"Awww, why the fuck not!?" yelled Kisame, demanding an answer.

"If you had sex without her permission, that would be rape." his [King] replied.

"Wha-technically, that bitch is raping you right now!" he yelled, "And it wouldn't be rape! She'd fucking like it! She's a god-damn succubus! They're into that kinky shit! Trust me, my first time with a succubus.…hehehe…"

"We're ending this conversation, Kisame." Naruto said nonchalantly as he walked over towards the pleasure-filled Belldandy.

"Tch….whatever…" grunted Kisame.

Belldandy, closing in on another orgasm, had her eyes closed, so she didn't see her world wash away into nothingness before reforming into reality. Her eyes shot open when a hand violently wrapped itself around her throat, pulling her forward. The shock was evident on her face when she saw Naruto, not under the effects of her drug, saliva, or pheromones glaring down at her with a stare so cold that it made her shiver.

"Wha-"

"Begone."

 **A few minutes later…**

"Aw, come on, ya idiot!" yelled Kisame as he slammed an open palm on Naruto's back as a form of comfort, "Don't tell me that you're actually sad that the girl you brought home was actually a cum-sucking, life-jacking, fine as hell, crazy, piece a shit of a succubus?"

The duo had moved outside, sitting on the steps on the back porch leading to the beach behind the house. Naruto had killed the woman invading his house with ease, but he also destroyed his bed-not wanting to sleep in the same bed that woman had been in, contaminating it with her presence alone.

Naruto rolled his eyes at his friend, holding back the chuckle in order to look sell his nonchalant façade. "No, Kisame, I didn't care about her. I just met her a few hours ago."

"I don't know." said the [Knight], "Knowing you, you probably thought you could use her to get Gabby off ya mind, right?"

The shark-like grin on Kisame's face only grew when he was answered with silence, confirming Naruto's hidden intentions. "Ahahaha! You suck at this relationship-shit!"

"Shut up…" groaned Naruto, not wanting Kisame to bully him, "I didn't want to replace Gabriel…I just wanted someone to talk to. Everybody else was gone for the day and she popped up at the right place at the right time." he said with a depressed sigh, covering his face with his hands.

"Tch, man, listen! Shit just happens sometimes and ya gotta find ways to deal with the shit. You could not whip your ass and leave the shit in your ass, halfway clean your ass of the shit so you don't miss too much of your favorite show playing in the living room, or actually clean it the shit so you don't have shit stains in your underwear. Hopefully you have tissue paper to clean your ass, though…"

Dumbfounded, Naruto stared as he [Knight] with confusion evident on his face. "O-okay, Kisame. Thanks for the advice, I guess…"

"See? I can say smart shit just like the pale man!" shouted Kisame, referring to Orochimaru, "Y'all just don't listen to me!"

"Sorry about that, Kisame." chuckled Naruto, "I'll be sure to listen to you more often."

"Mmhmmm." huffed the [Knight], "At least you know better now. Plus, you don't need to use that cum-sucking bitch as ya therapy. Ya got m-your peerage."

"What did you just say?" Naruto said with a shit-eating grin, catching Kisame's slip up.

"I ain't say shit. Shut up." the [Knight] said while looking away.

"Nope!~ I think you just admitted that we're best fri-

"Shut up, ya blonde idiot!" he yelled, smacking Naruto in the head.

"Damn it!" cried Naruto as he covered his throbbing head with his hands to comfort the injury, "What the fuck, Kisame!? If you were just honest with your dumbass feelings, then maybe you wouldn't have to hit people! You were so emotional when I reincarnated you!"

"Oh no! We ain't bringing that shit up! That was a dark time in my life!" he said while violently poking the grinning-Bael in his chest, "We ain't talking about it!"

"Oh what? You're just mad that you were crying for the first time!"

"THAT DID NOT HAPPEN!"

"Oh, yea it did!"

"NO IT DIDN'T!"

"YUP. YUP. YUP!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"You're just scared that at the fact that you care about me!"

"I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU BLONDE IDIO-

 _ **Flashback – over 300 years ago**_

 _ **Kisame's Island**_

" _B…be…in m-my…..pe..pe-peeage.."_

"No."

" _O…oka-okay….."_

….

….

…

" _Jo…..while yo-you…join now?"_

"No."

"Oh…th…..that's o-o…kay."

…

…

…

"If you ask me that shit one more ti-"

" _Wo…you b-be….inter-"_

"No! No I am not interested in joining your fucking peerage you fucking!"

While Kisame's sense of time had weaken over the many years he lived on his small island, he knew that the glowing orange ball of magic floating a few feet away from him had been asking him to be in his peerage for about two months now. For Kisame, two months of time wasn't anything, but when the only other communication you have is with some other demon sharks he met and a float ball, things could get old quick.

" _w…. n-not?"_ the orb stuttered out.

Sitting up from his position on the soft sands of his island, Kisame dusted his pants as he responded, "Well, for starters, I don't know who the fuck you are…but your voice sounds familiar for some reason…secondly, you're a fucking ball. I don't know how the fuck you're doing it, but you're a ball. The only balls I trust are the two inside my ball sack, so get the hell outta here!"

" _But…..w-what do yo-you…plan….on doing?"_ asked the glowing orb of power.

"Bout 'ta go get some grub with the boys, then go to sleep." answered the shark demon as he grabbed Samehade's handle and stepped into the red waters of the Underworld, "See ya, whatever ya name is…"

" _You know that they really aren't your friends."_

Kisame stopped mid-step, surprised at the fact that, for the first time, the talking orb didn't speak with its usual stutter. Glancing back at the orb with narrowed eyes, a small bit of **KI** leaked out the shark Demon. "What did you say?" he all but growled out.

" _They aren't your friends."_ repeated the orb, _"What your looking for in life…you won't find in them."_

"Oh really?" said Kisame, fully turning back to the orb while throwing Samehada over his shoulder, "Ya got any proof?"

" _Call them here. I'll show you where their loyalties are."_

Kisame hummed with interest at the offer, considering it for some time. "Alright. Let's see what you can do." Without any effort, Kisame slammed Samehada into the water, creating a maelstrom of water flying everywhere. He used his magic to control the flow of the raging waters, not wanting to drown his island. "There." He said, looking back at the orange orb, "They'll be here in a few. Now show me what you mean."

" _If that's what you want."_ stated the orb as it glowed with power.

 **Timeskip**

Standing atop of the now calm waters, Kisame, with an orange orb of magic floating over his shoulder, watched as his shark 'friends' devoured the illusion the orb made. To prove the loyalty of Kisame's associates, the orb created an illusion of an injured Kisame, bleeding out into the water. Of course, the scent of blood made it to the sharks and without hesitation they began to tear through his body, not caring for any past relationship they had for the demon in favor for a quick snack.

A frown was stuck on Kisame's face as he watched his 'friends' fill themselves with his fake body. They were too busy trying to steal the most flesh off of Kisame's body that they didn't even notice their fangs faze through the fake decoy.

" _Do…yo-ou…ssssee-ee..now?"_ asked the talking orb.

Again, Kisame remained silent, not answering the orb's call. Instead, he produced a large magic circle. The seal illuminated with power as Kisame fueled it with his hidden anger. Without mercy, blue tendrils of magic shot from the seal, targeting the sharks down below. The tendrils ripped through the sharks' flesh with ease, ending their lives in quick fashion, their blood now mixing in with the red waters of the underworld.

"Fine." Kisame stated with a grunt, recalling his magic circle, "Ya proved your little point. So what?"

" _.ssss….so…..you-your…l-life…ha..has no meaning-g …"_ replied the orb.

"No meaning? My life has hella meaning!" he shouted aggressively, flashing his fangs in a threatening manner, "More than anything you can understand, you weird glowstick!"

" _De-describ…me-mean..ing…a-a-and…I'll tell yo-uu..mines."_ it said.

"The fuck do I have to tell you for! I'm Kisame motherfucking Hoshigaki! I don't need anybody else! Fuck those dumbass shark idiots-they're sharks! Of course, there gonna eat a bloody body! It's their fucking food! And I don't even care that they 'ate' me! I woulda did the same god-damn thing! Fuck everybody else and fuck you! I live by myself and only care for my fucking self! If you got a problem with that then go eat a fucking knife and tell me how you feel after that!"

The shark Demon was huffing after he finished his rage-filled rant, still glaring angrily at the orb in front of him with as much hatred as he could muster. However, the orb seemed unaffected by Kisame's rant. While Kisame couldn't read the orb because it was expressionless, he could feel the sensation of being stared at. It was oddly unsettling, causing a small shiver to wash throughout the demon's body.

" _Living for yourself….that must be a lonely life you live, Kisame Hoshigaki…"_

At first, what the orb said didn't affect Kisame, but after thinking about it, his eyes widened slowly in realization. He had heard that same statement from a certain blonde he used to battle hundreds of years ago. "Wait…" he muttered in disbelief, "You…you can't be…"

" _The Kisame I know was born for battle, not stay on an island in the middle of one of the largest rivers in the Underworld."_ it said, _"Your wasting your life away, running from the real world to avoid your problems. You want to find a purpose, but you never found it, so you gave up. The battles we had fueled you with purpose, but only a moment. I'm here to truly offer you a life worth living."_

Any anger Kisame once had was long gone. He listened to the orb's words and couldn't detect a lie: everything he said about the Demon was true. He had been running. He was hiding. He knew he couldn't stay on his island forever, but the fear of entering a world with no goal shackled him.

"Why…..how did you find me?" asked Kisame at a regular volume, "Why are talking through that ball thingy?"

" _Well, for starters, its best that I inform you what has happened over the years. The Anti-Satan Faction defeated the Old Satan Faction and Sirzechs Gremory, Falbium Glasya-Labolas, Ajuka Astaroth…and Serafall Sitri became the new Lucifer, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Leviathan Satans respectively. Currently, the Old Satan Faction has gone into hiding, so you're safe from any of them finding you."_

"And what about you? Where are you right now?" asked Kisame.

" _I am currently…away…for the moment."_ it answered, keeping the location of its real body a secret, _"It's a lot to explain. I decided to make my peerage from the shadows because of certain events that happened. It took me a long time to find you, Kisame. I didn't really have any real strategy to find you. Many Devils believe you to be dead since no has seen you in over 200 years. I almost believed the rumors as well, but one day I felt a familiar burst of magic and started searching in this area-bringing me to you."_

"Hmm…so you got a peerage…" said Kisame, slowly digesting everything the talking orb told him, "Knowing you, you'd probably aim for quality, not quantity. How many other folks ya reincarnate yet?"

" _Zero."_

"Woah…so I'd be the first huh?"

" _So you will accept my proposal?"_

"Proposal? Bitch, I'm not gay!"

" _Proposal, meaning you accept my offer in being in my peerage."_

"Oh..hehe…uh…..I guess…b-but you have to promise me something first."

" _I'm listening…"_

"You s-said…..that by joining you….that I'd have purpose…..what purpose will th-

" _Family….You'll have a family…"_

….

…

…

"Alright, Naruto…sniff….…I accept..."

 _ **Flashback End**_

The duo of Kisame and Naruto had settled down from their previous yelling spree now that they had thought back to their first real conversation they had. Naruto had a small smile plastered on his face as he thought back to the past, while Kisame was leaning back onto the stairs with his head resting on his arms and eyes closed.

"Seems so long ago, huh?" the Bael started, "You were my first member of my peerage…"

"Hmph! I should have been the first…anything less would have been a disgrace to my name…and why the fuck didn't you make me your [Queen]? Or just give me your [King] piece and you have the [Queen] piece?"

"Because that's not how it works." chuckled the blonde, "And I didn't want to make you my [Queen] because I knew you wouldn't want the responsibility that came with the role. Being a [Knight] fits you the most…in a way…"

"Hey…do I do a good job of giving you a purpose?" asked the blonde.

"Hmm….it took you a damn long time to do it!...but I guess you did fine…." uttered the Demon.

"Hehehe!" laughed Naruto in joy, "I'm glad! You know, you should let the others see this emotional side of yours, Kisame. Maybe they'll like you more."

"Eh, I don't care if they like me at all! The hell I look like being nice for other people? I'm Kisame. The GREAT Kisame! That's what your slut of a girlfriend called me when she came in the house, so you know it's true."

"Yeah, whatever…" said Naruto with an eyeroll, however, the smile he had slowly crept into a frown as he stared down at the stairs, "I guess I'm just bad with woman…."

Kisame stared at the blonde with narrow eyes. An idea formed in his head, but he didn't know how to act upon it immediately. Seeing his friend in such a dejected state made him want to help the Bael, he just didn't know how to. Emotions and feelings weren't the shark Demon's strong point compared to violence and taste testing cupcakes, but in order to help his friend, it would require him to step out of his comfort zone.

"How about this, ya idiot." Naruto glanced over to Kisame as he continued talking, "Since you suck at this shit called love or whatever, I'll help ya out with some advice."

"You? Really?" said a thoroughly confused Bael. However, he didn't want to anger Kisame by denying his help, so he decided to entertain the man for now. "Alright. What'cha got for poor ole' me, hehehe!"

"See, from my…uh…pe-per…persss..

"Perspective." finished Naruto.

"Shut the fuck up and listen! See that's ya problem!" shouted Kisame, "Now, before I was so RUDLY interrupted….from my perspective, you're worried about opening yourself up to just any random person because you have hella trust issues, right."

"Right." confirmed the blonde.

"So, what I think you should do is wait a little bit, ya know? Scoop out the area. Some of these females out here just want you because of your name, but there maybe some pussy out there that really likes you for…uh…you…" he mumbled uncomfortably, "Man, talking about this type of shit ain't as easy as I thought."

"I think you're doing good, though. Keep going." said Naruto, motivating the shark Demon to continue.

"Uh-alright…..Since you're going through this crazy shit with the Bael's, females doesn't need to be ya main focus right now. Take a breather or something. Hell, you just broke up with Gabby, which I highly hate that you did because now I have to get my cupcake fix from somebody else!" he yelled.

"Hehehe! Sorry about that." Naruto said with a guilty head scratch.

"Uh-huh…Anyway," continued the [Knight], "females…they can be pretty stupid. They don't know how to express themselves or something, so they'll do dumb shit to sub-sub…su-bli-mi-na-lly…subliminally tell you they like you. You just gotta catch it."

"So you're saying I need to pay attention to every female that I know?" asked the blonde.

"Not every, but some. Don't pay attention to those idiot girls you hardly trust…just to those that you know or gain your trust overtime, ya know? And don't exclude anybody that you know, too! Like, don't think 'Naw, she wouldn't fuck with me. We're too close!' or some other weird shit…cause ya never know…it could be the last person you suspect…..like, literally, the last person you'd suspect…"

"Uh huh…" said Naruto with suspicion.

"Like, they'll be a PUSSY!...about their feelings, but they got'em."

"Are you trying to tell me something, Kisame?" asked Naruto.

"Other than what I'm telling you? No. Stop assuming and get with the program."

"Oh…okay, I guess…" Naruto said with a head scratch, "Thanks for the..uh..advice. I'm about to go to sleep now, but I'll think about what you said."

"Alright, idiot. Ima stay out here for a little bit. Don't do anything stupid."

"Heh…sure thing, man." Naruto said while patting Kisame's shoulder before standing up, "Good night."

Naruto started his walk to the glass door, and almost made it before he heard Kisame call out to him. "Hey, Naruto…"

' _Did he just use my real name?'_ thought Naruto as he turned back to Kisame. "Yeah?"

Slowly, Kisame turned around to look back at his [King], "Thanks for everything…..idiot."

"Heh…" chuckled the blonde as he opened the sliding door, "No problem."

 **Timeskip – Hours later**

Walking into the kitchen late night with a big bag slung over her shoulder, one happy Kuroka hummed a tune as she marched over to the freezer. After grabbing a couple of large bowls, she opened her bag, revealing a plethora of dead fish she retrieved from her fishing trip. It was quite a successful trip and Kuroka was glad she got to spend her day off doing something she loved.

"Nya!~ These are gonna taste so good when we make them!" she sang out as she disturbed the fish into separate bowls to put in the freezer, "Anna's gonna be so happy with the haul I caught! Her baked fish is really taste, nya!~"

Her cat ears perked up when she heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen area. She sighed, realizing that those footsteps belong to Kisame, some she didn't hold at the highest regard at the moment. Their relationship was still rocky since their fight in the hospital when Esdeath appeared. The two hadn't talked it out yet, and Kuroka didn't think it was going to happen any time soon.

"What do you want, Sharky…" she said with a groan, not even glancing at the Demon's direction as she focused on separating her fish, "I don't feel like fighting this late in the night. I'm in a happy mood right now and I don't want you to mess it up, nya."

"I'm not here to fight with you, pussy." Kisame's deep voice reverberated through the kitchen, "I just wanted to tell you that I gave you an opportunity….so you better do something with it."

And just like that, the tall [Knight] exited the kitchen, leaving a confused Nekomata to stare at his retreating form.

"Uh…okay, nya?"

… **..**

… **..**

… **..**

 **Yoooooooooo! Glad to be back, ya dig.**

 **Now before you all grill me for not updating in a month, I really want to express my hatred for college. It literally takes up so much of my damn time!**

 **Like, I had half of this chapter done two weeks ago! And I was all ready to knock the rest on out and update a few days after that-BUT NOOOOOOOO! EVERYBODY WANTS TO HAVE AN EXAM OR HAVE AN 8-PAGE PAPER DUE ALL AROUND THE SAME DAMN TIME!**

 **Ayo, I'm mad at myself for taking this long to post, so I made sure to make this chapter extra-extra long! Like, before, it was just gonna be a smooth 12k works…whelp, not its at 23.6k and counting. Your welcome.**

 **A lot happened in this chapter! All of it was focused on Naruto and Kisame, getting to know their history and all. The bromance in this one was in the air. Shout out to all the bros out there.**

 **Also, why the fuck is so damn cold! Like, yea, winter time, but can we just skip that shit? Being a true southern-er, I hate everything there is about the cold, and this shit just popped out of nowhere! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.**

 **Also just bought me my first pair of Vann's…they ight…**

 **What else has happened to me in the past month….hmmmm….**

 **Oh yea, I just got hit with, like THREE PROJECTS THAT ARE DUE EITHER MONDAY OR TUESDAY!**

 **For those of you who don't go to college yet….I'm not saying don't go to college, cause it good for you and all….but just don't go to college. It ain't worth it but then it is.**

 **It's currently 1:18 a.m., November 16, 2019 and I wrote the last part of this chapter while watching TFS Gaming's Pokemon Platinum NUZLOCKE series on YouTube. I freakin love these guys. Very entertaining stuff.**

 **Anyway, I probably won't start typing for the next chapter until…I wanna say next Friday. I've got hella work to do this weekend and I need to get some damn sleep. With Thanksgiving break coming up, that'll be the time when I really grind on the next chapter, which will have the big surprise I've been hyping up for sometime now.**

 **Yup…and with this chapter over, BreakThrough has officially reached its final arc.**

 **I can't tell you all how grateful I am for all the love and support. I do this shit for yall. Thank you for everything.**

 **Also, I got a lot of positive feedback about that My Hero idea that I had. You better favorite and follow me as an author, because you never know if I decide to make a come back after BreakThrough….**

 **Last thing! Belldandy, the undercover succubus working for the Bael Council, is from the old series Ah! My Goddess. It was one of the first manga I ever read and I thoroughly enjoyed it in like the eighth or ninth grade. In it, Belldandy is a goddess, not a succubus, so I thought I would be interesting for me to twist her innocent character into a creature of sin. I know those that know of the series was highly confused and shocked at what happened towards the end of the chapter.**

 **Again, thank you all for the support. The next chapter is going to be absolutely crazy.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**

 **Like a real nigga should…**

 **(Yea, I brought back the last part. Fuck you, racist guest…not the good Guest that leave nice reviews. Literally, the racist Guest. Talking bout you 'A white guy said')**


	33. HerBirthday

**Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, lazing my days away on the couch now that I'm on Thanksgiving break! While I do have a couple of assignments I have to do over the break, I don't have a lot compared to what is considered my usual workload in a week for school, so this break is like a blessing to me. Now I get to focus some time into BreakThrough for once.**

 **Really liked the reception I got back from the last 'chapter', even if it did have a low review count. I knew that would happen though, since I hadn't posted in a long time, and review-count correlates with the time it takes to update in some way. I really don't care much about the number of reviews I get now, to be honest. I've hit milestones on this cite few have done before (humble flex, but still a flex) and I'm satisfied with that. I really do appreciate the core fanbase that stays solid, and those that read but don't review. While I wish you did review so I can learn more about what you think about the story because those really motivate me, the fact that you've made it this far in reading my work really proves that I'm doing something. Thank you.**

 **Anyway, real world things happening with your boy! Whelp, I just got caught up reading this amazing manga/webtoon 'My Wife is a Demon Queen'. It's an Isekai series where the main protagonist isn't an dick or an asshole, like how they usually are. I'm a fan of Isekai, so if you have any recommendations, hit me up.**

 **Also, I plan on buying me a Nintendo Switch for Black Friday as a way to congratulate myself for getting through the year. I play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on my friends' Switch's and beat their asses, so I decided I should get one for myself. I main Sonic….so that should tell you all you need to know about me *grins evilly as I spam neutral B***

 **Lol, but anyway, this chapter is like, the start of the final arc of BreakThrough. Remember that BIG surprise I told you guys about a couple of chapters before?**

 **Yeah, it's happening in this chapter. Get ready because your about to pull out your fucking hair when you read it.**

 **IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE LAST CHAPTER 'CANNON:FILLER2', PLEASE READ IT!**

 **While it is a very long chapter (I think it's the second or third longest chapter with 25k words), please read it. There is a subliminal piece of information within that chapter that you'll need to know to fully understand what's going to happen in this chapter. To give you a hint as to what I'm gunning for, read Naruto's conversation with Run.**

 **Also, the title of this chapter is kinda a reference to a chapter in my first story, The Corrupted Mind. I've been doing this Fanfiction shit for over four years now. Crazy how much I've changed and grown since then.**

 **Thanks for the support. Ya boy, NarutoPlug, really appreciates it, ya diggg?**

 **Enjoy the chapter.**

 **Shits about to hit the fan.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **HerBirthday**

 **A Week and a Half Later – A Day Before Rating Game Against Honest Bael**

 **Bael Territory – Naruto's Peerage House**

…

…

…

… _..-" Yes…I love you too."_

" _Yes…I love you too."_

" _Yes…I love you too."_

" _Yes…I love yo-"_

"Mhrg…..Aaaaahhhhh..." yawned one Yoh Asakura as he stretched his hand to his blaring phone to cut off the alarm. Grabbing the device, he unlocked it with a touch as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Another day…" he grumbled as he lazily started to scroll through a Devil-social app to start his day off.

He made sure not to disturb the body his right arm was wrapped around as he began his scrolling, reading the news headlines with swiftness before liking a few cat videos he thoroughly enjoyed and checking to see if any albums had dropped while he was sleeping. "I'm starting to like that Lizzo girl…" he mumbled to himself as he swiped past a picture of said person, "She's nice…and her music's good…the Lakers are doing pretty good…" he said as he continued reading his timeline, "Not really into sports, but I know Kisame likes them…hmmm…I should go back to Los Angeles to go pick up that Popeye's sandwich I keep hea-"

"Yoh."

"EEP!"

Yoh's entire body jumped with a start at the sudden sound of the body laying next to him. "A-Anna! You were a-awake?" he questioned after he recovered from his shock.

The person laying next to him slowly rolled over to face him. He was greeted to the sight of the dull-blue eyes of Anna Kyoyama, soon to be Anna Asakura, as she stared at him with annoyance. Her usual red bandana she wore was off, showing off more of her lustrous blonde locks that circled around her cute face. However, all that attraction her physical appearance had was used to weakly glare at her fiancée, causing the dark-haired man to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Why do you still have that horrendous audio set as your alarm tone? And why are you talking to yourself?" she asked/demanded for an answer, "You do this every day and I keep telling you to stop."

"Uhhhh…" sweated Yoh as he made sure to hold his phone away from Anna, just in case she tried to snatch it away from him, "I like it. You rarely show emotion, so I had to keep it as an alarm, hehe?" he chuckled awkwardly with a head scratch, "And you know how I talk to myself a lot when I'm on social media…it's just so much interesting stuff online…"

The Asakura male heard a light-growl emit from his fiancée, causing him to tense in preparation of a scolding. However, he was surprised as Anna ditched her growl for a sigh, releasing a long, stress-filled breath of air, before leaning in and pressing her lips to his own for a quick morning kiss. "Good morning…" she whispered after pulling away before quickly rolling her back to him to hide her slightly red face.

"Uh..g-good morning…" he stuttered back, "Do you want some breakfast? I can make breakfast."

"….toast….with butter…" she answered after a few seconds of silence.

"Alright." he replied, pulling the covers back and sliding out of the bed, "I'll go get that for you."

"Wait…" said Anna, causing Yoh to stop what he was doing, "Did you set the alarm for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" he hummed in thought before realization hit him, "Oh yea…tomorrow…our fight against Honest Bael…"

"This is probably going to be the most important game we've ever had." said the bedridden girl, still curled up in her warm covers as if she were still sleeping, "Make an alarm for it so that we aren't late."

"Sure thing…" he said as he opened his phone again to do as ordered, "Let's see…what time do we have to be at the place again?"

"The Bael Coliseum is our meeting/deportation place to the dimension we'll be fighting Honest and his peerage…and the game starts at 3 in the afternoon." she explained.

"Then I'll set an alarm for 2:30 then." said the younger Asakura twin as he set the alarm for tomorrow, "Time to go make some breakfast…"

Both Anna and Yoh's attention was moved towards their bedroom door that made a light ' _creeking'_ noise whenever it was opened. Peering into the duo's room through the small opening he made was Naruto Bael himself. "Hey." he said to the two with a smile.

' _The same smile he has when he does something annoying…'_ thought Anna as she could already feel her patience for the day was already going to be tested. "What." she replied to her blonde master.

"I didn't knock 'cuz I heard you two talking…and I know that you two are to lazy to do anything naughty in the morning." Chuckling at their flushed faces for a moment, Naruto continued, "You two didn't forget what today was, right?"

"Today?" questioned Yoh as he slid his iconic orange headphones on, "Today….today, today…..Oh! I remember what today was…"

"I could care less about what today is." grumbled Anna as she pulled the covers over her head, "Go away."

"Anna, we talked about this…today is very important." pouted Naruto, "Don't make me come in there. Yoh, convince your fiancée-

"Wife." corrected the bedridden blonde from beneath her covers.

"Uh…your 'wife' to get up. We gotta go do the 'thing', ya know? The 'THING' I told everyone about at least a week ago?" said the blonde Bael, emphasizing the event he was referring to.

"Come on, Anna." said Yoh as he walked over to Anna's side of the bed and gently nudged her, "It won't last long. Just get this out of the way and you'll have time to sleep until tomorrow afternoon."

"I don't feel like it…Do it some other day." said the Devil-Shaman, believing her sleep to be more important than any 'event' Naruto mentioned.

"Alright, that's it!"

Yoh and Anna's bedroom door was suddenly kicked open as a certain blue-skinned Demon pushed past Naruto in a fit of anger. Kisame reached for Samehada's handle and pointed the tip at Anna's face-Samahada being long enough to stretch across the Asakura's bed and stopping only inches from Anna's half-lidded eyes. "Bitch, you ain't better than nobody else in this damn house! The idiot made everybody else get up for some shit half of us don't even care about, so you better get your ass up before I make you get up. Understand?!"

Naruto was helped up from the ground by Orochimaru after Kisame pushed him down. "Your disregard for Naruto-sama is angering, Kisame. And stop being so loud. You'll wake her up." said the snake summoner.

"Fuck I look like caring about that bullshit. Now get up!" yelled Kisame at the blonde Shaman.

After a few seconds of no response, Kisame was ready to bash Anna's head in with Samehada but didn't act upon his desire when Anna groaned as she opened her eyes-which were filled with annoyance. "Fine." she stated nonchalantly, not caring for the demonic sword that could absorb a large portion of her magic with ease.

Pushing the living sword away from her face, Anna slid out of bed, revealing she was wearing an oversized t-shirt of Soul Bob, Yoh's favorite music artist. Stuffing her feet into a pair of fluffy pink slippers, she stood next to Yoh with her usual blank stare, although she seemed to be slightly pissed with the light twitch her eyebrow did every few seconds. "Happy?" she said with a glance to Kisame.

"The only time I'm happy is when I'm sitting in my recliner with my orange juice while watching butt-naked hoes, so no, I'm not happy." said the [Knight] with a grunt as he reattached Samehada with a sigh, "Let's just get this day on over with."

The group stepped into the hallway, revealing Hao and Lee awaiting them. "Yosh! Good morning, Anna-sama and Yoh! Are you ready for the day?"

"No/Sure." replied the wife/husband duo.

"Aw, come on guys! You all should be as excited as Lee and I!" said Naruto, throwing an arm around the grinning [Rook]'s shoulder, "See how happy we are?"

"I would be happier if we could get this over with so I can get back to my reading." said Hao as he crossed his arms, although the motion was hidden by his poncho, "While this maybe important to you, Naruto-sama, this event doesn't really matter for me. I hardly celebrate birthdays as it is…and your [Queen] isn't that fond of me anyway…"

"Aw come on." Naruto said with a dismissive way, "That's water under the bridge. She'd be so happy that we remembered that today is her birthday!"

"I really didn't remember."

"I haven't known her for a year anyway…"

"My birthday was two weeks ago, but we didn't celebrate it."

"…who cares….."

"CAN I GO BACK TO FUCKING SLEEP?!"

"YOSH! I can't wait to celebrate our great [Queen]'s birthday!"

"That's the spirit, everyone!" said the optimistic Bael with a thumbs up as the group approached a particular door, "I'm glad I put silencing seals on her door before I woke everyone up. She'll be so excited! We've always celebrated her birthdays. It's her favorite day of the year."

"How interesting, Naruto-sama." said his advisor with fake interest. While he didn't really care that is was Kuroka's birthday as he didn't celebrate the annual day in the first place, he didn't want to kill his master's lively spirit. It had been a long time since he had seen his master happy ever since Naruto's breakup with Gabriel, so anything that could make the blonde Bael happy was good in the eyes of the [Pawn] of the group.

"Everybody ready?" said Naruto to his peerage in anticipation.

"I guess…"

"I just wanna listen to music."

"…who cares…"

"Whenever you're ready, Naruto-sama."

"Absolutely!"

"Can you just open the damn door!"

"Alright. Let's do this….and make sure to wear your happy face when she wakes up." whispered the Bael with a small, but effective, warning before he slowly opened the door.

Team Pickle Rick quietly followed their leader inside the room, not wanting to wake the sleep cat-girl resting in the middle of an oversized bed. The room itself was a mess with different types of clothing thrown everywhere, a countless number of milk glasses littering the nightstands on either side of the bed, and an open lab top displaying a playlist of Honest Bael's past Rating Game. A sticky note was on the top-right corner of the lab top; on it was a stick figure of what looked like Esdeath with a red 'X' crossing her face.

In the middle of the giant bed was Kuroka herself-hair splattered in every direction and her mouth wide open as she snored lightly. Her shoulders were exposed, showing that she wasn't wearing a shirt. Her cat ears twitched with every light sound within the room, but other than that, the Nekoshou slept silently with a line of dried up drool running down her attractive face.

Naruto made his way to the right side of Kuroka's bed while the rest of his peerage members stayed towards the foot of the bed. He rested his hand on the young girl's shoulder as he gently nudged her, wanting to pull the Nekoshou out of her deep slumber. "Kuroka….Kuroka, it's time to get up." said the Bael, excited for his [Queen]'s reaction.

"MMrm…" moaned Kuroka as she felt a light weight on her shoulder. Her golden eyes fluttered open as he senses took control for the first time of the day. She felt many magical presences nearby, but they were all familiar, so she didn't react. She was confused as to why everyone within the house was in her room, with Naruto sitting at the edge of her bed. The cat-girl never had guest in her room, so the fact that everyone was in her messy room was a first.

"N-nya?" she said in confusion as her rubbed her eyes with her hand, "What's going on?"

"We're here because today's your birthday." whispered Naruto with a soft smile, "Happy 20th, Kuroka."

The black cat's eyes widened in realization that today was, in fact, her birthday. A grin crept on her face as she turned towards her blonde crush, "It is my birthday, nya. I forgot all about it!"

"That's why we're all here to celebrate you…. right, guys?" said Naruto, his eyes flashing a dangerous red for a second, silently threatening them to say anything different.

"YOSH! We are all here to celebrate Kuroka-sama!" shouted Lee with enthusiasm, "Happy birthday, Kuroka-sama! I hope you have a great day with us today!"

"While I don't celebrate birthdays, since Naruto-sama finds relevance in yours, I shall indulge. Happy birthday, Kuroka." Orochimaru said with a respectful bow, "Don't expect me to sing you anything in celebration…I despise singing…" he finished with a low growl.

"Happy birthday…I guess…" said a very uninterested Hao. However, he did use his fire magic capabilities to create small sparks in the air that formed the kanji for 'Happy Birthday'.

"Happy birthday, Kuroka!" Yoh said with a happy grin and a wave, "I got you a present from Anna and myself. I hope you'll appreciate it." He said with Anna nodding in agreement.

"Erg…yea, happy whatever-ya-call it. Just get the fuck outta the bed so we can do whatever the blonde has planned." grumbled Kisame, awkwardly scratching his head.

The smile that was on Kuroka's face radiated with happiness. While the members of Team Pickle Rick were unique, she understood that everyone had their own way in expressing their appreciation and love for her. "Thanks everyone, nya~!" she sang eagerly.

"Since its your birthday, you know what happens in the morning?" questioned Naruto.

"Birthday breakfast!" the newly 20-year old clapped, peeking some of the other's interest.

"Wait, breakfast?" said Kisame, "Hey, it's my birthday too."

"Mine as well." stepped up Anna, wanting the toast she craved for.

"That's right! My [Queen] needs her fill to start the day off right!" Naruto said as he wrapped Kuroka up with her covers and scooped her into her arms, causing her to shriek in surprise and embarrassment.

"Na-naruto!? What are you doing?" she squealed, although, she did enjoy being held bridal style by the blonde.

"Carrying you downstairs, of course!" he said as he exited the room, Kisame and Anna hot on his trails as the group walked down the long hallway, "I already made breakfast, and since its your birthday, I thought you'd enjoy a nice day being treated like a queen to show my appreciation of you." said the blonde with a thousand-watt smile.

The cat girl blushed in a mixture of appreciation and embarrassment; before, something like this wouldn't even be possible. When she first met Naruto, he was still in his seal, so any physical touch was nonexistent. Every year, she would spend her birthday with him in his astral orb, so the fact that he was physically with her on her birthday for the first time meant the world to the young Nekoshou. _'Thank you, Naruto…'_ she thought as she rested her head on his chest, nuzzling into him for warmth.

Making their way downstairs and into the dinning room, everyone other than Naruto was greeted to the sight of a feast already prepared on the long dinner table. Kuroka and Kisame's eyes grew hearts as they looked at what could only be described as a buffet as their mouths watered. Anna herself had to hold back any expression, but she was truly surprised that somebody had already made breakfast for the peerage.

The Devil-Shaman glanced towards the grinning blonde, who gently sat the blushing-Kuroka down at the head of the table. "You did this, Naruto-sama?" she asked, "When?"

"Earlier this morning, before anyone was awake." he replied, "I placed some silencing seals around to make sure I didn't wake Kuroka, and a barrier that withheld the scent of the food escaping into the other parts of the house. I made food for everyone, so dig in!"

"I didn't know Naruto-sama could cook!" shouted Lee as he grabbed a plate while scooping out the table.

"Yup, yup, yup!" he grinned, "I would cook for Kuroka all the time when it was just me and her. Every year, I'd make her a 'birthday breakfast' since breakfast is Kuroka's favorite meal of the day."

"Absolutely, nya! Naruto's cooking is the best!" said the sheet-clad Nekoshou as she dived into a stack of pancakes.

"Eggs…" mumbled Orochimaru, taking a few hard-boiled eggs and eating them whole in quick-succession, "Eggcellent." he hissed in satisfaction.

"Aw, hell yea!" blurted out Kisame as he balanced the tower of pancakes on his plate while walking to his seat at the table, "This is how you celebrate a birthday!"

"And we have more events today to celebrate Kuroka." Naruto said with a clap, "I've got a movie picked out for all of us to watch, and a special surprise coming in later that I'm sure everyone will enjoy. Since tomorrow is a big day, I decided that we could mix in Kuroka's birthday celebration along with some relaxation."

"Sounds good, Naruto-sama." said Yoh, who was munching on some French toast sticks. "I gotta say, I wasn't expecting you to go all out today. When you said you had something planned, I would have thought you were gonna have us play 'Twister' or something."

"We can still do that to." the blonde said with a shrug, not really against the idea.

"Absolutely not." Hao immediately shot the idea down, "For one, I hate that game and when you forced us to play it together a few weeks ago were some of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Secondly, Orochimaru has an unfair advantage since his body is…. very flexible…. A disturbing flexible…"

"I'd rather play that Monopoly game." Suggested Lee, "We never finish any game we start."

"That's because it's a stupid-fucking game that takes up too much time and I have to do math to win." Kisame growled, Samehada backing its master with a shriek of agreement.

"I would make fun of you….but I'm to happy to start an argument right now." said the ever-stoic Anna as she bit down on her bacon before dabbing the sides of her mouth with a napkin.

"Yeah, no time for arguing today, guys. Today, I don't want any yelling or fights. Just relaxation and making Kuroka feel good about herself." the blonde Bael said as he leaned back into his seat, "Enjoying yourself, Kuroka?"

"MMMPh~!" was all Kuroka could manage to reply as she was stuffing her face with food.

"Hehe….I'll take that as a yes…"he grinned.

Halfway through their feast, Hao decided to start up conversation on a more serious topic, "Naruto-sama, if you don't mind me asking, but shouldn't we be preparing for our fight against Honest Bael and his peerage?" he asked, saying the same thing most of the others was thinking, "I know that today is Kuroka's birthday, but I feel like winning this fight is important as well. We're entering this game with limited knowledge on our foe, so we should be developing battle strategies for anything they throw at us."

"Not to mention that your crazy fiancée is gonna be coming at us with a vengeance." stated Lee, "I agree that celebrating Kuroka-sama's birth is important, but tomorrow is a decisive moment of our futures! Yours especially! I'd hate to see you with that terrible woman for the rest of your life because we underestimated them!"

"I understand where you two are coming from, but we've done all we can." began the blonde, "Hao is right: we have limited info about Honest and his peerage members. We've studied each of their past Rating Games, but Esdeath and that huge-giant dude are the only two that does anything in if their matches. The abilities of the remaining members of Honest's peerage are still unknown, so there's nothing we can do. There's no reason stressing about something we'll never figure out. Plus, I believe that taking care of our bodies and relaxation is a good way to prepare before such a huge event. We've done all we can to prepare, so for now, let's just enjoy for the next twenty-four hours, okay?"

"Don't gotta tell me twice when you've got food like this distracting me!" yelled Kisame.

The older Asakura twin released a stress-filled sigh, finding reason within Naruto's explanation. "If you say so, Master. I just wanted to make sure."

"Don't worry about it, Hao. If you're scared, I'll protect you, nya!" grinned Kuroka.

"I need not any protection." the fire-specialist said while rolling his eyes, "I can defend myself. Maybe I am just worrying too much. This match will probably be like the others, albeit with a little more difficulty."

"Now that Harusame's repaired, I'm looking forward to clashing with Honest's [Knight]s." said Yoh, referring to his newly refined sword that was destroy in their Rating Game against Tannin, "I usually don't care much for fights, but I've got a rare battle-itch in me for once in my life."

"Ohohoh! I bet you'll chop some heads off then!" Kisame said with flashing his shark-like teeth, "You going on a rampage is something I'd pay money to see!"

"Talking about money, that reminds me…" a magic circle hovered over Naruto's hand as he summoned a moderately-sized box with a decorative bow, piquing everyone's interest, "I've got your present, Kuroka!"

"Present, nya?" she said with a cute head tilt, "What is it?"

"Open it and find out!" the blonde [King] said with excitement as he set the gift in front of the birthday girl.

Everyone looked on at interest, wanting to know what Naruto bought for his [Queen]. As for the Nekoshou herself, her heart beat with anticipation as she pulled the delicate red bow on her gift. Undoing the cat-print wrapping (which she appreciated) she opened the box and pulled away the paper wrapping hiding her gift. "Oh….its….." Kuroka's eyes glistened as tears started to form in her eyes, thoroughly shocked at Naruto's gift.

"What? What is it!?" Kisame shouted as he jumped out of his seat to get a glimpse at Kuroka's gift. Yoh and Lee did the same, while Hao, Orochimaru, and Anna looked on with hidden interest.

"A kimono…" uttered Kuroka as she felt the sleek-material of what seemed to be very expensive gift. The kimono was a dark red with a simple design of orange flames dancing across the base. The sash was all black as it was wrapped around the middle, following a new set of purple obi attached to the ends of the long sash.

Kuroka stared at her new kimono in awe, taking in every detail of the delicate fabric. "This…is amazing…" she whispered.

"Hehe…I'm glad you like it. It took me forever to find something the day I went out to buy you a gift." The blonde haired Bael said with a head scratch, "The store workers helped me pick it out…but I think they suggested one of the most expensive kimonos they had in stock…tch..taking advantage of me not knowing how to buy expensive stuff like thi-"

Kuroka jumped at Naruto and wrapped her arms around his waist. If it wasn't for Naruto's reflexes, the duo would have tumbled to the ground, but he caught her just in time and readjusted his footing. "Woah, Kuroka!" he cried out, but the Bael took notice to the wet stream of tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked up to him with admiration.

"Thank you…" she said with a sniff.

"Here they go with the lovey-dovey shit…" Kisame said, rolling his eyes at the scene of Naruto and Kuroka hugging each other, "We didn't get to have a birthday breakfast for my birthday…"

"Your birthday hasn't come yet, Kisame." replied Orochimaru

"Oh yea? How would you know?"

"I don't."

After the [King] and [Queen] had their moment, Kuroka took the time to open the presents the others had gotten for her. Because they knew that she liked games, Yoh and Anna got the younger girl a Nintendo Switch, in which Kuroka instantly fawned over. Next, Lee had given her a large tub of protein powder for her to mix with her favorite drink: milk. Not wanting to be mean, Kuroka accepted the gift, hiding a disdain for powdery-nutrient. Finally, to the shock of everyone, Kisame had a gift prepared for the Nekoshou. That shock turned into confusion when she opened her gift and found a water squitter in the box, in which Kisame quickly filled with water and started spraying the newly 20-year old with- labeling the new tool 'pussy control'.

After finishing their breakfast and snatching Kisame's new Kuroka-torture tool, the group was interrupted by the sound of the door bell ringing. "Oh? They're here already!" Naruto clapped as he headed to the door.

"Who are you expecting, Naruto-sama?" asked Orochimaru, vocalizing everyone's curiosity.

"Well, since tomorrow's such a big day and today is Kuroka's birthday, I wanted to make sure that we're in tip top shape in the most pleasurable and satisfying way possible." The blonde replied, moving closer to the front door.

With his mind running rampant with ideas, Kisame instantly perked up, "Is it big booty bitches?"

"No." replied the Bael, totally unaffected by Kisame's vulgar suggestion as he opened the door, revealing a group of Devils dressed in teal-colored uniforms, "I hired a massage company to come deal with our aches and pains."

"Oh…well my dick is aching, so this still works." grinned the shark-man, his eyes gleaming with bad intentions.

"That's not what Naruto-sama means, Kisame…and you're scaring the masseuses." said Hao, referring to the female massagers that were backing away from the door entrance.

"We get massages for my birthday, nya? Yah!" screamed the birthday girl in delight, "Can we do it on the beach?"

"…that actually sounds nice…" stated the stoic Shaman of the group, supporting Kuroka's idea.

"Yes! Getting a massage while listening to the relaxing waves sounds like a great experience!" said Lee.

"You all wouldn't have a problem with that?" Naruto asked the group.

"No, Naruto-sama." replied a brunette woman that was with the group, "We'll set up on the beach now. Just give us ten minutes to prepare. We have some towels for you all to cover your privacy and we'll meet you outside."

"Great. Thanks." said Naruto, taking some of the towels given to him while Orochimaru collected the remainder, "All guys. Let's make today is filled with relaxation. We deserve it. Happy birthday again, Kuroka."

Kuroka grinned as she took a towel for herself, "Thanks, nya! You really outdid yourself this year!"

"So, wait…you're saying that they can't massage my dick?" Kisame asked Orochimaru as he reached for a towel.

"No, Kisame. They're not here for that." sighed the pale-skinned man, annoyed with Kisame's fixation with sex, "They'll probably work on your shoulders, legs, thighs and back-not your erogenous area."

"Tch…well that's stupid." he grumbled as he headed upstairs to his room to change.

"I'm actually looking forward to this." stated Hao with a small, hardly noticeable smile, "I need some kinks I've got loosened up anyway. This couldn't have come at a better time."

"Yup, yup, yup! I think of everything!" grinned Naruto, following his [Knight]'s lead and heading up the stairs to change, "Today's is gonna be a good day…"

 **30 minutes later…**

"Aaahhh…" moaned Kuroka in satisfaction at the set of hands rubbing her back, "This is sssoooooooooooooooo good~…."

Team Pickle Rick were all outside, laying on top of their own massage tables with their backs exposed and towels covering their bottoms. They were twenty minutes into their massage session and were thoroughly enjoying every moment. ' _This is be best birthday ever…happy twentieth, Kuroka…'_ she thought to herself as she succumbed to the working hands of the masseuse.

Laying to her right was Naruto, who also found his current predicament quite pleasing. He had switched sides, now laying on his back so that the two massagers could work on his front. "We should do this more often-erg….whew…" he blew out a long breath of air as a wave of contentment overcame him, "Yup…yup, yup…we're doing this again sometime soon."

"We should do this again as a celebration for defeating Honest Bael and his peerage, which would free you from your forced engagement with that monster of a woman." said Orochimaru, laying on his stomach as a masseur tended to his back.

Anna, Yoh and Hao were next to Orochimaru, with Anna fully under the powers of the duo working on her back and legs, while Yoh tuned out the world with his headphones. Out of the three, only Hao was paying attention to the conversation. "I just want this mess to be over with." he uttered, "We've gone through too much stress ever since coming to the Underworld….just one problem after the next…"

"Eh, it's for a good cause though. You'll see, Hao." replied the blonde Bael, "We've got…ergh…damn that feels good….we've got just a bit longer until everything works out."

"Tch…" Hao blew a strand of hair out of his face in annoyance to his master's words, "You sound like Yoh…"

"Hehe! Yoh tends to look at the positive side of things." the blonde said with a small grin, "We need some of that positivity right about now…but I've got a feeling that everything will work out in the end."

Naruto's focus moved to Kisame, who was foaming from the mouth as he had three masseuses tending to his body. "How we feelin' over there, Kisame?" he asked.

"GR..grreehhh…am..agha…amazing…"he managed to get out as he was totally under the spell of the professional hands of the masseuses, who couldn't hold back their giggles to the shark Demon's sensitivity. Next to him, Samehada had his own massage table with two masseurs rubbing the demonic sword through its bandages. Samehada's mouth was exposed, hanging its unnaturally massive tongue out of its mouth like a dog as it received its massage with happiness.

"Hehehe! I bet Kisame needed this more than anybody." laughed Naruto, "Oh!...damn..that felt good…" the blonde uttered as he felt one of his bones pop.

The group continued to discuss about meaningless things for some time undisturbed until their next-door neighbor, Misla Bael, walked over to the group with interest. "What's going on here?" she asked with a kind-hearted smile.

"It's my birthday, nya." answered Kuroka with a meow, "We're getting massages. Do yo-erg….you have a gift?" she asked, stuttering abet from her massage.

"Oh…forgive me, Kuroka," the beautiful brunette said with a frown, "but I didn't know that today was your birthday. I'll be sure to get you something when I'm in town today."

"Do you want to get a massage, Misla?" asked Naruto, "I can cover the cost."

The older Devil shook her head in denial, "While I do appreciate the opportunity, I have some business today that I need to handle. I'll probably be out for the rest of the day. I just stepped out to see what was going on when I saw everyone through my kitchen window." Glancing at Kisame, whose foam pool continued to grow, the former-Vapula couldn't help but laugh lightheartedly, "It seems like you all are enjoying yourselves."

"It is quite pleasing." Orochimaru said, "When will you be back, Misla-san? Naruto-sama did plan a movie night that you can attend if you'd like."

Misla hummed in thought, liking the sound of being with whom she considered to be her 'fun-neighbors'. "That actually sounds nice. While I may be back later in the night, I'll be sure to come over if you all are still up." she answered, "I hope you all have a great rest of your day, and happy birthday, Kuroka." she finished with a bow before leaving the peerage to themselves.

"She's so nice, nya~." mumbled the birthday girl, "-Can't believe we used to hate her."

"Eh, I still kinda do, but not as much." smirked Naruto, "Maybe she could make us some of that pie we smell from her house tonight? That'd instantly purge any hatred I have for her, hehehe!"

"Huh?" all eyes moved to Yoh, who momentarily took his headphones off, "Did you say something?"

"No. Shut up." Anna said with a glare, slightly annoyed that her fiancée screamed in her ear.

"Sure." the Asakura said and went back to listening to his music.

"Anna's such a meanie, nya." said Kuroka, "Are you mad that there are females massaging Yoh's body? Jealous much?"

"I understand that today's your birthday, but I will still kill you if you continue to talk." Threatened the Shaman with a cold-glare before turning the other way.

"Seems like messing with Anna isn't a good idea, Kuroka. Leave her alone for now." said the only [Pawn] of the group, "Just enjoy your birthday gift for now. I know I am."

"Oh-alright, nya~!" Kuroka said with a roll of her eyes, "I was just playing-Omph!...ohhohohooho….that's the spot…." She said sleepily as she fell under the spell of her amazing massage.

"Hehe…yeah..…" hummed the Naruto as he stared up at the dark red sky of the Underworld with a grin.

"Today's a good day."

 **Timeskip – Evening**

After finishing up their massages, Team Pickle Rick went back into the house to sleep for a couple of hours-unable to move properly since their entire bodies felt like jelly. After a few hours of rejuvenation, they continued with the events for the day, starting with a game of Twister that Kisame was heavily against and Orochimaru was all for. Of course, the slippery snake of a man easily won, but he promised he didn't use his magic to make it easier for him to win.

Next, Kuroka wanted to test out the Nintendo Switch Anna and Yoh gifted her, so the group gathered around in the living room playing various games that Naruto didn't understand. Even though he had been out of his seal for some time, he still didn't quite understand all the new things that were invented during his absence. However, he got the hang of it and enjoyed a few rounds of Mario Cart.

It was now late in the night, and after having a group dinner, Team Pickle Rick was back in the living room for a movie night. Of course, since they were all fans of the movie series, the group decided on watching all the _Purge_ movies because they were funny.

"How many bags of popcorn should I pop?!" shouted Lee from the kitchen, digging through the box of popcorn and grabbing a handful.

"Get about three of em', Rook!" Kisame shouted back from his recliner in the living room, "I been wanting to re-watch this shit! Humans are some dumb fuckers when there's a killer in a movie, haha!"

"I fine nothing funny about this movie-only pathetic." hissed Orochimaru, uninterested at their movie choice, "I can't believe I used to be a human…tch…such incompetence…"

"Being a human can't be all that bad." said Yoh, not even looking up as he was scrolling through his phone, "You live, and you die. Simple life. I don't even know when I'm gonna die."

"That's true! Ewwww, I might be wrinkly for a long time!" cried out Kuroka.

"Your Senjutsu will keep you more youthful than Devils using their magic to keep our youthful appearance, Kuroka." replied Anna after taking a sip of her soda, "You're lucky."

"I don't really mind being old. It actually sounds fun!" grinned Naruto with a head scratch, "Getting on people's nerves all the time sounds like a great hobby before getting in the grave."

"You all are weird." Said Hao, who was sitting in one of the couches with his arms crossed under his poncho, "Your talking about death as if it's the best thing ever. I, for one, wish to live out every moment of my life as memorable as possible."

"Yeah, but you think reading books is fun, so fuck you and your feelings." crackled Kisame.

Hao was going to retort, but the sound of the door bell ringing cut him off. All eyes moved to the door with everyone wondering who it could be.

"Maybe its Misla?" shrugged Yoh, "She did say she would come over later."

"I'll get it." Naruto jumped over the couch before Orochimaru even had the chance of sitting up, "You guys stay comfortable."

Opening the door, Naruto was expecting to be face to face with one Misla Bael, however, the person standing in front of his was the last person he would have thought would be there.

"R-Run?" stuttered Naruto, abet in shock at the sight of seeing one of Honest Bael's peerage members at his door, "What…" stepping outside and closing the door behind him, he continued, "…what are you doing here? If my peerage members see you here, they're gonna flip."

"I know, and I'm sorry for coming unannounced." started the handsome blonde, "I just wanted to see you before tomorrow..."

"Oh…" Naruto said while scratching his head awkwardly, "You're here to talk about that deal we made."

"Y-yes….well…somewhat…" he said, "I just came here to thank you for listening to me. I know that tomorrow may be my last day alive…I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you for listening to me that day and caring out your promise."

"Hehe, yup, yup yup! It's not a problem!" laughed the Bael, "I made a promise and I plan to keep it! Even if it's a little weird."

Run nodded, however, Naruto could see the hesitation in his movements and the feeling of guilt emitting from the blonde. "Are you alright?" he questioned, resting a hand of support on Run's shoulder, "I know tomorrow is gonna be tough…even I don't know what the hell's gonna happen…but don't let it get to you."

By his hand being on his shoulder, Naruto could feel the small trembles as Run gritted his teeth. Run's face grew a small red tint as tears formed at the base of his eyes. He balled his left fist in order to suppress…whatever he was feeling, but it was clearly not working as the blonde slowly broke apart in front of the confused Bael.

"I'm…..I-I'm sorry…..Naruto-sama…" Run covered the hand on his shoulder with his own as he continued to look down at the wooden deck, "I…Even if we do have….th-this understanding….between us…."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he felt a build up of magic within Run. His danger sense rang off in his head as he tried to pull his hand away from Run, but the platinum-blonde had a firm grip on it. "Run. What are you doing?" the blonde asked dangerously, his eyes flashing red in response to his growing anger.

At a haunting leisurely pace, Run shifted his head upwards, his red, puffy eyes now zooned onto Naruto's mixture of red and blue. He tried to form words as his mouth moved, but nothing was coming out, as if what he was about to say was physically hurting him. He gulped, feeling the pressure of the atmosphere on his shoulders, but pushed forward anyway. "I'm sorry…Naruto-sama…."

A green aura emitted from Run. Quicker than Naruto could react, a red magic seal appeared beneath both himself and Run and his body froze. _'What is this?'_ he thought to himself as he felt a magical presences within himself-one that wasn't his own.

Glancing away from the seal and back at Run, he tried to shout at him, but his mouth wasn't reacting to his mental commands to move. Run continued to stare at Naruto with guilt-ridden eyes, knowing what he was about to do was wrong, but…"

"…but my loyalty to my peerage comes first…" he whispered as a green light emitted from both Naruto and Run.

" _ **Nari…Narfi…Curse Activation…"**_

Naruto's entire perspective became blurry and distorted as the same foreign energy within him forcefully ejected itself out of his body from his stomach. Drowsiness greeted him as he lost his footing and fell to the ground. The side of his head hit the hard wood without any protection, and the last sight he saw before darkness greeted him.

 **Same time**

"Yosh! I have the popcorn!" shouted Lee as he entered the living room with multiple bowls of popcorn in his arms, "I am ready to enjoy watching movies with everyone!"

"I would too, but we're still waiting on Naruto-sama." Said Yoh, leaning back to glance at the front door, "He's been out there for some time…."

"He has…" muttered Orochimaru with suspicion, "I don't like this."

Suddenly, a foreign magic presence made itself present near where Naruto was, putting everyone on edge. All of Naruto's peerage members jumped out of their seats, preparing to run outside to find out what was going on, but were suddenly paralyzed as a magic presence within them interfered with their mobility.

' _What is this!?'_ thought a frantic Orochimaru as he tried, and failed, to take control of his body, _'Are we under attack?'_

Looking around the room, the snake man saw that everyone was in a similar state: frozen against their will. _'This has to deal with that foreign magic outside…and in me…'_ he thought as he could feel said magic fluctuate violently within his body, _'But this magic…it feels weird…like it is isn't Devil magic…'_

He couldn't think any further as his world turned black once the foreign magic within him expelled outside of his body. His body, along with the other members of Team Pickle Rick, dropped to the floor.

…

…

…

…

 **Outside**

Naruto's eyes burst open as he gasped for breath.

"Run!" he screamed as he jumped to his feet and summoned his Power of Destruction, wanting to eradicate Run from existence. However, the platinum blonde couldn't be found anywhere.

"What in the hell is going on here?" the blonde growled as he examined his surroundings. Nothing about the front porch seemed different, nor did the front yard. The front door was still closed, like he remembered.

His eyes then moved to the sky, which was blocked off by a transparent, green barrier. The barrier itself encompassed a massive amount of land, probably a few miles worth based on a rough estimation. The beach, a small portion of the river, and nearby forest were under the giant barrier that reached to the sky, trapping Naruto and everything in it.

' _But for what reason though?'_ he thought to himself as his mind tired to find a reasoning for the barrier, _'The magic the barrier is made from….it isn't the same as Run's…it's more like the magic that I felt inside of my body…'_ he examined.

"None of this makes sense. Why make a barrier? And who did it?" he questioned to himself. However, he didn't dwell upon it any more as panic erupted within him as he thought back to his peerage members.

Breaking through the front door, the blonde Bael ran into the living room where he last left his peerage, hoping that they were alright. "EVERYONE!" he shouted as he slid into the room.

Instead of his worst nightmare of seeing everyone dead and blood everywhere, the Bael was greeted to the sight of everyone in his peerage sitting on the various couches as they watched the movie Naruto picked out together. Everyone seemed to be content. Even Anna and Orochimaru had smiles on their faces. It was if they hadn't even noticed that he was gone.

The eyes of his peerage members all focused on the frantic Bael-first, confusion marking their faces, but then, to the surprise of Naruto, they all began to glare at him…as if he was an enemy.

The energy in the room shifted from lighthearted to unsettling as the glaring peerage members began to release their **KI** , saturating the area with a heavy presence of death. Their death glares really put the Bael off, not understanding their reaction to him.

Naruto's mind went into overdrive as he analyzed the room, taking notice to the eaten popcorn, everyone's laid back postures, and the movie that was playing. _'A lot of the popcorn has been eaten, and even though I'm not all too familiar with this movie, it seems as if its been playing for a while already….did they start without me?...something's not right….'_

Keeping up a neutral façade in order to find answers for his internal questions-his analytic, detective side taking priority. "H-hey, everyone…" he stuttered with an awkward grin, "Why are you all looking at me like that?...is there something on my face?"

"Why did you revive me?"

The person that spoke up first was Lee. The youngest member of the peerage had a solid frown planted on his face-uncharacteristic of the usual youthful [Rook].

The question itself almost shattered through Naruto's façade, but he kept up face and adopted a look of confusion. "W-what? Lee, what type of question is that?" _'Alright, something is absolutely wrong, and I need to find out.'_

"It's true, Lee." Hao was next to speak, "What 'he' told us was the truth. All that man wanted from you was your strength. He took advantage of your ultimate moment of weakness and revived you. It's just that simple."

"Woah-" the situation at hand had developed to something Naruto hadn't suspected, "What in the hell-where is this coming from? That's far from the reason why I revived Lee." Naruto all but shouted, "And who is this 'he' person you're talking about?!"

"This faker's rage is only proof of his lies." Naruto's eyes shifted to the speaking Orochimaru, sitting on the far-right side of the room, "He claims that he cares for us, but it is only lies used to manipulate us into doing what he wants. That shall stop today."

Long gone was Naruto's façade as he sensed the tension double in a matter of seconds. "Alright, what is going on here?" he all but ordered, "Everyone single one of you know that I consider you all my world. Who in the hell voiced these lies to you, and why in the hell would you even believe them!?" he yelled, his growing anger starting to show.

"Lies? Why lie when it was right in front of us all this time!" shouted Yoh as he stood from his seat, Anna following his lead, "You…You were this close to killing my brother…" he said through gritted teeth, bring up the time when Naruto fought Hao a few days after his revival, "I saw the way you looked at him!"

"Yoh…" Naruto muttered, wanting to console his [Knight].

"SHUT UP!" the younger Asakura shouted as he slammed his favorite headphones to the ground, silencing Naruto, "You were gonna kill him! I saw it in your eyes! If it wasn't for him…if he hadn't stopped you, my brother's body wouldn't even exist because you would have destroyed him with that cursed power of yours!"

Naruto's physique faltered for a moment as it felt like a needle had pierced his heart. He had never seen Yoh this emotional before, but this wasn't the situation where Naruto wanted Yoh to express himself. _'What is…..what is going on….'_

It was Kisame who spoke next, "This bitch has been an itch in my ass since I first saw him!" he growled, gripping Samehada's handle, "I still dream of cutting you to ribbons and feeding your flesh to Samehada…draining you dry of your magic until your nothing but a raisin! I should've finished you off back in the war, but now…" the shark Demon laughed menacingly as he unstrapped his partner from his back, "…I may just finish what we started."

"I want first." said the ever-stoic Anna, but instead of her usual blank face, an evil grin as a purple aura phased to life around her palms, "All this hatred and resentment I have in my heart….I want to release it all…and destroy something that has had me chained long enough…"

"Chained? What are you all talking about!?" the blonde said as his body trembled, not having words to describe how he was feeling, "I've never used you! Any of you! You're my family! My go-….I can't…I-I've never wished bad or ill about any of you! We're going to succeed together! To-tomorrow, we'll be one step closer to taking control of the Underworld! I'll be Great King and the-

"You think that we'll let that happen?" questioned Orochimaru, cutting off the distressed Bael with a dark chuckle, "This plan of yours to become Great King? It was doomed to fail the moment you thought about it. Plus, what could somebody like you, who was thrown away like trash by his own clan, hold arguably the highest position in the Underworld? You are unfit. Pathetic. Unintelligent. Psychotic. Uncontrollable. Useless." he stated, battering Naruto with an onslaught of assaults, "The Underworld wouldn't survive with you as Great King. The Underworld would be a better place WITHOUT you in it."

The pain in Naruto's heart only amplified as Orochimaru's speech hit him like a truck. His mind tried to find a solution as to why his peerage was acting so strange, but his emotions was interfering with his decision-making process. He couldn't believe what was happening but finding the source of his peerage members' change of heart was long gone from the blonde's priorities as he continued at his attempts in defending himself.

"You….you don't mean that…" whispered Naruto, pain evident in his voice, "You don't mean that…none of you do…i-its…something's wrong, but I can fix it! Please, just listen to me!"

"We're through listening to you." stated the older Asakura twin, "You've used us enough for this idiotic plan of yours. Hundreds of years of planning just to turn on the people that supported you the most. Today, we'll be getting our freedom back by ending you."

"Shut up! Stop talking like that, Hao!" Naruto screamed, getting more desperate with every moment, "I don't know what's gotten into you all…b-but it needs to stop now! This shit isn't funny anymore! It never was!"

However, it was like his pleas fell of deaf ears as his family continued to emit their **KI** , causing the blonde Bael's knees to weaken. Even with his peerage ripping out his heart, he remained strong as he turned to his last resort.

"Kuroka." He said to the closest member to him. The cat girl was seated on the couch in front of him, shooting the blonde a heavy glare. It reminded him of the time when she left him alone for Ginta. "Everything they're saying…tell them that they're crazy. You know me…please, just tell them that they're wrong!"

Just by how the newly 20-year old was looking at him, Naruto's hope was declining rapidly. Following by what felt like Kuroka gathering her magic, he felt as if he needed to prepare for a fight. _'But I can't fight her…I can't bring myself to fight any of them!'_

After a few moments of tense silence, Kuroka spoke, "I can't believe…..that I used to love you."

"…wh-wha….wait…Kuroka…"

"All that time, you were grooming a little girl to become your slave." She started, "Your effort in 'saving me' from my hunters? It was all of ploy just to lure me to you. At first, it wasn't working because I had no intention of joining your peerage, but I succumbed to the pressure of being alone and feeling 'comforted' by you. You convinced me that I needed you and tricked me into loving you…and when I realized my 'feelings' for you, you know what you did?"

She stood up with a light, transparent veil of purple chakra emitting from her body. Her golden eyes dilated as her rage slowly increased with each passing second. "You brought that bitch, Gabriel, into the picture. Every moment I was with you, it was 'Gabriel this, Gabriel that,' not caring for how I felt! Whenever I tried to get closer to you-you'd ignore for that stupid Angel that could never give you an ounce of the love I had for you! And when she left, I would have thought you would have noticed me, but again! Again, and again and again, I tried to show my devotion to you, but it didn't matter!"

"I got you out of that fucking seal! I helped with your recovery process! I stopped my pursuit for my sister for you! And what do I get!? That bitch comes back and swoops all your attention away! Do you know how hurt I was!? Do you know what its like to watch as the person you love basically ignore you in favor of someone else!?"

Suddenly, Kuroka's aura grew wild, knocking over her couch as it fluctuated around her body. Naruto had to guard his face with his arms as the force Kuroka exuded created a strong gust in the large living room. "After waiting for an opportunity, you and that idiot finally called it off. And I was so happy! I thought that maybe you'd notice the person you need that was right in front of your face this entire time! But, once again! I was disappointed as the only thing you could do was cry about Gabriel and this new bitch that wants you! WELL SHE CAN HAVE YOU!"

With warning, Kuroka teleported in front of the Bael and grabbed his throat. Even for her shorter stature and small hands, her grip was deadly as all air flow in his throat was cut off. He tried to pry her off him, but her Senjutsu-enhanced strength overpowered his own. "Now, I realize that you weren't worth the wait. My love for you? It has transformed for an undeniable, raging hatred for you. I want to watch when everyone destroys and laugh while doing it. I don't need you anymore. I'm free!"

"Ki...ku…kuro….oka…." the blonde managed to get out as he continued to claw at the Nekoshou's small hand.

Kuroka had enough with the blonde, and with a loud 'Nya!', she turned around and threw Naruto into the TV plastered on the wall, causing glass to fly everywhere and the TV to drop to the floor along with Naruto's body. He entered a fierce coughing fit, gripping at his throat as he tried to fill his lungs with air. Pieces of the sharp glass pierced his skin once he impacted against the TV, causing an immense pain to wash through him.

Kuroka, along with the others, stared at Naruto with disgust in their eyes. The cat girl's aura quelled as she took in the sight of the pain-ridden Naruto with a dark glee. "This is just the start, 'Naru-kun'…" she mocked, "I can't wait to kill you so that I can finally be with the man I deserve."

It was at that moment when another magical presence made itself known. The presence itself stood out so much to Naruto because it felt so similar. Even though his coughing fit and the raging pain in his back, his danger senses wouldn't leave him alone, practically yelling at him to look up.

And so, he did, tilting his head upwards at a slow pace, not wanting to move to quickly to aggravate his back injuries even more. Locking onto the new magic signal, he couldn't hold back the shock present on his face as a set of identical blue eyes stared back at him.

Whisker marks. Blonde, spikey hair. Fox-like grin. Orange shirt with a purple Bael Clan insignia printed on the front. Black gym shorts. Orange house shoes.

An absolute, perfect clone of Naruto Bael….looking down on him with the sickest grin…

' _It's me…'_ the real Naruto thought in astonishment as he watched the fake blonde walk down the steps. Once he was in the living room, Kuroka jumped in his arms and snuggled into his chest-a heavy blush on her cheeks. The new Naruto didn't mind Kuroka and continued to stare down at the real Naruto with a grin even Lucifer would be proud of.

He was so focused on the appearance of his shadow that he didn't even notice Anna stomp in front of him until the last second. She planted her right foot down into his stomach, pushing his back and, more importantly, the glass stuck in him into the floor.

"AAAHHH! Ergh-aaahAAHAHH!" he screeched as the glass pierced deeper into his back. He could feel the blood pool beneath him grow little by little as the precious liquid escaped his body. His breathing became ragged and a noticeable headache began to eat away at his mental. The shock and pain he was experiencing was so great, he didn't even feel the foreign magic he felt earlier appear on his forehead. Slowly, a green 'L' glowed from his forehead as whatever caused his current predicament was continuing to take control.

"Pick him up." Anna ordered as her two Shikigami, Zenki and Goki, fizzled to life at Naruto's sides. The two grabbed an arm of Naruto's and forcefully pulled him to his feet.

"Pathetic." spat Orochimaru, "This is who we called master? I'm disgusted at the fact that I let you revive me."

"He's so small right now…so weak…" said Hao, "Can he even be considered an Ultimate-Class Devil? From where I'm standing, he's weaker than a Low-Class Devil."

"Let's test it….come here, Lee." ordered Lee as she sent a mental command to her Shikigami to release Naruto's arms.

The Green Beast stood in front of the weakened and emotionally battered Bael, waiting for Anna's order. "Let's see if you really are this 'all-powerful' Devil." said the Shaman as she pointed at Lee, "Punch him."

Naruto coughed, still recovering from Kuroka's death grip from his throat, "N-no…stop this…" he muttered as his heart continued to break.

"So unyouthful. You're supposed to be the Great King, but you can't hit one of your subjects?" mocked Lee, "Hit me if you as powerful as you say you are!"

"No." Naruto stated more adamantly this time, "I'm not going to hit you, Lee. Wake up. This isn't yo-

He was cut off mid-sentence as a devastating punch to the stomach forced Naruto over. Lee's bandaged- fist was planted deep into his stomach, causing spit to fly out of the Bael's mouth before entering another coughing again.

"Will you show your spirit now and fight!?" shouted the aggressive Lee.

Naruto was inhaling deep breaths of air, gasping as now his front and back was filled with pain. However, it was nothing to the continuation of his heart breaking into pieces as his peerage laughed at him. "Stop thi…this….please…this isn't the pe-people..who I call family….my precious people…"

Lee took notice to the tears welling up in the real Naruto's eyes, "Are you crying? Are you that weak? I said hit me!"

"..n-no….."

A right hook to the face made the blonde see stars for a moment. He didn't fall to floor as Zenki and Goki held him up. "Hit me!"

"….no."

A left hook this time, but he was still held up by Anna's servants.

"Do it."

"No."

"I said do it!"

"….n…no"

"Hit me, Naruto Bael!"

"* cough*..n…n-no"

"Why won't you do it!? Retaliate!"

"…n-*cough cough*….no.."

Each time he refused, he was punished by Lee's fist. Back and forth, his body jerked with each strike, but he wouldn't allow himself to steep so low to strike his youngest peerage member. Blood started to leak from his mouth and nose as the [Rook]'s assault continued without stop. The others watched looked on with glee as the pain brought upon Naruto filled them with a twisted joy.

A pint of blood from Naruto's mouth splattered on the ground as another strike sent him tumbling to the ground-Zenki and Goki decided not to save him as he faceplanted with the hardwood.

"Tch…what a waste." Kisame said as he looked down at the beaten blonde, "The 'Great Naruto-sama'…..you're nothing more than sum shit….shit that has no reason living."

The Shark Demon would have continued if the fake Naruto hadn't silenced him by holding up his hand. With Kuroka latched around his waist, the fake Naruto walked over to the downed blonde and grabbed him by his locks.

The real Naruto grunted in pain as his body was dragged from the living room to the hallway, leaving a blood trail behind him. Everyone followed the fake Naruto out towards the destroyed front door, where the fake Naruto stopped. Reaching down, he grabbed the hem of Naruto's shirt and pulled his face towards its own.

Naruto shivered as he looked into the fake's identical eyes, seeing the corruption within them. ' _This…..can't be me…..'_ he thought as he saw the massive, cold darkness within the copy's eyes. His body shivered as fear crept throughout his body, generally scared as to what the fake him had planned.

A memory of what of his date with Gabriel appeared in his mind. It was the night the two made it official. _"I sense a lot of darkness within you as well,'_ Gabriel's heavenly voice rang out in his head, _'It's something that you try to hide from everyone but it's blatantly obvious to me…"_

Giving it one last shot, he looked towards his peerage members, "…Please….th-this is me…he's…he's fake…..listen to me….i-*cough! Cough*…I…I love each one of you so much…" he muttered as his tears trailed down his whiskered cheeks, "Please… stop this…"

" _Right here…in the center of your heart…it's like a cold…cold dark hole…."_

" **Hehehe….."** laughed the fake Naruto. His voiced sounded so hallow to the Bael-nothing like how his actual voiced sounded, **"Guess what?"**

Bringing Naruto's face closer to the point that their foreheads were touching. Its cold breath landed on Naruto's bloody lips, causing the blonde to shiver uncomfortably.

Slowly…. quietly….the fake whispered, **"They don't need you anymore. They're mine now."**

Even though the real Naruto was severely injured on the outside, none of those injuries could compare to his heart breaking into a million pieces. It felt as if the organ had erupted in a volcano of pain and burned his insides. His mind went blank as he could hardly register what was reality anymore now that the only reason why he wanted to live life was ripped away from him and corrupted to the point where they hated him now.

" _I…when I kissed you in order to heal your injuries…I shivered at the coldness of that evil…it's not the evil tat every Devil is born with…it's something different…and far scarier…."_

His body slouched-no longer responsive as the mental overload was too much for the real Naruto. Without hesitation and a display of strength, the fake Naruto threw Naruto through the door frame and high into the air. **"Dear, if you would?"**

Understanding what her new master wanted, a magic seal appeared over Kuroka's outstretched palm as she released a burst of chakra at the falling blonde before exploding on contact with him. Fire erupted within the sky for some time, Naruto's body lost within the explosion until it fell out of the smoke cloud. Noticeable burns riddled his body as his smoking body fell from the air and down to the sand shores of the beach.

The fake Naruto turned to its peerage with robotic-like movements. The evil-grin it previously had was gone for a neutral stare. It snapped its fingers and uttered…

" _ **Nari…Narfi…Curse Activation…"**_

 **Timeskip**

… _ **.**_

… _ **..**_

… _ **.**_

… _ **.**_

"Erm….eerggh…..o-ouch…oowww!"

Yoh Asakura winced as he felt something sharp poke at his arm. Opening his eyes, he looked down to see that a piece of glass was poking at his skin.

"What the…" he muttered before yawning, "Where…am I?"

He sat up, realizing he was resting on one of the couches in the living room. "Oh…yea…movie night…" he said with a lazy head scratch, "…what….what did we watch agai-"

The younger Asakura twin's eyes went wide when he felt the lack of headphones on his head. "What the?" Noticing that his headphones was gone lead him to realizing the state of the living room next.

The bodies of every member of Team Pickle Rick, excluding one Naruto Bael, were either laid out on the couches or the disturbingly bloody floor. The TV Kisame was so proud of had fallen to the ground, shattered to a million tiny pieces that littered the floor. One of the couches was flipped over for some odd reason, and a heavy feeling of guilt washed through Yoh's body as, suddenly, a wave of memories hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Hey….hey! Hey! GET UP!" he shouted frantically, "GET UP NOW!"

The Asakura's loud screeching scared Kuroka out her sleep as she jumped from the floor and to the ceiling, before landing on her feet. "What!?" she screamed back.

Orochimaru and Hao were next to awaken from their slumber with a gruesome headache. "Ugh…what happened…" muttered Hao.

"And why is the living room…oh shit…" Orochimaru's snake eyes widened as the memories of their confrontation with Naruto replayed in his head, "This isn't good."

"Anna! Anna! Wake up!" Yoh yelled, shaking his wife's body until she woke up. While Yoh did get punched in the face for waking her up in such a manner, at least the female Shaman was awake.

"This isn't good…" Anna said as she regained her memories as well, "Where is Naruto-sama? And what in the hell was in control of us?"

"I have a hunch." Said Orochimaru as a snake slithered out of his long sleeve and bit the snoring Kisame's arm, the pain forcing him out of his sleep as he shouted curses at the snake man, "but we need to regroup first and find Naruto-sama."

"What…..what did I do?" said the newly awakened Lee, staring at his blood fist in shame and fear, "It was like….like I couldn't control myself. I-I…saw myself…but I couldn't stop myself from saying those mean things…" The young [Rook] couldn't hold back the floodgates of tears as he continued to beat himself up, "I hurt Naruto-sama…"

"It wasn't your fault, Lee. We were all acting unnaturally." said Anna in an effort to comfort the crying boy, "Blame it on whatever took control of us."

"No! It's my fault!" he cried out, slapping Anna's hand away, "I…I always hid my doubt…at the bottom of my heart…I always questioned myself if Naruto-sama waited for that accident to happen! I just never told anybody! I wondered….if he planned for me to become cripple...and Guy-sensei….oh…oh, what have I done…"

Not to far from him was Kuroka, who was clutching at her hair in distress. Tears were pouring out of her eyes as she replayed the memories of her tearing into Naruto. "I…I did that…" she whispered. Her body was shaking violently as her breath intake increased, "I…I said all of that to him. Everything…I broke his heart-his mind! His mind is still weak from the seal! Wha-what did I do!? Why did I do it!? Why? Why? Why!? WHY!? Why-why-why-why-"

"Kuroka! Relax!" yelled Hao, grabbing the cat girl's arms, "We need to focus in order to find Naruto-sama! What happened-happened! We need to go out and find Naruto-sama before he bleeds to death!"

"Get away from me!" she yelled as her body jerked, trying to force herself out of Hao's grip, "Get off me! I did it! I broke him! Did you see how he looked at me!? I killed him! You don't understand!"

' _Shit…'_ thought Orochimaru, _'They're going through a panic attack. We don't need this right now!'_ Turning to the oldest person in the room, the snake man judged Kisame's mental state based of his current appearance. Said man seemed to be in a state of shock, staring off into space as he tried to piece together what had happened. The grip he had on his recliner's arm rest was so strong that Kisame was crushing it, seemingly not caring that he was damaging his favorite chair.

"Kisame." Orochimaru calling out the Shark Demon's name pulled him out of his funk, "Are you alright?"

"…uh…y-yea…." He said, though it didn't sound like he believed himself, "I just….just needed to think for a second…we need to go find him…."

Orochimaru nodded in agreement, _'At least he's okay. Now for the other two…'_ Turning back to Lee, his world slowed down as he saw Lee grab for a sharp piece of broken glass and held it to his throat. As quick as he could move, Orochimaru shot a python at Lee and wrapped it around his body, effectively immobilizing any movement in his arms.

"Lee…." Orochimaru muttered dangerously. His snake eyes gleamed with magic as he exuded his **KI** at the green-clad boy, "Killing yourself isn't the answer."

"But! B-but I don't deserve to live!" he shouted through his tears, "I beat him! Pummeled him! All because of my distrust! I'm dirty! No longer fit to call Naruto-sama my master!"

"Lee, it wasn't your fault." Orochimaru said with a leveled voice, his golden eyes slowly putting Lee in a trance, "We were all taken advantage of. The thing that took control of us…I realize now that it was a Norse magical curse. We haven't run into any being apart of the Norse Faction other than Loki at the end of the Devil Exams. He cursed us. This is his doing."

"That…makes sense…" mumbled Hao as he rubbed his chin in thought, "Those final words that he said…that's when he did it."

" _A plague…a plague of those associated with Naruto Bael…_ " recited Anna, mimicking the final words of the Norse God, " _May your truths reveal themselves….resulting in your eternal suffering…"_

"Exactly." Replied Orochimaru, "He used the negative emotions in our hearts against us….for me, it was my doubt of Naruto-sama's plan of becoming Great King actually working. I never told anybody about my fears, but they are real. The only thing we can do now is accept it for what it is and move on."

"He used my hatred…and fear of myself…" muttered Anna, showing a bit of emotion as she hugged herself, "It's stills something I haven't gotten over yet…"

Yoh hugged Anna to his chest, resting his chin on her head, "My self-doubt and my hidden fear of Naruto-sama…..I could feel it taking over me….it's something I never want to experience again…"

"I-I….I guess Loki used my fear of Naruto-sama as well…." Stated Hao, looking down at the bloody ground in guilt, "When he defeated back then, I honestly thought I was going to die. Ever since then, I've been afraid him…"

"…..my primal instinct for battle…" whispered Kisame, running a hand through his hair in stress, "…shit….what the fuck is wrong with me….."

"See, Lee? We've all been manipulated." said Orochimaru, placing a comforting hand on the [Rook]'s shoulder, "Killing yourself isn't the answer. We need to go out and find Naruto-sama. Now. Alright?"

"Huff…..huff…huff…." Slowly, the jagged glass slipped out of Lee's hands, crashing to the ground, "Al…alright…." said the Green Beast. He rubbed his face with his sleeve to wipe away his tears, "Alright….I'm fine now…."

"Good." _'Now to deal with her.'_ He said as he turned to the crying Kuroka. She had curled up into a ball while muttering incoherent words to herself, clearly traumatized by the event. "Kuroka, we need to find Naruto-sama now. I know it's tough, but his health is a priority right now."

"No." she shook her head frantically, "He hates me. I-I hate myself. I can never see him again! What I said was unforgiveable…but it's what I've been hiding! He doesn't deserve trash like me! It's all my fault! It's all my fault…"

"Kuroka…" it was Kisame who bent down to Kuroka's level and placed a comforting hand on her head, "That idiot could never hate you. Don't let this take over you. We need to find him and say sorry. He needs our help."

The cat girl's cries slowly decreased into sniffles over time. She looked up to the blue-skinned Demon with tear-filled eyes, lost of all hope. "Are you sure? He…..he won't hate me?"

"He's too obsessed with us to hate us." answered Kisame, "That's why we need to go find him. He's injured. The blood on the floor is his own. We need to find and heal him."

That snapped the birthday girl out of her panic attack. The last she remembered was Naruto's battered body laying on the beach. They needed to act fast.

"O-okay." She said with a light nod, "He-he should be on the beach! I need to heal him!"

"Then let's go!" shouted Yoh.

The peerage ran out of the house and summoned their wings once they were outside. Based off their past memory, they went to the same spot where Naruto's body was supposed to be, but they were greeted to nothing but a small, blood-filled lump in the sand. Naruto had disappeared.

"Where is he!? We need to find him!" shouted Kuroka, feeling another panic attack arising.

"What the hell is going on…" mumbled Hao as he looked at the green-barrier blocking them from the outside world, "This is definitely Norse magic now that I'm looking at it. If this barrier is as strong as it looks, than Naruto-sama must still be somewhere within its parameters."

"I can't even sense his magical presence…" muttered Anna, visibly frustrated with the unfortunate turn of events, "It's like he's not even here."

"Hopefully, its just the barrier interfering with your sensing abilities…" replied the snake man with a twitch of annoyance, "We need to split up and find him. Once you locate him, alert everyone else."

With their orders, everyone took flight, taking certain sections within the mysterious barrier in the search for their master. Kisame had taken up the role of searching the waters and beach area, while Anna took it upon herself to check the peerage house and Misla's own home-just to make sure. The others spread out to search the forest area, not sparing any hiding spots in order to find their long-lost master.

10 minutes into their search, Hao, who was searching a large section of the forest area, had reached the end of the barrier on the northern side. Recalling his Devil wings, he landed on the ground to analyze the barrier. "This is absolutely confusing…" he muttered, "If Loki really did curse us, then why did it activate now? Could it had been that 'visitor' that came to our door? And if so, how in the world could they cast such a high-level Norse barrier?"

The older Asakura twin was brought out of his pondering when he heard his name called by a familiar voice. "Asakura-san! Asakura-san!" Peering the transparent barrier, he searched for the owner of said voice and found it when he saw Misla Bael trying to get his attention. "Misla?"

"Yes! Do you know what's going on?" she questioned as she approached the barrier, Hao doing the same, "I tried to teleport back home after I finished my business for the day but appeared outside of this meddling barrier." She said as he slammed her fist into it, effectively doing nothing to it, "Every attempt at breaking through it results in nothing."

"The situation at hand is still very confusing, and since we're on a man hunt right now I can't explain everything right now. May I ask how long you've been outside this barrier for?" he questioned.

"I'd say….around half an hour…"

' _Half an hour!? That isn't good at all…'_ he growled, knowing that the injuries Naruto had been unattended for at least 30 minutes, "Second question: have you seen Naruto-sama? We're looking for him."

"That's the thing…" she started worriedly, "I saw him not too long after I came here….he was floating in the sky…with a look-alike of him…they then flew down in the forest over in that area." she said, pointing at the forest.

"Thank you, Misla-san. I'm sure you have many questions, but for time's sake, please just wait for us to handle the situation." he ordered, receiving a nod from the former Vapula, "Also, don't go out for help. We don't need anybody knowing what's going on. Just wait on us."

After leaving Misla, Hao was running through the forest in pursuit of his blonde-haired leader. Creating a communication seal, he quickly informed his peerage members of the new information. "I just met up with Misla, who was outside the barrier on the northern side…she says she's been outside waiting for about 30 minutes and that she saw two Naruto-sama's in the air before flying back down in my general area."

With a flare of his magic, everyone immediately teleported to Hao's location and began their search.

It was long as Lee, swinging through the trees, spotted an odd shaped object down below. Jumping down to the ground to get a better look, his eyes widened in both shock when he saw Naruto standing in front of a dark purple sphere. Just the sight of his master brought tears to his eyes as he cried out, "Naruto-sama! You're okay!"

He was about to run up and begin begging for forgiveness for his actions but stopped halfway once he noticed something strange about the quiet 'Naruto-sama'. ' _Wait….'_ he thought, _'He's supposed to be injured…but he seems perfectly fine to me…his clothes aren't tattered…and he's uncharacteristically silent…'_

Taking a peak at the large object behind 'Naruto', he squinted his eyes when he noticed that he could see something trapped inside…or a certain someone.

Still injured from the beating Lee had gave him, was the real Naruto, trapped inside a dark purple cocoon of magic. The horror of the scene quickly made the young [Rook] see red, but he knew that losing his cool in this situation wouldn't solve anything.

"I've found Naruto-sama!" Lee said into the communication spell he casted, "He's trapped in some sort of…cocoon-and still injured! The fake Naruto-sama is here too!"

In a matter of seconds, the remaining members of Team Pickle Rick gathered where Lee and the two Naruto's were located. The two groups were at a standoff, with Team Pickle Rick washing the area with such a potent collection of **KI** , that any nearby wildlife ran from the deadly feeling invading the air.

"Release him now…." growled Kuroka, flashing her cat fangs at the fake Naruto.

"I don't care if you are a look alike of the idiot! I'll cut you to ribbons, you little shit!" yelled Kisame, slamming Samehada into the ground.

Behind Hao, the gigantic form of Spirit of Fire erupted out of flaming magic seal. It's figure towered over the trees and released a monstrous, ear-piercing screech-it's demonic green eyes dead set on the copy Naruto. Yoh withdrew Harusame while Anna summoned both Goki and Zenki, equipped with their battle axe and shield respectively. Orochimaru released a swarm of snakes, all threatening the fake Naruto with dangerous fangs drenched in venom.

However, the look-alike Naruto's devious smirk remained, not affected by any of their threats. He just stood there in silence, not even producing a magic circle to defend himself.

"He's not doing anything…" mumbled Yoh, "Is that supposed to happen? Usually, the enemy is talking about their master plan by now."

"This situation is different…" replied Yoh's older brother, "We're dealing with a fake Naruto-sama. Even if we do attack, I'm not sure if it will harm the real Naruto-sama in any w-"

" **He doesn't need you anymore."** The copy Naruto interrupted, putting the rest of Team Pickle Rick on edge, **"He's mine now."**

"Tch…that's how I know your just a fucking fake…" snarled Kisame, "The real idiot ain't gay!"

"This isn't the time for jokes, Kisame." said Orochimaru, "We need to find a way to break Naruto-sama out of that contraption and heal him."

" **He doesn't need you anymore. He's mine now."** repeated the copy.

"Shut up, nya!" shouted the furious Kuroka, "You release him now or else, you fucking moron!"

" **Hmmm-hehehe!"** the copy's chilling laugh caused some of them to shiver at its coldness, _**"Nari…Narfi…Curse Activation…"**_

The group tensed, waiting for some type of spell or illusion to target them. However, what they weren't expecting was for the fake Naruto's body to slowly dissipate into purple mist until it was completely gone, leaving the group alone with their trapped [King].

"Uhh….I guess he got the message?" said Yoh with a shrug.

"Never mind that." Orochimaru, followed by the others, quickly approached the sphere which Naruto was held in. Summoning a few snakes from his sleeves, he wrapped them around Naruto's body and gently pulled him free. "Kuroka. Anna."

The duo quickly went to work, healing the tortured blonde of his injuries. Kuroka had to hold back the tears she could feel forming to focus on her healing spell. "Oh, Naruto…what did we do to you…." she sniffed.

"He's alive…just unconscious…" mumbled Anna, hiding the regret and guilt she was feeling under a neutral façade, "…he still has the glass in his back that needs to be taken out before we do any healing there."

Kuroka nodded, "I can handle that, nya…" Using her mastery of Senjutsu, she coated her nails with her chakra, making them longer and thin like tweezers.

Rolling the unconscious blonde over, Kuroka sliced off his tattered shirt, revealing the blood mess that was his back. She cringed at the sight, knowing that it was her that caused the injury. An layer of her chakra blanketed his back, allowing her to sense how many pieces was stuck inside of his back and wear. "This may take some time, nya….but I can clear everything out soon."

"Good. Just take your time." replied Orochimaru, "We're out of the danger zone now."

Suddenly, the group's danger senses went off in their head as they felt a fluctuation of magic within the surrounding area. Looking up, they watched as the barrier morphed from a natural green to a menacing purple with no warning.

"…Ooookaayyyy?" stretched out Yoh, "Is something….about to happen?"

"The hell if I know…" grumbled Kisame as he threw Samehada on his shoulder, "This shit is weird as fuck. So the bitch idiot is just gonna disappear and not fight? What type of punk move is that?! I was ready to peel some flesh back!"

As if it were to spite the oversized [Knight], an weak earthquake shook the area, before calming as if nothing happened. The barrier illuminated purple light, shedding it down on everything below. Once the light hit the group, they all gasped as they fell to the ground. Their magic was sporadic within their bodies before eventually dying out.

Orochimaru gasped as he clutched at his heart, feeling a large portion of his magic disappear. "My magic…" he uttered, thoroughly shocked, "It's…. it's decreased massively…"

"Cut in half…." Yoh finished, "My magic reserves were just cut in half."

The Spirit of Fire's gigantic form was cut in half, now closer to the treeline than before. Hao himself was on one knee as he recovered from half of his magic disappearing into nothingness. "Gahh…this barrier just stole our magic."

"Woah…what the fuck…" Kisame said as he looked down at his hands, "I….I usually don't run out of magic…so this shit feels weird when I'm at 50%...I haven't lost this much magic juice in a long ass time…"

Lee, who was the weakest out of the bunch and didn't have that much magic compared to others, was taking the magic decrease harder than the others. He felt drowsy, as if he had fought for days. "Guys…" he said between deep breaths, "I don't…feel too good."

"It's just half, nya…" said the birthday girl, "We can still live off that. I'm almost through with Naruto's bac-"

Everyone froze when they saw Naruto's hand twitch….and then it moved again…..

….before balling into a fist…

"Na-naruto…" stuttered Kuroka as the Bael slowly pushed himself back on his feet robotically.

"Naruto-sama…you're awake…" _'But something doesn't feel right…'_ thought Orochimaru as he tried to get a good look of the blonde's expression, but his eyes were shaded over by his hair as he stood quietly. Orochimaru gulped, the feeling of dread filling his body, expecting something bad to happen soon.

Kisame narrowed his eyes at the unmoving, silent blonde. This wasn't like him at all. He saw a green light emitting from the Bael's forehead, but he couldn't make out what it was. "Hey…idiot…" he started, "You okay?"

Again, nothing but silence, as if their [King] hadn't even heard them. Kisame's grip on Samehada's handle slightly tightened in responds. _'I'm not liking this feeling I've got.'_

"Naruto-sama!" Lee quickly bowed at his feet, the tears he had holding now free to flow like a river, "Please, forgive me for what I did to you! I was under the control of something unexplainable, but I do still take responsibility in doubting your purpose of resurrecting me! Please, Naruto-sama, forgive me! Kill me if you want that to be my punishment, but as long as you forgive me then I shall die happy!"

The group watched on as Naruto, who still hadn't moved since he awoken, crept his hand to Lee's head…

"…..Lee…." mumbled Anna, feeling the build up of magic within her silent [King].

A red magic seal appeared over Naruto's hand-the same seal used to call forth his Power of Destruction.

"Lee." Anna said more adamantly this time, knowing that things were about to take turn for the worst.

Tilting his head upwards, Naruto revealed the green 'L' insignia imprinted on his forehead. Following that, a green, distorted magic circle phased over Naruto's head, acting as if a halo, as his Power of Destruction activated…

"Lee!"

Yoh moved at the last second, appearing next to Lee, pick him up, and disappearing. The rest of the group jumped away as Naruto's chaotic Power of Destruction terminated the spot Lee once was. His blue eyes, loss of their usual life, followed the group as they flew in the air to avoid being hit by one-hit kill shot.

"Wha-" Lee opened his eyes, noticing that he was in the air with the others, "What's going on!?"

"He tried to kill you…" Kuroka said with narrowed eyes, staring at her blonde crush, who was a few dozen meters across from the group in the air, in distrust and skepticism "He….something's not right…"

"It's as if he's being controlled like we were." summed up Anna as Naruto hovered up to their level, "And that mark on his forehead…"

"The mark of Loki, for sure." Orochimaru finished with a glare, "He's controlling Naruto-sama."

"Co-Control!?" shouted Lee, "Then….then we must free him! How can we free Naruto-sama!?"

"That….I'm not sure of…" sighed Hao, "Looking at Naruto-sama now…there isn't any outward resistance…"

"You're assuming that Naruto-sama isn't fighting back against Loki's control?" asked Orochimaru with a raised eyebrow, surprising everyone with the revelation.

"Precisely." nodded the older Asakura, "We all know that our master is strong…stronger than this curse. But it's like he's lost the will to fight back."

"Probably because we fucking crushed his will." countered Kisame to the shock of everyone listening, "Think about it. You saw how he looked when we couldn't control ourselves. He looked like a little kid getting kicked out of his shitty parent's house cuz' he drank all of the orange juice."

"And out of all of us, Naruto-sama's mental state is the weakest." added on Orochimaru, ignoring Kisame's way of explaining their dire situation, "While he has recovered in leaps and bounds compared to his mental state when we revived him from his seal, the feeling of your only pillar keeping you stable suddenly turning its back on you…he must have lost all hope in that one moment …"

Kuroka's form weakened as she realized what Orochimaru said was true. _'He always said that his peerage was everything to him!'_ she thought as a deep feeling of guilt weighted itself on her heart, _'We were his last pillar of sanity…and us hurting him…and choose a look-alike for him…'_ Another round of tears started to form in her golden orbs as the regret she felt started to take over. "Oh Naruto…what did we do to you?..." she said with a sniffle.

"Probably more damage than we realize." replied the other female of the group, "Naruto-sama believes that we detest him now. The curse planted on us focused on our doubts of ourselves or Naruto-sama, while Naruto-sama's curse took advantage of his love and dependence of us…and destroyed it..."

Naruto's magic spiking caught everyone's attention. Since Kuroka tore his shirt of earlier, they were able to see deep, black lines develop on his chiseled chest in a jagged design, reaching around his chest and to his back where the group felt a monstrous amount of magic stored.

"What the fuck?" Kisame said in confusion, "This is new. I've never seen this shit before. What's he doing?"

"He's…..about to use those seals….." muttered Kuroka, whipping away the trail of tears on her face as a heavy pressure coming from the controlled [King]. "The Uzumaki seals, nya…"

"Uzumaki seals?" questioned Yoh, turning to the cat girl, "What is that?"

On each corner of Naruto's back appeared four red swirls. The black lines that was on the rest of his body connected to the outside of seals, 'unlocking' them as swirls started to circulate…

Kuroka gulped as the heavy pressure saturating the air even started to get to her. She bit her lip in order to focus at the task at hand. If what she thought was about to happen does occur, then the others needed to be informed in order to combat against it. "N-Naruto wanted a trump card…a way to pull through in any fight he was in, nya…" she started with a noticeable stutter, symbolizing her developing fear of their [King], "I helped him with the process…basically, he wanted a seal where he could store all of his magic in it…l-like having an extra set of batteries, nya."

"…..Oh no…" Everyone other than Kuroka looked at the only [Pawn] of the group. Orochimaru himself had a look of distraught on his face as he realized the severity of their current predicament. "This isn't good."

"What isn't good, Orochimaru-sama!?" asked Lee, shacking as Naruto's growing magic began to pulsate.

"It's still a prototype, but in each one of those seals is 100% of his overall magic. He calls them 'Uzumaki' seals, meaning 'maelstrom'…..as in a maelstrom of magic…" She explained as green magic expelled from the seals, cloaking Naruto in a protective sphere, "And it looks like he's using them all at the same time…"

"But what does that mean!?" yelled the sporadic Lee. Even though he had a good idea of what was about to happen, he was still in denial of the inevitable. "Why is he activating them now?!"

"To use against us…" muttered Yoh, summoning a magic circle from which his signature sword, Harusame, grew from, "He's going to kill us."

"Kill us! N-no! Naruto-sama would never!" Lee said while shaking his head, "He wouldn't! He loves us too much!"

"It's not his fault, Lee." replied the stoic Anna, "He's being controlled by Loki. You see that _'L'_ on his forehead along with the halo over his head. That was the purpose of Loki's curse: to kill one another." She finished, causing Lee's heart to stop in utter astonishment and fear.

"So your telling me that we've gotta fight at shitty 50%, while he's at 400% fucking percent?" questioned Kisame, bringing up the fact that their magic reserves was cut in half when Naruto reawakened, "That shit sounds like a trump card for a Rating Game, not to fucking kill your own damn peerage! What type of shit is this?"

"No." Kuroka cut off, confusing her listeners. Her Senjutsu gave her an outlook on how much magic a person had, so she could sense a malfunction with one of the Uzumaki seals, "It seems like one of the seals hasn't activated yet. I can sense it with my Senjutsu…out of the four tattooed on his back, only three has activated. Seem like one seal is a faulty, nya."

"I can sense it too." backed Anna, "There's magic coming from his upper right, upper left, and low left corners of his back. The other seal should be on his lower right."

Kuroka suddenly perked up, before creating a barrier to protect everyone as an explosion of red and green magic burst from Naruto. The blast blocked out all vision, and the force of the blow cracked Kuroka's shield, to her own surprise. If it had not been for Kisame amping it with his own magic, the group would have been blown away.

"He's seriously not control of his actions, is he?" mumbled the massive man.

"Seems not." Replied Hao, taking off his poncho and throwing it away, "We're already nerfed with only 50% of our power…but with Naruto-sama's power almost tripled than its usual…"

" **Duba Duba…"**

The explosion settled, revealing the unresponsive Naruto inside his signature Golem of Destruction. The Power of Destruction crafted armor stood tall at 8 feet tall (2.4 meters) with _'GoD'_ imprinted on its stomach in a darker red, standing out from the rest of its red body. Its head was a red, transparent dome, giving a glimpse of Naruto within it. However, a new edition to its body were the two green, narrow, eye-like markings on its dome. Power of Destruction was literally pouring out of the golem in waves, along with the outpour of Naruto's regular magic coming from the Uzumaki seals imprinted on the armor's back.

"…this fight will probably be the hardest challenge we've had…" finished the all-serious Hao, equipping himself with his Over Soul Armor Style: Black Fowl, "Go all out from the beginning. Don't hold back."

"Make sure to watch each other's back." ordered Orochimaru, "The objective is to snap Naruto-sama out of this spell he's under. Do. Not. Kill."

"Wait! W-Wait!" yelled Lee, halting any preparation for battle, "We're seriously about to fight Naruto-sama!? The man that saved us from our past lives?! How can you even say something like that!?"

"We don't have a choice, Lee…" Kuroka whispered through gritted teeth, not liking the idea of fighting the man that saved her from a life as a stray, "This maybe the only way to save him."

"When we we're controlled, he didn't even hit me even when I did!" the Green Beast shouted as tears flowed from his eyes like a raging stream, "But you're telling me we actually have to fight him as if he were the enemy!? I cannot do this! It goes against my loyalty for the person that saved my life!"

"Lee, if we don't do this, we'll be killed instead." mumbled Yoh as his own armor, Spirit of Sword: White Swan, phased to life around him, "Then, Naruto-sama will have to live with the fact that he killed his own peerage members. Do you really want to leave him with such guilt? Do you wonder what he would do to himself if that happened?"

"If you don't want to fight than stay out of the way, Lee." Anna said with a glare as Zenki and Goki phased to life, "I'm going to save Naruto-sama…no matter the cost."

' _Attacking Naruto-sama….i-its…its insane…'_ thought Lee, his eyes shaded over by his hair. However, after a few moments to collect himself, a burning fire appeared in his eyes as he regained his drive, "We need to save Naruto-sama! If this is what it takes…then I'm all in!"

"Good job, Lee, nya." Stated Kuroka with a smile, "We'll need you."

Kisame grinned with anticipation as Samehada squealed, "So we save the idiot by beating his ass? Hehehe, this is interesting, eh, Samehada?"

"Maybe if we try to reach out to Naruto-sama's emotional side….maybe then he will snap out of this funk." Orochimaru thought out loud, "However, I'm not the best when it comes with emotions…only manipulating them."

"We'll find a way, nya." said Kuroka, all her previous tears gone as she donned a serious demeanor-ready to fight and save the man that made her his [Queen]. "We can save him. Count it as my birthday present from you. Are you guys ready, nya?"

 **Corrupted Naruto Bael, Full-Blooded High-Class Devil, [King]**

 **vs.**

 **Kuroka [Queen], Kisame [Knight], Yoh Asakura [Knight], Rock Lee [Rook], Anna Kyoyama [Bishop], Hao Asakura [Bishop], Orochimaru [Pawn]**

"Let's go!" shouted Yoh as he disappeared in a burst of speed. Reappearing behind Naruto's back, he gave the armor and powerful swipe with his enhanced sword. However, his sword slash was blocked by a barrier, shocking the fastest member of Team Pickle Rick's. _'He can react fast enough to block me?'_

The younger Asakura twin couldn't linger over the fact for long as he was surrounded by red magic circles. Quickly crafting one of his earthen terrain seals under his feet, he pushed off it while slicing his way through the trap, avoiding being erased from existence as the spot he was in previously was enveloped by Naruto's Power of Destruction.

Even though he had gotten away, he was safe as Naruto set his sights on the headphone-less Yoh, activating his Golem of Destruction's turbos from its feet and back as it flew after Yoh with bad intentions.

"Not on my watch." Said Hao as he flew in front of Naruto's path with his jet armor. Both energy cannons on Hao's back danced with red electricity as they prepared to fire. "Onibi!" shouted Hao, calling his attack as he released the closed range blast.

A massive cloud of fire and smoke filled the air, lowering all visibility to zero as the force of the monstrous explosion alone ripped trees from the earth below. The explosion even managed to reach the barrier above, but it withheld its form, hardly effected by what could only be described as mini-nuke going off.

Hao waited for some type of response, losing Naruto because of the major smoke cloud that took up most of the sky. Quicker than he could move, a red armed grabbled around his body, catching him mid-air. It was the stubby, but strong arms of Naruto's GoD, not even harmed by Hao's Onibi as he gripped him with an insane amount of force.

"ERrghh…" growled Hao, feeling his ribs groan at the force exerted on them, "Naruto-sama! Snap out of it!" he yelled at the blonde, who was looking back at Hao with a blank stare before throwing him into the ground below.

Hao's body broke through the surface of the ground, creating his own personal crater as he crashed through it. Even before his could free himself, Naruto appeared in front of him with his mechanized right-arm cocked back and coated with Power of Destruction-ready to deal the finishing blow.

"Dynamic Entry!" Lee appeared, kicking Naruto in his back-or would have if he hadn't produced another barrier to block the strong blow. That didn't stop the martial artist one bit, stealing from Yoh's style and pushed off the barrier, landing on the ground, and jumping back up to deliver a devastating punch to the armor's underbelly, knocking it back and saving Hao from being crushed and turned into nothingness.

The attack only proved to throw the controlled Bael off for a second before he swiveled back around and released a geyser of Power of Destruction at his [Rook] and [Bishop]. The attacked was countered by Kisame, swooping in with three giant water sharks following him and crashing into the demonic energy. Kisame's grin couldn't get any large as he jumped through the attacks, eating back the energy from his water sharks and the Power of Destruction as he reached the other side with an underhanded swipe at the golem.

A small gash appeared on the golem's surface as Samehada ate through its magic, but that was all Kisame could get off as he was pelted with a dozen torpedoes of magic, all centered at his chest and shooting him towards Lee and the recovering Hao. Before Kisame's body could crash into Lee, Naruto teleported at Kisame's side and kicked him through the earth with his enhanced power.

"Shit!" he growled as he quickly reconnected his arm, which had disconnected from the hit, with his magic. _'That strength he has now is able to injury me this quickly?'_ He grinned as he felt a streak of blood leak from the corner of his mouth. "Hehehe…this shit is interesting!"

Zenki and Goki were next at attacking Naruto, with Zenki bashing into Naruto's side with his shield, right into Goki prepared to slice Naruto in-half with a swipe of his battle axe. In response, Naruto's golem caught the staff of Goki's battle axe while revolting back against Zenki, pushing against the shikigami's shield with its arm before destroying both with an oversized beam of destruction before flying up in the air after their summoner.

Anna quickly crafted a multi-layer barrier around her to block the incoming rocket, following the array of magic circles releasing powerful blast of magic. They all proved futile as Naruto ignored them all and destroyed all almost all of Anna's barriers with one punch, dazing her with the recoil. "Gah…" she hissed, as Naruto floated in front of her menacingly, the pressure exuding off him enough to make the Shaman freeze.

Black flames, produced by the nearby Kuroka, washed over Naruto's armored body as Orochimaru used his long tongue to pull Anna away. The Senjutsu-flames was the equivalent to a small flame against the superpowered golem, having no affect as its body destroyed anything in contact with it.

"Come at me, nya!" she yelled with conviction once Naruto's attention moved to her. Blitzing towards her with red magic circle dancing around his body, releasing a dozen of laser-like projectiles of destruction at the Nekoshou. She blocked them all with a Senjtsu/Youjutsu barrier all while activating Touki, boosting her physical strength, defense and speed. However, the barrier proved useless as the destruction beams tore through them, allowing Naruto to close in at his [Queen].

Kuroka's body would have suffered heavy damage if Naruto's fist didn't phase through her body-an illusion. A purple dome surrounded Naruto's body with seals layered on its exterior. Multiple Kuroka's appeared from magic seal, circling around the trapped Bael and producing golden chains. The chains entered the space-time sphere and wrapped around Naruto's body, thoroughly restraining him.

The real Kuroka grew from another magic seal as she flew over to the struggle Bael. "Naruto! I know you hear me! Please, wake up! This is all Loki's plan and fault!" she pleaded, "You've got to snap out of it. This isn't you, nya!"

Kuroka's chain melted away as Naruto's Power of Destruction served its purpose. **"Duba Duba."** said the golem's mantra and it destroyed Kuroka's clones and barrier by pulsating its PoD everywhere before flying at Kuroka.

However, Kuroka was able to parry the incoming punch, palming underneath the golem's arm and exposing its mid-section. With her strength enhanced by Touki and with the elements of a [Rook] apart of [Queen] piece, Kuroka surprisingly cracked the surface of Naruto's GoD as she sent him rocketing down into the ground. "Take that, nya!" she exclaimed before following suit with a barrage of black wheels of flames.

Landing on his feet, Naruto crafted a small barrier of Power of Destruction to cover himself as Kuroka's Kasha spell collided into it. The barrier blocked any attempts at harming the Bael, before quickly morphing into an army of needles and shooting in each direction.

Lee, who was approaching from the side with Yoh, was caught up by the barraged while Yoh defended by dispelling Naruto's magic with his Chou Senji Ryakuketsu – Mikazuki no Futsa, which effortless dispells any magic within a spell or attack. "Shit, Lee!" yelled the younger Asakura as he watched Lee's body fall to the ground, all his joints pierced and disconnected by the small needles.

He jumped, caught Lee's body, and moved out of the way just in time for Naruto's Power of Destruction to rip into the ground in a red flash. The golem flew over to Yoh and Lee with both its hands clasped together for a powerful overhead sledgehammer, but Kisame jumped in and caught its stubby arms with a grin as his feet caved into the ground from the force of the blow.

"Hehehe…" he laughed as he stared back at the blank faced Naruto, "This shit keeps getting better and better…" The red aura of destruction that coated Naruto's form was combated against Kisame's blue aura, but Samehada continually drained Naruto's own reserves to replenish the magic it shared with its master, "…every time we fight, it always something to remember…now look at ya, letting yourself get controlled by a guy named Loki. If that shit ain't the most pathetic shit I've heard of!" he yelled, ignoring the fact that he was also controlled by the Norse God, "Wake up you piece of shit!"

Suddenly, Naruto's body was caught by the incoming Hao-his Spirit of Fire: Black Fowl armor's claw-like hands capturing and shoving it to the ground-grinding against the surface of the hard earth as Hao kept flying. As he held Naruto in his grasp, his two energy cannons were pulsating with power and red electricity as Spirit of Fire powered the duo's next attack.

Reaching the end of the barrier, Hao released Naruto's golem body and watched as it hit the barrier with a loud crash. By this time, Hao's Black Fowl armor was steaming with heat energy as he aimed his cannons at the downed Bael. A ball of white flames with red electricity dancing along the surface appeared in front of the two cannons as Hao prepared to release the large scaled attack.

"Onibi: White Flower!" he shouted. His two cannons gleamed red before releasing Hao's spell-the ball of white flames morphing in an ocean of concentrated flames. The explosion of Hao's previous attack was nothing like the current one as the white flames completely burned through anything in its path, similar to the Power of Destruction's capabilities. The land encompassed within the barrier increased by several degrees as the unbearable flames Hao was producing were hot enough to dry out an entire ocean in a continuous beam of flames.

' _This has to do something to that damn armor of his…'_ that the long-haired Asakura twin as he continued his outpour of white flames, _'Two Onibi's back to back, with the second one immensely more powerful than the first, isn't doing my weakened magic reserves any good. Hopefully, his armor is damaged to the point that we can break through and deal damage to his actual body, even though hurting Naruto-sama isn't the most favor-'_

A red claw broke through the ground underneath Hao and wrapped itself around Hao, interfering with his concentration and redirecting the remainder of Onibi to the ceiling of the purple barrier. Fear could be seen in his eyes as the arms reeled him into the current explosion caused by his Onibi. Even with fire resilience given to him as the partner of Spirit of Fire, Hao hissed as his body was pulled through a lake of lava, receiving multiple burn marks from his own attack. The red arm released him, but he didn't see the red arm of Naruto's golem smash into his unprotected side.

Pain was the only feeling that Hao had as his body skyrocketed out of the lava and through the land encompassed by Loki's barrier. He couldn't catch himself as half of his Black Fowl was destroyed, along with his entire right side of his body. Soaring through the air, he was only able to stop was he reached the very other side of the barrier, crashing into it before falling into the ground.

"Ga..ga…." the older Asakura sputtered as half his jaw wasn't working correctly. The bones in his leg was broken in multiple places, and his right arm was bent at an awkward angle. _'He's…stronger than I th-thought….'_ He winced at the pain affecting him. Spirit of Fire was crying out for his partner, asking if he was alright.

The sound of feel landing caught his ear. It was Anna, who knelt over him and began whispering a long spell. Soon enough, a green aura washed over Hao's body as he was starting to heal at a fast pace.

"We don't need one of out strongest attacks going out so early in the fight." She muttered as he continued her spell, shooting a small glare at her fiancée's brother, "Stop being so reckless."

On the other side of the barrier, the rest kept up their attempts at stopping the ranging blonde, but anything they did was thwarted by the superpowered armor that was Golem of Destruction. Hardly any of their attacks worked-and if they did, Naruto's massive magic reserve would instantly repair any damage dealt to the exterior before hitting back with an attack three times than the Ultimate-Class level Devil would usually throw out.

Lee, who's previous injury was healed by Kuroka's quick-time healing spell, had to enter his fourth gate in order to keep up with the speed Naruto was going at, but he couldn't deal any significant damage as he weaved through multiple bolts of destruction. He flew to the air when Kisame summoned a massive tsunami that had multiple of his magic-absorbing water sharks in it as it crashed into the ground, submerging most of the area underwater.

Orochimaru, being the snake his is, swam through the water with his sights set on Naruto. _'There must be a way to break through that annoying armor…'_ he thought as approached the silent Bael. Swiveling around a bolt of destruction shot by Naruto, Orochimaru circled around him, looking for some way to break through the armor to deal some type of damage. None of Kisame's water sharks were helping with the situation as Naruto's Power of Destruction cleaned through them like nothing before crafting a multitude of yellow magic circles.

However, there was something that Orochimaru noticed. Narrowing his eyes at the golem's back, he saw all four of the Uzumaki seals, with the three active seals supplying magic into Naruto's body. ' _Hmm…maybe…'_

He was forced out of his thoughts as all of Naruto's seals released a devastating pulsation of lightning. Even Orochimaru, who was quick in the water thanks to his snake attributes, was caught by the lightning and received the shock of his life. Even with the multi-barriers he sent up, his body was turned into a lightning rod as his clothes and flesh crumpled under the effects of Naruto's overpowered lightning spell. His body remained in a sporadic-state, leaving him open for Naruto to charge forward with a ball of red energy in his right hand.

Being the fastest member of the team, Yoh sliced through the entire water bubble with one swing of his Harusame, splitting the entire mini-river in two, before moving through the gap he created at speeds even hard for the Naruto to react as he caught Orochimaru's body. Positioning himself to the defend against his approaching doom, Yoh slashed at Naruto's armor with all his strength while chanting a spell in his mind.

" _ **Amida-Ryu: Mu-Mu-Myo-Yaku-Mu!"**_

The effect of Yoh's spell even surprised him as the tip of his sword poked Naruto's armor…and utterly dissolved it…

The ball of destruction that was in Naruto's right palm dissipated the moment finished his spell, saving Yoh from his head from being disintegrated as Naruto's empty palm landed on his shocked face.

"….It…..worked…" mumbled the headphone-less Yoh, staring face to face with his controlled master.

Suddenly, Orochimaru jumped to life, grabbing Naruto's outstretched arm and pulling himself forward. Time seemed to slow down as Orochimaru crept forward, his face passing by Naruto's neutral look. Purple flames that emitted a wicked aura appeared at the tips of Orochimaru's fingers as he looked down at the Uzumaki seals on the stunned Naruto's back. Deciding on a target, Orochimaru slammed his fingers into the top right Uzumaki seal on Naruto's back…

"Five-Pronged Seal!" he shouted, with the affects being immediate.

The outpour of magic coming from the top right seal on Naruto's back instantly closed, cutting off any more magic from leaking out. The snake man kicked Naruto away, used his tongue to grab Yoh and entered the top half of the water bubble as the two halves slammed back into each other as gravity took course.

The duo appeared at the top of the water bubble and used their wings to join the others in the air. "Good job, doing whatever the fuck you did!" shouted Kisame, holding an enlarged Samehada who was free of its bandages that hid its scaly form, "Now get the fuck out of the way!"

Listening to the [Knight]'s warning, Yoh and Orochimaru split up as a black missile ejected out of Samehada's massive body, passing through the small space between Yoh and Orochimaru and entered the water bubble.

Everything was silent for a moment before another explosion of pitch-black energy fully enveloped the water bubble. The gust caused by the explosion ripped trees out of the ground, shooting debris in every direction. The team of Lee, Kuroka, Orochimaru, and Yoh to erect a multitude of barrier just to keep from flying into the barrier ceiling.

"Heheheh!" laughed Kisame's, watching the mass destruction he caused with glee, "That's what the fuck I'm talking about! Let's seem em' get outta that one without one of his limbs gone! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"We're not trying to maim him, nya!" yelled Kuroka, reprimanding the laughing Demon, "We need to save him!"

"Yes, but we need to talk about more important things." Said Orochimaru as he glanced towards a slightly out of breath Yoh, "Yoh, that technique that you just used…what was it…"

After taking a few more deep breaths, Yoh answered while looking for any sign of Naruto as the massive explosion started to calm, "It's a very….taxing spell…" he started with slightly uneven breath, "'Amida-Ryu: Mu-Mu-Myo-Yaku-Mu' is a 100% spiritual move-no physical damage comes with its completion. With it, I can completely nullify any magic, whether it be used for offensive, defensive, illusions….anything…but, it takes a lot to dissemble that armor….It's literally PACKED with magic…" emphasized, "I used this spell before, but on a smaller scale. I've never used it on something so dense and co-compact…with magic…Power of Destruction, no less." He winced.

"But that spell completely dispersed Naruto-sama's armor!" said Lee with hope in his eyes, "Just maybe…maybe we can use that as an opening!"

"We could…if I had more magic to pull on…." he said with a disappointed sigh, "It takes a lot to break through such dense magic…and since we started this battle with half our strength, I could probably only pull off one more of those before I'm on my last leg."

"Shit…" cursed the other [Knight] of the peerage, "Just when I thought we found a way through"

"No." All eyes shifted to Orochimaru as he looked down at the dissipating black cloud caused by Kisame, "When I got behind him, I was able to forcefully close one of his Uzumaki seals with a seal of my own….and it can't be undone by conventional means."

Kuroka's eyes lit up at Orochimaru's revelation. "That's great, nya! Then, maybe I could use my Senjutsu to break Loki's control and repair Naruto's mind!"

"Seems we have a plan then." Said Kisame as they all saw Naruto's body once the smoke started to clear, revealing that his Golem of Destruction armor was gone. He wasn't physically hurt by Kisame's last attack, but the group had a clear visual of Naruto's back. Sure enough, the seal Orochimaru aimed for was shut with five, dark purple seals covering it.

"Seems it worked." muttered Orochimaru, taking a mental picture of Naruto's back before he turned up looked up to them with a scowl-Loki's distorted halo still over his head along with the 'L' on the Bael's forehead. "We have a strategy. We'll inform Anna and Hao when she's finished healing him…."

The group tensed when Naruto held up his hand-not at them-at the forest beneath them. They watched with both interest, confusion, and worry as a small, blue-tinted veil of magic coated his skin appeared-signaling the use of his telekinetic powers.

A pain shriek put them on edge, and Yoh's heart drop when he saw Anna's body forcefully pulled out from the tree line and rocketing towards Naruto. His other hand was submerged in his Power of Destruction as Anna flew towards him. "ANNA!" he shouted as he sped towards Naruto as fast as he could to save his wife.

"Shit!" shouted Kisame as he sensed something wrong with Anna's magic signal…or the lack of it. "Yoh! That ain't Anna!"

But it was too late as Yoh got to Anna before he could register what the shark Demon said as he reached to catch his wife. However, he was thoroughly shocked when his body fazed through Anna's body. "Wha-"

A barrage of Naruto's signature needles of destruction entered his body, specifically at his joints. The needles let out small explosions inside of the younger Asakura's body, destroying his joints and leaving him limp as he started to descend to the ground.

" **Duba Duba."** Said Naruto's Golem of Destruction as it enveloped his body once more before reaching towards Yoh's body to finish the job. However, Goki and Zenki appeared at Naruto's side, kicking at him to keep him away from Yoh's body. The trio began to trade blows as Anna and Hao flew into the fray to save Yoh.

"I've got you." Anna said, catching his body.

"Hehe…thanks…" he muttered with a cheeky grin.

"Lee! Brief Hao and Anna about the plan, nya!" ordered Kuroka as she prepared to fight.

"Let's go!" shouted Kisame as he created five massive water sharks and shot them towards Naruto.

Blocking Zenki's attempt at punching through his protective dome, Naruto blocked with his golem's large hands and pulled it forward, throwing him over his body and spinning out of the way of Goki's body slam with a thrust of his boosters. Zenki, recovering quickly, summoned his battle axe and threw it at Naruto's body, only for the Bael to duck underneath the dangerous tool. Goki caught the battle axe with his outstretched hand and swiped at Naruto's side, only for it to be blocked by a quick-summon barrier by the controlled blonde.

Moving quickly, Zenki grabbed the golem's legs and with a twister-like spin, threw Naruto into the air where five monstrous water sharks awaited him.

The sharks collided against each other, with Naruto in the middle of it all. Even through the torrent of water, Zenki and Goki didn't stop their assault-opening their mouths and releasing two dangerous laser beams at the middle of the storm.

"It hit him, nya!" shouted Kuroka, sensing Naruto stuck in the middle.

"Here we go!" shouted Kisame as he dropped down in the middle of the chaos with Samehada held over his head.

He brought it down with insane force, slamming it into the top of Naruto's golem and pulled back, Samehada's magic absorbent abilities ripping a hole through the dome and exposing Naruto's top. "Gotcha, idiot!" he yelled with a wicked smile as he used his demonic strength to pull Naruto from his armor. "Pussy!" he called out.

"I'm here!" Kuroka shouted, hating the fact that the water around them was getting her wet, but she had more important things to worry about as she produced a purple magic circle that emitted a purple dust.

Kisame's pushed his elbow into Naruto's stomach, forcing the blonde to gasp as the window was knocked out of him, inhaling Kuroka's dust in the process. "Come on, Naruto…" she whispered in his ear as Zenki and Goki appeared at his sides, restraining his arms, "Remember me…" Placing a hand on either side of his face, she made her crush look her in the eye as her calming aura entered his body, "Remember your peerage…"

Naruto's body froze as memories of his peerage members began to appear in his brain. Of when he first met Kuroka….Yoh and Anna's many failed attempts at marriage…Kisame running through the house in search of Lee after he drank all his orange juice…Reading together with Orochimaru on the beach…taste testing different protein shakes with Lee…

"…..Kuro…ka…." he whispered, filling the cat girl with joy with his response.

"Yes! Yes, its me! It's Kuroka, nya!" she yelled happily.

A small amount of color grew in Naruto's eyes as his body slowly relaxed. The curse mark on his forehead and magic seal over his seal fluctuated as a warm feeling stretched across his body. "Good…" whispered Kuroka, distracting him from Orochimaru sneaking behind him in preparation to close the remainder of Naruto's Uzuamki seal, "Everything's gonna be okay, nya…we'll get you out of here soon and sleep this off…"

" **Don't listen to her."**

Naruto's mouth moved, but it didn't sound like him at all. His voice sounded distorted and deeper-the coldness of it froze Kisame, Kuroka and Orochimaru as it continued talking, **"They tried to kill you. They're just like Kushina. Serafall. Gabriel. They hate you. They'd rather see you dead than live happily. They aren't you family."**

"Naruto, don't listen!" cried out Kuroka, feeling the foreign magic within Naruto combat against her Senjutsu, "Naruto, it's me! Kuroka, nya! We-We've…We've done so much together!"

" **She doesn't love you. Her words are lies. She told you that you were nothing. She left you before. What's stopping her from doing it again? You are alone. It's just how the world works. Nobody-**

"Five-Pronged Seal!"

Naruto's body jerked forward as Orochimaru's fingers dug into the seal located at the top left corner of his back. His eyes lost color for a moment before closing completely as his body fell limp-unresponsive.

"Uh…..alright!" grinned Kisame, "I think this shit's gonna work! Do another one of those purple thingy's and we can finally sleep!"

From above, Lee was cheering, believing that the fight was over now that Naruto had fainted. "YOSH! We saved Naruto-sama!"

Anna and Hao watched from above as well, however, they weren't as celebratory as Lee. "This…was too easy…" mumbled Anna as she watched Orochimaru prepare another seal to finish off the controlled Bael while healing Yoh, "The curse mark is still there…"

"I…don't think we're finished here…" Hao said with narrowed eyes.

"Just do it, Snakey." Commanded Kuroka as she continued to ease Naruto's mental, holding back the tears she felt coming as she was reminded of her slip with Ginta a few years ago, "With less magic pooling in his body, I'll have more room to work with, nya."

"Alright." He said as the same purple flames grew around his fingertips. Taking aiming, Orochimaru slammed his hand into Naruto's last active seal located at the bottom left side of his back. "Five-Pronged Seal!"

Naruto's body lurched forward again before slumping over. Kuroka caught his body and held him close to his chest-her calming Senjutsu taking dominance over Loki's magic. She could feel the corruption weakening as she fought back the Norse God's influence. "Good job, nya…" she congratulated Orochimaru, "It's finally over…."

"It didn't work…."

"Eh?" Kisame heard Orochimaru whisper but didn't quite catch what he said, "What'cha say?"

"My seal….." muttered Orochimaru as he stared at Naruto's back in disbelief, "It….didn't work.."

"Really? What a second…" hovering beside Orochimaru to get a better look at the blonde's back, he inspected the seal Orochimaru intended to close with his seal. "MMMhhhmmmmm….yup, that bitch ain't work…" he said, using his highly-certified deduction abilities to point out such an obvious fact.

"The question is why it isn't working, Kisame." said Orochimaru with a growing frustration.

"Maybe…you didn't do it hard enough, nya?" shrugged Kuroka.

Orochimaru sighed before attempting to close Naruto's Uzumaki seals. "Five-Pronged Seal!"

The trio stared at Naruto's back in confusion as Orochimaru attempt failed again. "Something's going on here…" mumbled the snake man.

"What's the problem?" asked Anna as she, Hao, Yoh and Lee flew down to the trio.

"Orochimaru's seal thingy isn't working, nya." Replied Kuroka.

"So there's something interfering with it?" asked Hao, inspecting Naruto's seal with suspicion.

"Yes," answered Orochimaru, "but I don't know what-"

" **He doesn't need you anymore. He's mine now."**

It was the same, distorted voice that spoke through Naruto. Kuroka flinched as she felt the Senjutsu within Naruto but pushed out of his body as a raging coldness and feeling of death washed over her.

"Gu-guys…" she gasped out.

"What in the…" to the shock of everyone, Orochimaru's previous seals started to erode away as a dangerous red covered Naruto's back, "He's…he is using his Power of Destruction to eat through the previous seals!"

Naruto's arm moved to life as his hand wrapped around the pale man's neck and with a quick jerk of his hand, Orochimaru's neck snapped.

"Whoah!" shouted Kisame, "Holy-

The entire peerage, excluding Orochimaru, was knocked away as an angry aura of red surrounded Naruto's body. His Golem of Destruction reformed around his body as both of his seals opened, releasing a flood of magic within Naruto's body.

"I don't understand!" shouted Kuroka over the raging winds that grew in power, resembling a twister surrounding the blonde, "He was just calm! I was so close to breaking him out!"

"Shit! What about Orochimaru!" yelled Yoh over the violent winds as Orochimaru's hung limply in Naruto's grasp.

Anna was going to respond but was cut off when they saw Orochimaru's mouth open and another Orochimaru rush out of it, in an effort to get away from the enraged blonde. "Shit, he needs our help!" shouted Yoh as he flew towards the snake man, followed by Kisame and Hao.

Half of Orochimaru's body was out of his fake one as he called forth his wings, only for his arm to be caught by the menacing Golem of Destruction's arm. Pulling Orochimaru's body towards him, Naruto cocked back his armored fist back and slamming it into the snake man's head, shooting him down to the ground at insane speeds.

Orochimaru's uncontrollable body plummeted towards the ground with no means at stopping. However, before he could fall into the damaged earth, Naruto teleported next to Orochimaru and rammed his bone-shattering armored knee into his stomach. The force of the blow was so great that Orochimaru regurgitated his sword, Kusanagi, in which Naruto caught by the hilt and used to defend against Kisame's Samehada as Orochimaru's unconscious body broke through various trees.

"Holy shit! He just kicked a sword outta his mouth!" shouted Kisame as he started to go blow for blow with Naruto and his newly equipped sword. The speeds that Naruto was moving, even with his heavy armor, was starting to get to the shark Demon as a few slip ups cost him precious blood as he was gifted small slashes during their sword fight.

A red arm grew out of Naruto's golem and grabbed Kisame's leg as he tried to jump away. The arm swung the blue-skinned man to the ground and impaled Kusanagi through his stomach.

"Fuck that hurts!" shouted Kisame as he gripped the sword with his hands, "OOOoooohohoho! When I get outta this, I'm gonna-" Using his mastery of ice, Naruto froze Kisame and Samehada in a block of ice, effortlessly shutting him up and trapping the Demon.

"Oh…oh my god…" whispered Kuroka in astonishment as Naruto looked up to them with a fierce scowl, freezing them all in place.

"He…he just took out K-Kisame-sama and Orochimaru-sama…" muttered Lee in utter disbelief and fear.

Anna gritted her teeth as she felt their chances at getting out of this fight alive decrease drastically. _'We've….gotta do something….but what…'_

They were all on edge as the controlled blonde created two dozen large, red magic circles that shot up in the sky, passing by them like they were nothing. "He's up to something…" warned Hao as he felt a tremendous amount of magic emitting from each seal.

Hao's worries about the seals were confirmed as each seal shot out a continuous laser beam of destruction from the sky to the earth below, shredding through the land like wet paper. To make things worse, the magic seals started to move, hovering just above the ceiling of the barrier, picking up speed and changing directions as they bounced off each other.

"RUN!" shouted Yoh as the lasers started to get close to the group, causing them to split up in order to save from themselves from guaranteed death if hit by the laser beams.

It became a chase through the skies as they all fled, dodging left and right in order avoid the powerful laser beams cutting through the sky and marking the earth. It was like a child scribbling in their favorite coloring book as the seals moved around wildly, all while Naruto hunted them down by shooting beams of destruction at his peerage members-making what was already a difficult task at staying alive even worse.

"Yosh!" shouted Lee as he swiveled to the right to avoid the geyser-like beam that treaded in front of him before ducking underneath another laser that past overhead. His eyes widened when he saw Naruto's hulking figure flying after him, his golem bypassing through any laser like it was water as he shot bolts of destruction at the [Rook]. "EEep!" he squealed as he flapped his wings to move to the right of a bolt before making a hard right to avoid another overhead laser beam.

Lee zoomed through the air as his heart raced-the fear of death empowered him. However, he was low on stamina as having his fourth gate open for so long was starting to take its toll. From the spins, sharp turns, close calls and over all stress of the situation, it wouldn't be long until the young [Rook] would crash.

Ducking under another bolt of destruction and swerving to the left in order to avoid the waterfall of destruction in front of him, he thought he had made it safe until he crashed right into Hao, who was running away from Naruto's overhead lasers himself. "Ha-Hao!" stuttered Lee in shock.

"Move!" Hao pushed Lee off of him, saving the Green Beast as an overhead laser beam sliced through the space they were just at. It cost Hao, however, as his left energy cannon and mechanical arm from his Black Fowl armor was turned into nothingness. "Shit…" he growled.

" **Duba."** Both Lee and Hao were caught off guard as Naruto appeared in front of them with both arms outstretched. Activating his boosters on his back and feet, Naruto shot forward and hit the duo with a devastating lariat to the chest, causing blood and gore to shoot everywhere as the two's eyes rolled to the back of their head-unconscious.

"NYA!" Kuroka shouted, rocketing in to save the knocked Lee and Kuroka as a dragon of purple lightning followed behind her. She grabbed the duo's bodies as the dragon released an ear-piercing before crashing into Naruto's body.

Purple light filled the limited space of the barrier as the blast of lightning was large and strong enough to destroy some of the seals producing the laser from above. Kuroka created a barrier to protect herself and the two bodies under her arms.

Once the strong lightning strike dissolved, Kuroka decided to rendezvous with Anna and Yoh, the only other to available members conscious.

"I've…got Lee and..Hoe….." she said between breaths. It took A LOT out of Kuroka to cast the lightning dragon to stall Naruto long enough to get Lee and Hao before they were killed. Right now, she was running low on magic along with her stamina being at the minimum. "Did you get…s-Snakey, nya?"

"I did…" the stoic Shaman said with a nod. Her body was covered with injuries after having close calls with Naruto's lasers that rained from the sky. "I hid him near the edge of the barrier. Once this is over, I'll retrieve him. The dumbass is still in his ice, so I left him there…"

"And Yoh?"

"Dealing with those seals." She said, pointing up to the skies. Sure enough, Yoh was using his sword to slice through all the seals that was raining Power of Destruction on the ground, dealing with one of their main problems.

"Good…nya…" sighed the Nekoshou as Naruto's armored body grew visible through the thick smoke, not hurt at the least.

Anna glanced at Kuroka's form, noticing the heavy breaths she was taking. She could sense that the [Queen] was starting to run low on magic as well as she began to do minor healing to Lee and Hao's chest to stop them from bleeding out. While Anna herself wasn't physical hurt and she still had more magic than the rest of the conscious members of the peerage, she knew it still wouldn't be enough to fight off their powerhouse of a [King]. She couldn't call forth Oh-Oni for help because it took to much stamina, something she didn't have to spare. _'If this continues…..'_

"Kuroka…" Just by the tone of Anna's voice, the cat girl already knew what she was about to say, "If we continue to fight him, we're going to die…"

"…..I know…." Replied Kuroka, "But what are we supposed to do, nya? He's…he still like that…." she said, referring to Naruto still being controlled by Loki's curse, "We can't leave him like that…even if we tried…" she finished with a hallow laugh.

"True, but we still have plan…and one more attempt at it." said the Shaman, "If we can pierce through Naruto-sama's armor with Yoh's spell…than maybe you can reach out to him again using your Senjutsu."

"B-but what if I fail?" questioned Kuroka, self-doubt fueling her words, "What if his mind is broken beyond repair? Loki…he's using Naruto's love for us against him and its working…what if I'm not strong enough, nya?"

"Then we'll die." Anna answered plainly, "But, if you succeed, we live another day. As we are now, we'll be dead in the next five minutes, so there's no harm in trying. Just try harder this time. Reach out to him in a way you haven't before."

"Nya? Something I haven't done before?" she questioned as Yoh flew down to them, sheathing Harusame.

"I'm finished with the seals." He said as the group began a stare down with the silent Naruto floating across from them, "So what now?" he questioned.

"We're going to need you, Yoh…" started Anna, "…we need you to use Amida-Ryu: Mu-Mu-Myo-Yaku-Mu to break through Naruto-sama's golem…so Kuroka can use her Senjutsu to break him out of Loki's curse."

"I guess…" he sighed, "It's not move that should be used more than once a day….and the name is long, so it's annoying to say."

"It's either that or die." Anna said harshly with a glare, causing Yoh to flinch. Watching the two, Kuroka couldn't help but crack a smile. ' _Even at the face of death…they still find time to joke with one another…'_ Looking at Naruto, the Nekoshou remember of the times he took care her, even when trapped inside of his seal. _'Back then, he made light of every situation in order to make me feel comfortable…even if I didn't appreciate it…'_

"Do we have a plan to approach him?" asked Yoh, "I just don't wanna end up like the rest of the team." He said while peeking at Lee and Hao unconscious forms.

"We'll be fine, nya." Said Kuroka, creating a magic circle for Lee and Hao to rest on, "Let's just…look for an openi-"

"HAHAHAH!" Kisame shouted, who had apparently freed himself from his icy prison (and still had Kusanagi plunged through his stomach), flew out of the tree line with an insane grin as his bloodshot eyes locked onto Naruto's form, gaining the blonde's attention, "I've got ya' this time, idiot!" He pointed Samehada's open maw at Naruto's floating form, "EAT THIS YOU PIECE OF SHIT! BEAST BOMB!"

Another black missile shot out of Samehada's massive figure. Naruto called forth the magic from his Uzumaki seals, developing a red sun of destruction to counter Kisame's Beast Bomb as the two attacks collided. The explosion following was like none before as nothing could survive the hell storm of black and red magic enveloping half of the space within the barrier.

Kuroka, Anna, and Yoh moved safely outside of the blast rage, but were slightly affected by the strong winds interfering with their flight. "Does this count as an opening!" Yoh shouted over the destruction happening in front of them.

"Better this than anything, nya!" shouted Kuroka.

"Go Yoh!" ordered Anna.

Listening to his wife, Yoh's White Swan armor phased to life around him. Reeling back and flexing his wings, the younger Asakura twin created an earthen magic seal to use as a platform jump off, producing a sonic boom as the fastest member of Team Pickle Rick disappeared into the explosion.

"Kuroka…" The Nekoshou looked back at Anna who called for her, "You can do it…" she whispered, giving the younger girl a rare smile and a thumbs up.

"Thanks!" she said, taking Anna's support as she flew off after Yoh, "I can do this!" _'I'll save him! He needs me!'_

Yoh had explosion with his armor somewhat protecting him from the heavy magic polluting the air. He had found his target towards the upper half of the blast zone. Using all the energy he had, Yoh began to move at speeds he never moved before to keep his position at random to the blonde who had just become of the Asakura's presence. Jumping off an earthen magic circle the moment he created it, Yoh circled around Naruto at a safe distance. He was moving so fast that his after image looked real to Naruto as he raided the air with a plethora of bolts of destruction.

' _Here goes nothing!'_ thought Yoh as he jumped off another magic circle and phased out of existence as he reached his maximum speed. Naruto, safely protected within his armor, looked around for Yoh amidst the dying explosion he was still in. Flashes of red burst through the dark cloud as he tried to hit Yoh, but any attempt at hurting the speedy [Knight] failed.

Dashing to his left and then right to avoid another bolt, Yoh closed in at Naruto's exposed stomach. Gathering the remaining magic he had, he pierced Harusame forward with the tip touch Naruto's Golem of Destruction armor at one last attempt at ending it all.

" **Amida-Ryu: Mu-Mu-Myo-Yaku-Mu!"** He shouted, activating his spell.

Just like before, Naruto's armor was stripped away, leaving him fully exposed. The light faded from Yoh's eyes as he had used up all his stamina. _'It's up to you, Kuroka…'_ were his final thoughts as his body plunged down to the ground.

Kuroka appeared out of thin air as she dropped her invisibility spell. _'This time…'_ she thought with determination as she flew at Naruto, _'I'll save you for sure!'_

There was no hesitation in her movements as he placed both hands on the sides of his face. Calling forth as much Senjutsu as possible, Kuroka leaned forward…

The Devil and Nekoshou's lips met for the first time. Kuroka packed every ounce of love she had into the kiss as her Senjutsu filled Naruto's body. Just as Gabriel used her magic to heal Naruto's body when he was freed from his seal, Kuroka used her chakra to heal his soul and mind of all the damage created by everyone-even herself- had created. She felt his body twitch as her Senjutsu combatted against Loki's curse. Her face twisted as she felt the Norse God's energy fight back, but she kept the connection between the duo strong as the thought of every memory she had with the blonde-using her Senjutsu to play those memories like a movie in the blonde's head.

A soothing aura filled his body, not caring at his growing want for oxygen increased by the second as the color in his eyes slowly returned. He had felt so distant and lost for what felt like the past few hours, surround by darkness as evil whispers that continually tortured him were silenced as a pink light filled his mental.

' _What…is this feeling…'_ thought Naruto as his green halo and curse mark on his forehead faded away as Loki's influence dwindled away. A glimpse of familiar black hair and the smell of cinnamon filled his nostrils. The soft lips on his own was welcoming and needed, in a way, as he wrapped his arms around the warmth. _'Why do I feel…..'_

' _So at peace…'_

Naruto blinked as whoever kissed him pulled away, allowing him to fill his lungs with oxygen. He couldn't hold back his surprise as he stared into the golden orbs of his [Queen], Kuroka the Cat, as she stared back him with a large smile and tears threatenthign to fall from her eyes.

"I love you, Naruto…" she said with as much emotion she could muster.

"K…Kuroka…" Free of Loki's curse, Naruto's body was embolized by shock caused by his protégé's confession. His mind went blank, but he still clung to her sides as she was the only nearby warmth he felt.

The barrier trapping them started to crack like glass, until it broke altogether, revealing the dark red night sky of the Underworld as the full moon shined bright. The light produced by the moon shined in Kuroka's eyes as she stared at him with nothing but love and adoration.

The Devil and Nekoshou stared at one another for some time as the area had quitted, the explosion caused by Kisame and Naruto's final exchange finally dying out. Neither cared, however, as they continued to hold one another in silence.

From afar, Anna watched with a small smile on her face. Next to her Goki held Yoh in its arms, and Zenki had Lee and Hao's unconscious bodies. "Seems she finally grew some balls…." she whispered as she watched the scene.

"About god damn time…" grumbled Kisame, hovering next to the Shaman with Orochimaru's body hanging limp over his shoulder, "I say that I set this shit up! I made it possible for the pussy to stop being pussy and I gave that idiot a pep talk about women a couple of weeks ago. This is all my doing! The Great Kisame-sama's Grand Master Plan!" he huffed with arrogance coming off of him in waves.

"Shut up…" Anna said with a roll of her eyes. "By the way…when are you gonna take that sword out of your stomach?"

"Oh yea." Kisame said as he looked at Kusanagi, which was still lodged into his stomach, "Almost forgot about this…" He grabbed the hilt and pulled the sword out with no effort, "Ouchie…I wonder how the fuck the pale man keeps this shit in his body like he does…" he questioned, inspecting the sword for any special properties.

Back with Naruto and Kuroka, the blonde-haired Bael was finally able to break out of his shock. A small grin grew on his face as he used his thumb to whip Kuroka's tears away.

"Kuroka…" he uttered as drowsiness began to take over, "…..th-thank you….." he finished before his head landed on her shoulder, the stress of being controlled for so long finally taking its toll as he body tapped out.

She caught his limp body before it could descend to the ground. She couldn't help as her heart fluttered and a large blush grew on her face as she realized what she did. However, she shook her head, knowing now wasn't the best time to start fangirling.

She met back up with Kisame and Anna as the only conscious members of Team Pickle Rick flew over the absolutely totaled land and back to their house….which was destroyed as well. Only a third of the house stood as where the other two thirds of the house was a giant crater that continued in a twisted line through the earth-probably caused by Naruto's laser beams of destruction.

Landing on his recliner, which had survived their fight with Naruto, Kisame dropped both Orochimaru and Samehada down harshly, not caring if he hurt either one of them. "Shit…." He growned, "I'm exhausted…"

Anna laid Hao, Yoh, and Lee out on the couches that were still available. The moment she did, she felt extremely fatigued as she crawled on top of Yoh's body. "I…..am to….." she mumbled.

Kuroka laid Naruto down on the half-destroyed couch they usually shared together. She cleared the ground in front of it and sat there, resting her head back on the couch for support. "Nya….this….feels nice…"

"Oh my gosh!" cried the newly arrived Misla Bael, who was trapped outside of the barrier the entire time, "I saw most of what happened! Are you all alright!?"

"I will be when you shut the fuck up…" mumbled Kisame as his head bobbed up and down, fighting the sleep that was starting to take over.

"Misla…can you do me favor…" whispered the tired Anna.

"Yes! Yes-anything!" said the distraught Vapula, "Just say it and I'll handle it."

"Heal us…" was the last thing Anna said before succumbing to the darkness.

"O-of course…" she whispered, not wanting to disturb Anna or the others.

"Thanks, Misla…naaayyyaaaaaaaaaaaa…" yawned Kuroka as her eyes slowly closed, "You're…the best…zzzzzz…."

"While I'm sleep, can you beat my dick off in your ha-" the back of Kisame's recliner broke off, causing his head to fall back and hit the ground, effectively knocking him out.

 **Timeskip**

…

…

…

… **.**

… _..-" Yes…I love you too."_

" _Yes…I love you too."_

" _Yes…I love you too."_

" _Yes…I love yo-"_

"Shut up…." mumbled Yoh as he reached for his vibrating phone he felt in his pocket. After turning off the annoying alarm, the younger Asakura twin released a low yawn as he reached on his right for his sleeping wife, since he usually slept on the left side of the bed.

His face scrunched in confusion as, instead of his hand resting on the warm body of his wife, Anna Kyoyama (soon to be Anna Asakura), his hand landed on what felt like wood.

' _What the…'_ he thought sleepily as he opened his eye with another yawn. Realizing that his hand was on the night stand next to the bed, he circled around to see Anna's petite frame. She wasn't wearing her usual sleepwear, which was any large T-shirt of his. Instead, the young Shaman was sleeping in a purple bath robe…one that he didn't recognize.

"Hmmm…" he hummed, not paying it much thought as he began his daily ritual of scrolling through his phone.

"….hmm..oh? Travis Scott dropped a new album last night? Gotta check that out…Zendaya's trending?...she's a nice person…hehehe…silly cat videos….Hmmm, it's 2:32 in the afternoon? Whew….haven't slept that late in a while…Anna would've said something….*yawn*….something by now…."

"…."

"….."

"….."

"….hm?"

"HOLY SHIT!" Yoh literally jumped out of bed, revealing that he was wearing a purple bathrobe as well, "THE FUCKING RATING GAME!"

Yoh's yelling woke Anna out of her sleep. A dark veil of purple magic surrounded her figure as she turned towards her fiancée with the angrest scowl he had ever seen on his wife, "Yoh…." She muttered darkly, "I'm going to kill you….slowly…brutally…"

"Anna! The rating game! It's in freaking….twenty seven mintues!"

The instant he said that, Anna's eyes widened in realization as she pushed the covers off of her, "Wha-where are we?" she said, looking around what was not their shared room.

"We gotta find the others!" Bursting through the door, Yoh looked around the long, unfamiliar hallway he was in. "Hello! Where is everybody!?"

"Bitch, if you don't shut the fuck up!" shouted the familiar voice of Kisame in a nearby room, "I'm tryin' sleep!"

Opening his door with no regards to his privacy, Yoh shouted, "Kisame! We have a Rating Game in 27 minutes!"

"And do I give a fuck!?" shouted the blue Demon as he pulled the covers over his head, "Go do that shit without me!"

"No! Kisame, it's with that woman that's trying to force Naruto-sama to marry him!"

That caught Kisame's attention as he got up from the bed, revealing that he had on a small pink bathrobe on with flowers. "…..what the fuck am I wearing?" he questioned as he snapped his fingers, his usual apparel a black raincoat with red clouds covered him.

Grabbing the sleeping Samehada, Kisame joined Yoh and Anna out in the hallway. By that time, two other doors had been opened, with a tired but frantic looking Kuroka and Hao, both dressed in black bathrobes. "We overslept." Hao stated with wide eyes, a rare look for the mature Asakura, "Oh my god…."

"WHERE'S NARUTO!" panicked Kuroka, pulling out her hair in worry.

The next door to open in the hallway surprised them all at who it was behind it. Misla Bael was who stepped out, wearing a set of silk, purple pajamas as she joined the peerage out in the hallway. "Go-good afternoon." Stuttered the woman, "Is something a matter?"

"Misla, where are we?" asked Hao in a calm matter, hiding his anxiety behind a blank façade.

"Oh…you're in my house at the moment." she explained, "A-after your fight with Naruto-san, you all slept in your house…wh-which is pretty much destroyed. I brought you here to heal your injuries-altough I'm not the best when it comes to healing spells-and put you all in your individual rooms."

"YOSH!" Another door swung open, revealing Lee wearing only tiddy-widdies, not caring about the noticeable bulge in his pants, "The rating game!" he shouted

"Ye-yes…" muttered Misla with an embarrassed blush. The others were used to Lee's morning attire, so it didn't too much affect them as it did their neighbor, "I tried to heal you all as much as I could, but I don't have as much magic…please, forgive me for my incompetence…" she bowed in shame.

"That isn't your fault, Bael-san." said Anna, "You've done enough for us as it is. What we need to do now is wake up Orochimaru and Naruto-sama so we can get ready."

"O-of course. Orochimaru-san and Naruto-san's room is right over there." she said, directing the group to another room.

Opening the door, the group was greeted to the sight of Naruto and Orochimaru in their own individual beds out cold. Kuroka ran up to Naruto's bed, followed by Lee and Hao, while Yoh, Kisame, and Anna made over to Orochimaru.

"He's…still unconscious…" muttered Anna after checking the snake man's pulse and temperature, "And his magic is weak….He's not waking up anytime soon…"

"Naruto…..he's in a similar state…" said Kuroka, using her Senjutsu to analyze the blonde's current condition, "The curse probably had a heavy mental strain for him…he not gonna wake up either, nya…"

"Well, what the fuck are we gonna do!?" shouted Kisame, "We need the idiot to even get in the fucking Rating Game. What's worse it that we're down a member, and I haven't even recovered all of my magic yet!"

"I'm in a similar predicament…" replied Yoh with a strained smile, the weight of the situation slowly increasing by the moment, "And my body…is real sore…"

Hao pulled back his cream-color bathrobe to reveal a large scar on his chest-most likely caused by the powerful lariat he received from Naruto. "I'm a little bit over…60% I'd say….and my body is nowhere near 100% percent. I need to be healed…and fast."

"But if were to do it, I'd just be wasting my magic too, nya…" said Kuroka, cursing under her breath as their situation was worse than she realized.

"The-then what are we going to do!?" asked a worried Lee, "If we don't fight….we'll lose by default, and Naruto-sama will have to marry that awful woman!"

Kuroka gritted her teeth, not having an answer for her friend. ' _This….this can't be how it ends…after I finally told him how I feel…'_

"I have an idea." All eyes looked towards to Anna Kyoyama as she stared down at Naruto's sleeping form. "As you all know, I am a Shaman," she started, "That means that I have the ability to control spirits…I could use this ability to control Naruto-sama's body."

"But can't Shaman's only call forth dead spirits?" questioned Hao, "How would you control Naruto-sama's body?"

"By possessing him with another spirit." She replied, dropping a bomb on all of her listeners, "I can have Goki control his body," she said as the red shikigami manifested next to his master, "While I still have a decent amount of magic left, it's not my maximum, and controlling bodies through possession takes a lot of energy, especially since we don't have a clear idea on how long this Rating Game will be. We can fake as if Naruto-sama is actually conscious with Goki controlling his body, so we'll at least be able to fight in the Rating Game, however, since Goki hasn't taken over Naruto-sama's body before, he won't be able to fight in it."

"Shit…." cursed Yoh, his hands forming into fist, "Why do we always end up in these situations…."

"If we can do that, we still have to worry about the fact that most of us are still injured and low on magic." said Kuroka, "That means we can't do the usually and run up to our enemies with no plan, nya. We'll have to make due with what we have…unless someone knows a way that can heal us to 100% in the next….twenty mintues, nya." said the Nekoshou as she glanced at the clock in the room.

Everybody was silent, not knowing any way to heal themselves, or their fallen leader and his advisor…that was until Lee perked up with the greatest idea in mind.

"Oh! Phenex Tears!" he shouted, "We can use Phenex Tears!

"Good thinking, Lee." said Kuroka in approval. Turning to the silent Misla, Kuroka asked, "Misla…do you have any Phenex Tears, nya?"

Sadly, the woman shook her head in denial. "I…I do not…Phenex Tears are too expensive for someone like me to have…and I really don't have a reason to use them in the first place…"

"So we just ask around until we get some so we can kick sum ass!" suggested Kisame.

"Negative." denied the [Queen] as she analyzed their situation with precision, "This is our most important Rating Game to date…heavily political as well, nya. We have given off the image of being an unbeatable team. We cannot go around asking other clans or royals for help. It will hurt our overall image as the peerage that's going to take down the Bael Council and the Great King…this is something that we have to keep close to home, nya." she explained in a rather professional manner, taking charge of the peerage now that Naruto and Orochimaru

Hao hummed as he thought over Kuroka's words. "'Close to home'…." He repeated before an idea struck him.

"Riser Phenex."

 **Phenex Mansion**

The ever-arrogant Riser was checking himself in the mirror as he readied himself to leave for the big Rating Game that was going to happen in the next 15 minutes. His father, mother, brothers and younger sister had already left. He, however, was late after having some 'fun' with his [Queen] and a few other members of his peerage in the morning. He was now ready as he took in his handsome image in his oversized mirror with a smirk.

"You look handsome as ever, Riser-sama." Complimented his [Queen] Yubelluna, as she checked his clothes for any faults. Finding none, she was sure that her [King] was ready to leave after checking himself for five minutes.

"Hmmm…Riser does look good.." he smirked, "Alright…let us leave. I've kept my parents waiting long enough."

Before the duo could leave to meet up with the rest of the royal Phenex family, a familiar teleportation seal appeared in the middle of the room. Riser was going to strike down whoever it was as entering one's room via teleportation was highly rude and an invasion of privacy. However, once he saw Hao and his peerage members grow from the seal, he calmed his nerves as confusion was all that he felt.

"Hao?" he questioned, noticing that he looked a bit sporadic, highly unlike the Asakura, "What are you doing here? Riser demands an answer."

Ignoring his 'demand', Hao quickly got straight to the point, "Riser…do you have any available Phenex Tears right now?"

"Phenex Tears?" he said in confusion, "Why would you need them?"

"To make things short, we were attacked last night." Hao explained to his mentee, "Our magic reserves is shot, and we need a quick way of healing in order to fight in our Rating Game…which is in fifteen minutes."

"You're asking me for my Phenex Tears?" he all but yelled, "Phenex Tears is a very important product of the Phenex Clan! Riser can't just give them for free, especially my own personal tears! It's important to me and is personal!"

"Listen…" Hao stepped up to the slightly taller man, "I know that you Phenex's keep your Phenex Tears close to you…and you don't give them out to anybody because your Phenex Tears mean a lot to you…but understand that I….I have no other solution other than asking you for your own tears…"

Shock filled Riser, Yubelluna, and everyone else watching as Hao got down on one knee, bowing in respect to the Phenex. "Please, on the behalf of my master….please allow me to use your tears and I'll pay you back soon. Just this one time, Riser….."

"….." Riser was left speechless as he stared at the bowing Hao. Hao had constantly reminded the Phenex during their training sessions about humility and respect for others, but the blonde would have never thought that he would live to see the day of Hao Asakura, out of all people, bow to him in respect. If he was doing this, then Hao really meant what he said and his peerage really needed the tears in order to have a chance at winning their coming Rating Game.

Slowly….Riser stepped aside before walking to his drawer. Digging through it for a few seconds, he pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing two perfect Phenex Tears. Walking back over, he gave the tears to Hao and turned away. "I'm sure you'll talk to Riser about this later…." He whispered as he prepared a teleportation seal for him and his [Queen], "Good luck in your match….you're going to need it…" he finished before disappearing.

"…thank you…" Hao mouthed, not wanting the others to hear it as he turned back to his group and handed the tears to Kuroka, "So….the question now is who deserves the tears?"

… **.**

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… **.**

… **.**

… **.**

 **I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW!**

" **NarutoPlug? Where ya been at? Didn't you say you were gonna finish BreakThrough in December? December's almost over and you haven't even gotten to the Esdeath fight."**

 **I KNOW THAT'S ALL THAT Y'ALL SAYING RIGHT NOW AND I HAVE A PERFECTLY GOOD EXCUSE!**

 **FUCKING COLLEGE!**

 **I mean, was 45% of the reason why this chapter late a result of laziness? Absolutely.**

 **Was I on Fanfiction this entire time reading Villain Izuku/Toga Fanfiction stories? Ya damn right.**

 **Did I open my labtop with the intention on working on this chapter but, instead, decided that watching Super Smash Bros. Ultimate videos on YouTube a better idea? Yup. Yup. Yup.**

 **HOWEVER! My finals for this semester was really bad. I mean REAALLLLLLY BAD! I mean, I did finish the semester with a 3.6 GPA (spray the champagne one time for ya boy, ya dig?), but it took a lot out of me. However, I'm glad I was able to finish this chapter before I head out to Chicago in the morning (it's literally 12 in the morning as I type this and I leave to drive to the airport at 3:00 pm.)**

 **Anway, this chapter was a big one. Currently at 27.2k and ever word was worth it. Because it took me so long to update, I wanted this chapter be extra special, especially since I've been looking forward to making this chapter ever since the idea of BreakThrough popped up in my mind a good two years ago.**

 **Everybody forgot about Loki! Like, I've looked through my reviews and nobody has said anything about Loki's character since the chapter he appeared! Like, y'all still ain't figure out that I do every little thing in BreakThrough for a reason? This chapter was packed with all the emotion I can type, and I have to say that I quite enjoyed the fight scene, although, I felt as if I could have done it a bit better.**

 **Anyway, you KurokaxNaruto fans are one step closer to making it official! BUT! Ya still gotta think about Esdeath. You see the predicament Team Pickle Rick is in right now. Can they even beat Honest's peerage as they are?**

 **And who is gonna be able to use the Phenex Tears?**

 **While I have an idea as to who is gonna get the Tears, Ima leave this one to yall. Comment in the reviews who you think is more deserving of the Phenex Tears and explain why. This Rating Game is going to be different as Team Pickle Rick is actually gonna have to strategies on this one. I'm leaving this next chapter's start up on yall, and if I see a logical explanation to who should get the Phenex Tears, I'll take that route.**

 **Really think about who you want to have the Phenex Tears. Think about each and every members abilites to see if theirs is worthy to be restored to 100%. Ya got two Tears to work with, so be creative.**

 **BUT! Naruto is off limits! As stated in the chapter, Naruto's injuries are more on the mental side of things-not physical-something the tears can't heal. Orochimaru is still legal tho.**

 **The next one is gonna be a big one. Whiel not as big as this chapter (knock on wood), it's gonna be hella epic.**

 **Again, I'm sorry for the late review, but "life is a bitch and she wants my nut." – NarutoPlug 2019**

 **Thank you all for supporting me as BreakThrough is going through its final phase. I love you all.**

 **But yeah, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out.**

 **Like a real nigga should…**


	34. KurokaVsHonestPart1

**[Hey everyone! Just wanna say sorry for the late update. I started this chapter late December/early January and I'm just now getting it out. I suffered a long drought called writer's block and with college starting back again this semester, my time really got away from me. However, I hope you enjoy the chapter.]**

 **..**

…

 **Ayo, ayo, ayo, its ya boy, NarutoPlug, freezing my ass of in this cold weather in Chicago.**

 **I gotta say! The last chapter didn't do that bad! I really liked the response I got from so many of you, especially in terms of requesting who should get the Phenex Tears. I really liked everyone's response, and I've narrowed it down to the two that will get the Tears-which will be revealed soon in the chapter, and I'm glad that you read my Author Note's religiously. Thanks for that.**

 **Just a quick update on me: Just caught up reading MizuToriFFN's story 'Thank You', an Izuku/Momo story. It is really well done and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The story made me a fan of the Izu/Momo ship now, but Izu/Toga is the all time greatest pairing ever in the universe's space-time continuum, intergalactic dimension-rift between heaven and hell. Yes…all of that detail was necessary to describe the greatness of Izu/Toga.**

 **Also, reading all these MyHero stories really has slightly motivated me into making that story I told you all about. As of right now, it isn't gonna happen….but maybe if I'm motivated enough, I'll act on it. The story idea I have in mind is really good and I'm sure you all would enjoy it.**

 **Anyway, I also been reading up on my boy Bratja Rasa's story 'Werefox of Bael'. Pretty good so far. I really like it. Check his shit out.**

 **I haven't been able to checkout the isekai manga that you all recommended me, but I'll be sure to check out a few while I'm taking hour long breaks on making this chapter.**

 **Also! Just wanted to tell you all this before I got into the story-even though I should have told yall this last chapter. So, I am gonna have to nerf Akame's Murasame blade. Having a one-hit kill sword like that is too strong in the world of Dxd, and there isn't any logical way to explain how she got the sword and how it works, so I'm just gonna have Murasame's ability be that whenever somebody is cut by the sword, a strong poison enters their body and begins to eat through the body or sum shit like that. I might have a better explanation with it when I get to that point of chapter where she comes in, but as for now, that's where I'm at.**

 **Thank you all for you continued love and support. NarutoPlug thanks you. You should pat yourself on the back and mentally prepare for this chapter.**

 **Cuz I got the feeling that it's gonna be a long one.**

 **Enjoy the chapter.**

 **BreakThrough**

 **KurokaVsHonest[Part 1]**

 _ **Flashback - 5 ½ years ago**_

 **Antarctica**

Nothing but snow was visible to the naked eye as strong winds blew through icy terrain. The freezing temperatures of the bottom of the world was terrifyingly cold-even Devil would have trouble navigating through such harsh terrain as snow flew everywhere. The ice-solid ground of the frozen continent was barren and lifeless-no signs of plant or animal life at all.

Amidst the strong snowstorm that blew through the cold hell was a small girl in an oversized coat that was literally twice her size. The black-haired girl with a noticeable strong set of golden eyes sat on the frozen floor, trying her hardest to ignore the extremely cold winds blasting her face at every second. She was shivering as she hugged herself, trying to keep her body as warm as possible.

"Na..Naruto…." she stuttered, calling out a name but there was nobody around, "Why….w-wh-why am I h-h-h-he-here?"

If one were to see her now, they'd question her sanity since it looked like she was talking to herself. However, a red spherical barrier phased to life around the shivering girl's body, blocking the blistering cold and snowstorm from hitting her.

Her once visible breath was now nonexistent as the space within the barrier instantly heated to warmer temperatures, giving the girl a break from the freezing torture she was enduring.

The young girl's cat ears snuck out from under her hood, twitching at the noise of the orange orb of magic fizzling to life in front of her. She let out a small hiss, making her displeasure of her current predicament known. "What t-the he-hell, Narut-t-to!?" she shouted, still recovering from her body's low internal temperature.

" _I…k-know…it's h-ha….hard, My….Pro..t..tege…_ _"_ stuttered the newly named Naruto from his spectral orb, _"_ _..b….b-but I…p…..romise tha-at….this is g-ggo-od…..f-f….for y-your…training…_ _"_

"That m-makes sense, but freaking Antarctica, nya!?" she yelled, "I'm a c-cat! I don't like the cold! Or wet places! This place is an entire frozen w-wet place, nya!"

" _He…hehehehe…y-yo..'re….so fun-ny….My…Prot..ege_ _"_ said Naruto with an hallow, eerie laugh that would have made anybody that never heard it hair stand up, but the young Nekoshou was use to her friend's antics. _" Th-...this…..is a-apar…t….of ….."_

"Oh yea?" questioned the 14-year old cat with pursed lips, unbelieving of Naruto's reason, "And how is sitting in the cold gonna make me stronger, nya?"

" _You reme….member our t-t-tr…rip to see…..fox lady? "_

"You mean Yasaka, nya. We just left Kyoto two weeks ago. Honestly, Naruto, your memory sucks, nya."

"… _..o..ohh … s-so...….sorry...…...…"_ he stuttered with a laugh, " _But…..Ya-ya…saka-saaannn…..recommend-you practice….gathe-gathering….Sen-sen..jutsu…..being in a…p-place with no l-life…forces you to…stretch out..a-and…..sum-summon natural en-en-energy….from farr…r…away. "_

"Hm…I guess that makes sense…" she grumbled, not denying the logic behind Naruto's harsh training method, "But did she really say got to the bottom of the world? Didn't she say somewhere with 'not a lot of life' and not 'a place with no life?'"

" _Nope! He…eheheehehehhehehe! " _he laughed, causing the young girl to roll her eyes at the floating orb, _" B-but this wi..l….help…"_ Naruto said, switching back to a more serious demeanor, _" Yo…You ha...….have...such…..pot..tential…My….Prote….ge…mo-more…th-than e…..even…those born a-as….h-heirs…of d-….Devil….c-clans…..W….with this…t-training….you'll….be able to d-do th..things….not pos-osible…..f….for someone…y..yo….your age…"_

"Well…when you put it like that…" Kuroka said with a blush at all the praise, "I am pretty amazing, nya….I guess I can go through this stupid training. I'd rather spend my time sleeping though…."

" _He…hehe…You'll...ha...have t...time….a-after…This…..t…train-training…. ….help in…f….future… "_ he said with his usual stutter, _"B…be my…[Queen] now?"_

Kuroka couldn't help but giggle at the request. "I've told you before, Naruto. It's never gonna happen, nyayaya!" she giggled at what was an outrageous request to her.

"… _..Oh….Ma-maybe…..next…t..t-t..Time th-ennn… "_ he said with a slightly dip of his usual happy tone.

"By the way…how long am I gonna be here, nya?" asked the cat girl.

The only reply she got was a laugh that made her shiver before the barrier disappeared, along with Naruto's orb, leaving Kuroka to meditate amongst the dangerous elements of Antarctica.

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Outside of Bael Coliseum**

"Hello everybody! My name is Doris Bourke, reporting live right outside of the legendary Bael Coliseums where it is reported Team Pickle Rick, lead by the Compass Needle of Victory himself, Naruto Bael-sama, to be the meeting and latch point for their Rating Game against the all-powerful Honest Bael-sama -who has a 22-0 record as of today. This Rating Game is also apart of the massive fight over the right to face Lord Bael, leader of the Bael Clan and Great King of the Underworld, in a Rating Game over the highest position in the Underworld! Also, it is reported that this match has marriage ties as well, with Naruto Bael fighting against his engaged marriage with General Esdeath-sama, Honest Bael-sama's menacing [Queen]. This will be the first Rating Game stream live for the world to see ever since Naruto-sama's first fight against Bianca Bael-sama! The energy outside the arena tremendous as Rating Game fans from all over have come to watch what will be one crazy match that will start in the next five minutes!

"There has been many predictions-what?...Team Pickle Rick is here?" They are here!"

All the reporters that stood behind the purple rope, separating them from the purple carpet laid on the floor which led to Team Pickle Rick's departure site, turned their cameras and mics to the approaching Team Pickle Rick, marching down the exclusive carpet with all-seriousness.

Flash began to fill the area as every took various pictures, recorded, and held out their mics in order to get an exclusive from the group.

"Naruto-sama! Over here!"

"Naruto-sama, what's your relationship with Esdeath-sama ever since the reveal of your engagement with her?"

"What are the odds to your victory in this Rating Game!?"

"Where are your iconic headphones, Yoh-sama?"

"Can you give us any insight on the strategy you'll be using?"

"Why are your arms wrapped in bandages?"

"Comments on your relationship with the Gremory Clan ever since they've withdrew their support from you and your efforts?"

"Naruto-sama! Aren't you missing a [Pawn]? Where is your [Pawn], Orochimaru?"

The incomplete Team Pickle Rick walked down the carpet in silence, unlike their usual antics of pleasing the media before entering a Rating Game. They all looked forward, ignoring the question and camera flashes as their security led them into the doors of main coliseum of Bael Coliseum.

Naruto Bael stared off blankly, his movements robotic and slightly uneasy, confusing those that noticed the weird behavior why he was moving in such manor. All of their questions were ignored, another red flag for the media, as the group entered the building…

And no Orochimaru in sight…

 **Bael Coliseum Suites**

Lord Agares considered himself a strong man.

Being the leader of one of the strongest Devil Clans in the Underworld, he had to hold himself in a way that made him look superior-and he had to back up that look with the strength of his clan's bloodline in time magic and his political knowledge. Yes, he considered himself arrogant, but it was arrogance he could back up. He hardly showed emotion, with only his wife and daughter ever seeing him smile-and even that was still a rare occurrence-and keeping up his eternal, cold exterior that made those beneath him quiver in his presence.

However, he couldn't hide the worry creeping to his facial features as he, along with the other High-Class Devils he was with, looking up at the TV which showed Team Pickle Rick's strange entrance. While he hadn't talked to Naruto or any of his peerage members for about a week's time, he knew beforehand that the blonde Bael was ready for this fight. Even with their limited knowledge of Honest's peerage, the Agares Clan leader was sure that Naruto would pull off some type of crazy strategy or spell to edge himself over Honest.

That confidence he had was disturbed when he saw the group's unusual entrance and the lack of one peerage member-Orochimaru. Lord Agares knew that Orochimaru was Naruto's advisor, and acted as the strategist and leader whenever Naruto wasn't around. So, to see the pale man not with his team really raised eyebrows.

And Naruto's very unusual choice in style by having his arms and fingers wrapped in medical bandages really stood out…..

He could hear the whispers of this fellow Devils in high standings that had all gathered together to watch would possible be one of the most important Rating Games of the decade. If Team Pickle Rick was entering this match without one of the members of their already small peerage, then they were already at a huge disadvantage.

' _You better know what you're doing, you idiot…'_ thought the Agares as he acted natural, taking a sip from his wine and continued to watch the TV.

 **Bael Coliseum – Honest's Waiting Room**

"Hehehe! Seems like that curse actually had an effect." laughed Honest as he and his peerage members watched the large TV plastered on the wall of their waiting room. "The fact that Orochimaru isn't with them….then he must be injured or dead. Hopefully, the ladder." he shrugged, "Good work, Run." The Bael said, glancing towards the silent blonde with a frown on his face, "Finding out that Naruto had a Norse curse on him waiting to be activated? Genius. Now our victory is assured." he laughed.

Not to far off from the laughing [King] sat Esdeath in her usual General attire-one leg draped over the other and her arms crossed. She seemed to be annoyed as she watched the screen displaying Team Pickle Rick. Honest noticed her visible displeasure and groaned, feeling an argument coming. "Is something a matter, Esdeath?" he asked.

The blue-haired beauty blew a bang of hair from the side of her face and closed her eyes. "…..I don't like how we went about this Honest." she started, "I wanted to fight them all at their best so I could defeat them and break their spirits. This win won't feel like I worked for it now that we know their weakened."

"Don't worry about, Esdeath!" waved off Honest, not caring for his [Queen]'s hunger for battle, "I just wanted to guarantee our victory. Plus, now that we have absolutely no chance at losing, you'll get what you want in the form of one Naruto Bael. You can't tell me that doesn't excite you, no?" questioned the former Bael Councilman.

"Hmm…" Esdeath hummed, thinking over Honest's statement. An image of her holding a grinning Naruto's hand appeared in her head, causing a small amount of pink to dust her cheeks. "This better work…." She muttered, blowing a bang of hair from her attractive face.

"And it shall!" he laughed, "Plus… I've got an idea of mines just to make sure we win."

Honest's eyes shifted to Tatsumi's form, who was sitting in a nearby couch with Wave. "Tatsumi." The young man's brown eyes met Honest's violet with interest. "Don't you want to be with your wife?"

The brunette jumped out of his seat in both fear and excitement. "Y..yes sir! I wanna see Mine!"

The Bael chuckled at his servant and nodded to one of the butlers in the room. The main opened the door to reveal a small woman with pink hair and eyes, donned in a pink dress with frills-fit for someone of rich taste. Her midsection was wrapped in chains, but the girl didn't seem to mind as she stared blankly off to space-no emotion in her eyes to note.

"M….Mine…" muttered Tatsumi, staring at his wife in shock and happiness. While the girl didn't speak, she did look up at Tatsumi, recognizing his presence.

"That's right, Tatsumi." The brunette's focus was pulled back to the grinning Honest, "I feel as if you two will listen to me now unlike before now that she's gone through her punishment. So, if you two do good during today's match, I'll reunite you two permanently. Make sure to make me happy, okay?"

"Yes sir!" Tatsumi dashed over to his nonresponsive wife and freed her from her chains before hugging her smaller frame into his chest. "I'll kill 'em all for you, Honest-sama! Mine will too!"

"You can kill everyone other than Naruto." corrected Honest with a sick laugh, "Once we defeat him, I'll kill off that dumbass Azelf next. Then, our oh-so powerful Great King. HAHAHAH!"

Listening to his [King]'s sick laughter, Run could only shake his head in disappointment…in himself. His body was overridden with guilt as to what he caused, but he was loyal to the person that saved him. However, because of his actions, it was almost guaranteed that Naruto would lose.

' _I'm sorry Naruto-sama….for dooming you to a life of unhappiness…'_ he thought, holding back his tears that threatened to fall.

 **Vassgo Territory – City of Horokeu – Iron Maiden Orphanage**

In a secluded room away from all the other children and caretakers, sat Opacho-the young girl Hao visited every time he came to volunteer at the orphanage. She still wore the poncho Hao gave her out of admiration for the [Bishop] of Naruto Bael and was ready to cheer on the older Asakura during the Rating Game.

In front of her was a TV which showed the countdown for the start of said Rating Game. The young girl sat silently, patiently awaiting the moment that the game would start so that she could support her favorite person in the world.

Behind her was Jeanne and Marco, with the owner of the orphanage sitting in a recliner while Marco stood behind her. Because the other children weren't interested in the Rating Game, wanting to watch things such as cartoons or play outside with the other caretakers, Jeanne decided to stay with Opacho in another room so that the girl could watch the game in peace. She knew how much the little girl admired Hao, so she allowed the girl to watch the Rating Game away from anyone else.

"Jeanne-sama…" Marco whispered into Jeanne's ear, catching the beautiful maiden's attention, "Are you sure it's alright for someone so young to be watching a Rating Game that will surely have so much gore? I'm worried she may see something that would scare her."

"Oh..Opacho will be just fine." said Jeanne with a smile to heavenly for any Devil to make, "She's surprisingly mature for a child her age. Plus, I'm sure that she'd throw a fit if we didn't allow her to watch this Rating Game…right, Opacho?"

"Right." stated the little girl, her eyes frozen onto the TV, "Opacho wants to see Hao-sama kick ass."

"Hmmm…" hummed Marco while rubbing his chin, not even caring that Opacho used 'ass' since it was common for the little girl to use the adult words from the novels she read, "Well, hopefully he doesn't disappoint you, Opacho…"

"He won't…" Opacho muttered as Hao's face flashed on the screen for a brief second, "He wouldn't do that to Opacho…"

 **Bael Coliseum – Extraction Point**

The team sat in silence, awaiting the moment to be sent off to the dimension they would be fighting Honest. Lee was in a corner doing push ups with Kisame sitting on his back. Samehada with squeak whenever Lee completed a push up, seemingly keeping count. Yoh and Anna sat on a couch in silence, and Hao and Kuroka sat on the floor with their legs crossed-meditating for the coming fight.

The Goki-possessed sat on a metal folder chair with no emotion present on his face. They had changed the blonde's tattered cloths for a set of black cargo pants, a blue hoodie with the Bael-Clan insignia in purple plastered on the front and back, blue fingerless gloves and blue sandals to finish his look.

The blonde's arms were injured from his fight with his peerage while under the influence of Loki's curse. Apparently, with the massive influx of magic invading his body due to his Uzumaki Seals, his body wasn't in the best condition at all. While Misla tried all she could, there were still too many injuries on the other members of Team Pickle Rick, so she decided to use the limited healing magic she knew to close up any major wounds that stood out to her.

The others couldn't waste their magic healing one another now since they needed every bit they had for their fight against Honest-which would surely turn out to be their hardest fight to date. Most of them weren't at 100%, so wasting their magic on their master that wouldn't be able to fight anyway would be a waste of energy.

Kuroka's ears twitch at the sound of someone stopping outside of their door. "They're here, nya." she announced, catching everyone's attention.

After knocking, two servants entered once Lee opened the door for them. "Greetings, Team Pickle Rick," said one of the servants as they both bowed in respect, "We are here to send you to the Rating Game dimension. Are you all ready?"

"Ya damn right." said Kisame, flashing his shark-teeth with a grin as he slung Samehada over his shoulder, "Time to fuck up some shit."

"Just remember the plan guys." Kuroka said to the group as the two servants prepared the magic circle to send the team off, "We can win this, nya."

 _ **Flashback – Phenex Mansion**_

"So…the question now is who deserves the tears?" asked the long-haired Asakura as he passed the tears over to Kuroka, "We're very limited with time as well. We need to be at the extraction point in the next 12 mintues."

"Fuck the tears. Let's talk about how you were on your knees bowing to that Phenex dick like a bitch!" laughed Kisame.

Kuroka glared at the Demon, producing a mass of **KI** at the Demon to shut him up, "Now's not the time for jokes." she stated with authority, "We all need to think together so we can win this Rating Game."

"Alright…geez…" grumbled Kisame, kicking at the carpet below, "….Just tryna lighten up this fuck-ass mood…"

"Ignore him." said Anna, "I'll start by suggesting either Naruto-sama or Orochimaru. Since those two are still unconscious, would it be best to use our Phenex Tears on them?"

"To be honest, I believe using the Phenex Tears on them wouldn't be the best option." said Hao, "As we know, the Phenex Tears can heal only physical injuries. Naruto-sama's unconscious state is caused more by the mental trauma of being controlled by Loki's curse for so long. That would mean that we would be wasting one of our tears using it on Naruto-sama, so I believe we shouldn't consider him on who gets a Phenex Tear."

"And your reasoning for Orochimaru-sama?" asked Lee.

"Not to be offensive, but it is clear that Orochimaru is one of our weaker members," said the older Asakura, not holding back on Orochimaru's power ranking in the team, "I'd say he's only above Lee in terms of skill. While his strategic mind and seemingly infinite wisdom of magic would help out, I believe that with the group we have now, we can develop a winning strategy and save a Phenex Tear for someone that's conscious at the moment."

"Makes sense, nya." nodded Kuroka, agreeing with Hao's reasoning, "Anybody else we need to cross out?"

"You might as well cross me out." Said the Shark Demon of the group, "While I'm not at 100%...probably sum' where around 50 or 60….even half of my magic reserves is more than triple in amount compared to the strongest High-Class Devils, so I'm good energy wise. That, and I can absorb magic and heal myself, so there ain't any reason for me to get that little drop of water…even though I wanna try it out just to see how it feels."

"No thanks." Anna shot down the [Knight]'s selfish desires, "The only question I have is can you restrain yourself enough to absorb the magic of whoever you may encounter without kill them?"

"Tch…Capturing without killing is my specialty." He grinned, "I'll cut them to ribbons, absorb all their fucking magic, and then let Samehada eat their eyeballs for lunch. I'll be good." He finished, getting a shriek in agreement from Samehada on Kisame's back.

"If that's the case, then I think I know who should get the tears." It was Yoh that spoke up next as he pointed to himself and Anna, "I think Anna and I should get the tears. Anna should get it for sure since she'll be protecting and possessing Naruto's body, so she should be at her max to properly defend him, and I can handle myself if I'm at my full potential."

"Yosh, but what about Kuroka-sama?" asked Lee, "She's basically our leader now that both Naruto-sama and Orochimaru-sama are unavailable at the moment…"

"No, Lee. I think Yoh's right…" said the cat girl. She gripped the sides of her kimono as a sly grin grew on the Nekoshou's attractive face, "Plus, I have a certain ability I can use that can help us now, nya…"

 _ **Flashback End**_

"Hello, Underworld! This is URGA, the Underworld Rating Game Association, on NTN! I'm your host, Ernie Johnson, joined again by my good friends and Rating Game legends: Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkely and good ol' Kenny Smith! Now…boys…we've got a big fight that's about to start in the next five minutes. Naruto Bael! Versus Honest Bael! This fight as been anticipated as the fight of century as the leaders of the Bael Clan are currently at war for the right to take away the crown of Great King from the current leader of the Bael Household. I'll start with you Shaq…what are your predictions for this highly anticipated Rating Game?"

"Honest Bael-low difficulty." said the large Devil without hesitation, "Look…I've been a supporter of Naruto and his efforts…and his Rating Game victories have always been impressive, but we have to sit back and look at what's presented in front of us: it has been reported that Orochimaru, Naruto Bael's only [Pawn], has not joined with his team and, by the looks of those bandages on his arms, Naruto is somewhat injured. I wish I had enough faith in the young guy to say he can beat Honest, but under these odds? Not a chance in hell."

"Yeaaa…I'm gonna have to agree with Shaq." said Kenny, fiddling with some papers that held Rating Game stats for both Naruto and Honests' peerages, "While it isn't confirmed YET, Team Pickle Rick isn't going into this fight at full capacity. Honest Bael has two…TWO I said!...Two Ultimate-Class Devil talent in the form of General Esdeath and General Budo. If Naruto is injured, then I'm not to sure if any of his other peerage members not named Kuroka the Cat can take them on. And if its true that Orochimaru is out…." Kenny sighed in disappointment, "…then this may be the first lose Team Pickle Rick faces…and it's gonna be hard loss because of what's at stake her."

It was Charles turn to make his predication, and the large man couldn't help but slam his hand into the large desk, slightly denting it with his strength, "YOU HEARD IT HERE FOLKS! TEAM PICKLE RICK…IS GONNA WIN!"

"See, that's how I know you've lost your mind." Said Sha q, rolling his eyes at his co-host.

"I don't care what you say, you say, or what you say." Charles said while pointing at Shaq, Kenny and Ernie, "I've doubted this team a lot in the past, ok? Every time, I doubt them when they accepted Rating Games against peerages with more experience, and seemingly more strength. But now? I'm not going to doubt this peerage anymore, god-damn it! I don't know how in the hell their gonna win, but they ARE going to win. You can bet your left hand that."

"Well…good thing I'm right-handed. Alright, folks that's it for us!" said Ernie, "Team Honest Bael vs. Team Pickle Rick starts…now."

 **Rating Game Dimension**

The team consisting of Anna, Kuroka, Yoh, Lee, Hao, Kisame, and a Goki-possessed Naruto, appeared in an old living room. The floor was dirty and damaged in multiple places, the furniture was coated in a layer of dirt, and the blinds hardly stopped light from entering as they were riddled with holes and tears. Overall, the room looked like something out of a horror movie.

"How comforting…" muttered Hao, scowling at their dirty base.

"I'd like it more if they put us in a cave like we had back when we fought Tannin." said Yoh, using his hand to clean the couch surface of any dirt so he and Anna could sit.

" **Good evening, teams."** The voice of the announcer stretched across the dimension, **"I, Palkia Bael, will be the announcer for this Rating Game. Just a reminder, the winner of this Rating Game will be able to continue on in the race to face Great King-sama for the crown and leadership of the Bael Clan. Also, if Team Pickle Rick is to lose, Naruto Bael will have to agree with his engagement to Honest-sama's [Queen], Esdeath, with no complaints. Both teams will have a 15-minute recess to study your surroundings before the Rating Game will officially begin."**

"So, they did give us extra time, nya…" muttered Kuroka, "Seems like we can carry out with the plan then."

 _ **Flashback – Phenex Mansion**_

"And what is the ability of yours, Kuroka?" Hao asked the grinning cat girl.

"It's something I learned during my travels with Naruto, nya." she started, remembering her time she shared with Naruto while he was trapped in his seal, "After a trip to Kyoto, he wanted me to speed up and increase the amount of Senjutsu I can absorb. To do that, we stayed in Antarctica for about a year, where there is hardly any life…"

"Antarctica? Ain't that shit in Africa or something?" asked Kisame in confusion.

"Antarctica is at the bottom on the world and probably the coldest place on Earth, you idiot." Anna said with a small glare directed at the blue-skinned Demon.

"Well, damn! I didn't know! Stop judging me!" he shouted back, obviously angry at Anna's jab.

"Now's not the time you to." Both Anna and Kisame were surprised at the authority laced within Kuroka's tone as the younger girl shot them both a glare of her own, "Yelling at each other is only going to cause problems."

"…whatever/fine…" Kisame and Anna mumbled, ending what could have been an hour-long argument.

"Anyway, that time in Antarctica really forced me to grow and connect with nature. I was forced to stretch my awareness to gather Senjutsu, which increased my skill in absorbing natural energy now." She continued, "Basically, if given time, I can restore my magic reserves without the need for a Phenex Tear."

"That would be helpful…" Lee said, rubbing his chin in thought, "…but how much time would you need in order to gather a suitable amount of Senjutsu to use in battle?"

"An hour, nya." said the Nekoshou, "With my 'Hour's Rest' spell, I'll put myself in a sleep-like state as I meditate, gathering Senjutsu as fast as possible. If I go undisturbed for an hour, I'll be back at 100%, nya."

"So we need to stall for time." said Anna, "If we're giving a few minutes of time before the actual Rating Game to check out surroundings, you could start meditating then….which would probably shave off 10, maybe 15, minutes out of the hour needed."

"Exactly, nya." Kuroka snapped her fingers, creating a magic circle under the group's feet, "That means we have our groups. Anna. Yoh. Take your Phenex Tears now. As for the Rating Game, we'll move as so, nya: Anna, you'll be Naruto's protector." She said while pointing at the female Shaman, "You'll watch over him at our base. You probably won't do any fighting if everything goes right. Your main priority is to watch Naruto."

"Understood." Said Anna as the duo received and used their Phenex Tears immediately, instantly restoring their magic and stamina to their highest point.

"Sharky, Hao, Yoh, Lee." The group of men stood at attention at being called, "You'll be our assault group. Since we are low on numbers, injured, and most of your magic reserves are no where near at your max, you all will have to stick together-no separating at any cost. Work together to defeat anybody you run into. Keep them away from the base and my body as I rest."

' _This bitch just wants to take a nap'._ "Pfft…who made you leader all of a sudden?" All eyes stared intently at the Demon, causing him to sweat, "Alright, damn! I'll listen to the pussy….fucking asshats."

"Anyway, shouldn't someone be guarding your body, Kuroka?" asked Yoh, "You won't be able to defend yourself while gathering Senjutsu, leaving vulnerable."

"I'll hide myself." She answered, "I'm good at going undetected, masking my presences and chakra. I'll be fine as long as you all keep them away from me."

"Anything else before we go?" asked Hao.

"Yes…Sharky."

"Yeah?" Kisame perked up after hearing his name called.

"If you can, don't kill any of the people you fight. Instead, steal their magic with Samehada and share it with the others so they won't run out of magic. That way, everyone will last longer. Hao, if you absolutely must, don't hesitate to feed Spirit of Fire so you can absorb their magic as well. I'd prefer if Sharky did it, since he can dispense magic with everyone, but if you have to, let Spirit of Fire have a meal, nya."

Hao could hear Spirit of Fire within his mental, squealing in delight at Kuroka's orders. "Seems we have a plan, then."

"Yea! We're gonna win!" shouted Lee, "It's going to be hard, but Team Pickle Rick has never lost before! Why should we start today!"

"We're doing this for Naruto, nya." said Kuroka, "If we lose, he'll have to marry that ice bitch. He already got away from one ice whore. No need for him to be with another one. I'll act as leader since Naruto isn't right in the head for now, but I won't be able to give out orders while unconscious. I trust that you all make the right decisions and protect each other. Naruto would trust you all, so I'll do the same."

"Hell yea!" yelled Kisame, getting pumped for what was about to be their hardest fight yet, "Time to fuck some shit up!"

 _ **Flashback End**_

"I'll be leaving now." said Kuroka, summoning her wings and moving to an open window, "Remember: an hour's time. Make it until then…. stay alive, nya."

"No problem, Kuroka-sama!" said the excited Lee with his legendary thumbs up, "We'll take care of things on this end!"

"Good….thank you…every single one of you…" she whispered before flying away, leaving the group to themselves.

"Alright…" Kisame jumped an old chair, only for it to be destroyed under his weight, "Fuck! Stupid ass chairs and stupid ass base! Who the fuck gave us this shitty as place!?"

"It doesn't matter who placed us here, especially since you won't be spending much time here anyway." said the fully-restored Anna as she sat the Goki-possessed Naruto down on a spot on the ground she cleaned for him, "I'll be one the whose stuck here dealing with this sandbox of a base…" she muttered, clearly displeased with their current base of operations.

"Are you sure one of us shouldn't stay here with you, Anna?" Yoh asked out of consideration and worry for his wife, "I mean…you'll be at a disadvantage watching Naruto-sama if someone were to attack you."

Anna hummed in thought as her fiancée did present a debatable argument. "I agree, but we don't have the manpower for my protection. I'll take this time to lay traps within our territory so I can have some form of protection. I'm sure you all have your own strategies to discuss, so I'll leave you to it."

Anna soon left their old building which was their base, leaving Kisame, Yoh, Lee, Hao and the possessed Naruto to themselves. Hao decided to be the first to speak, leading the coming conversation, "I believe we should split into two-man squads," he suggested, "If we split up, we can cover more ground and take out more of Honest's followers. I vote that the teams should be Yoh and I and Kisame with Le-

"Nope! I got Yoh this time, Hoe!" interjected Kisame with a bark, "Sorry to say this rook," he said, referring to Lee, "but you're not strong enough to handle who I'm going after. While it sucks as to say this…I might need some back up against that giant powerplant…"

"You mean General Budo, Honest's [Rook]." stated Hao, "I know you've had a past with Esdeath, but the way you referred to him…sounds like you have some pent-up resentment towards Budo."

"Ya damn right…" growled the shark Demon, "The first person I ever lost to was that idiot," Kisame pointed the silent Naruto, "…and the second was this Budo guy…haven't seen him since the war, but he's the fucktard that captured me way back when, so I had to deal with that stupid, wanna-be Sera, ice bitch's torture for about a week! I'm hunting for him and I know that bitch is looking for me too."

Kisame would have continued, but the sound of thunder reverberated throughout the entire dimension. The male members of Team Naruto (excluding Orochimaru and Naruto) all made their way to a nearby window to witness the large thunderclouds that were steadily growing in size, obscuring the sky with dark clouds. Flashes of lightning lit up the skies every so often, followed by a boom of thunder that shook their bones.

"…and it seems like he's using this time to prepare for you as well…" Hao said as he watched the scene with his team members.

"He used his magic to manipulate the environment, but those are natural thunder clouds…not magic-based…" Yoh said, glancing toward the silent Kisame, "…that's your natural weakness, right?"

"…yeah…." the Demon said with a sharp scowl marking his face, "…that's the shit that got me last time…but it ain't gonna happen again."

"We also have to deal with Esdeath, whose strength is equal to that of an Ultimate-Class Devil, and Honest's other minions whose abilities are unknown. We're seriously at a disadvantage right now." Hao said.

"But we're still going to come out on top!" said Lee with a fire of motivation in his eyes, "We have to win! For Naruto-sama!"

"Absolutely." Hao said in agreement, "We have to win this, and we will."

The group continued to talk amongst themselves for some time until the voice of the Rating Game announcer filled their ears, **"Attention! The fifteen-minute recess has now ended. Both peerages can invade the opposing peerage's territory for combat."**

It wasn't long after the announcement that Anna entered the room the rest of the group was at. "Everything is set. I have no idea where Kuroka decided to hide, but hopefully she'll be safe for the next 45-minutes."

"Then I guess it's time for us to leave then." said Lee, tightening the bandages around his arms, "Even though this Rating Game has high stakes, I can't help but feel excited for what's to come!"

"Yea, yea, yeah. Save all that energy on the battlefield, Rookie!" said Kisame, "Yoh, get off your ass and come on!" And with that, the shark Demon jumped through the wall, totally ignoring the open window that was right next to wall which now had a Kisame-shaped hole in it.

Yoh sighed at Kisame's crazed-antics. "I just wish I had my headphones…" he grumbled as he summoned his wings and flew out of the hole Kisame just created.

"You stay safe, Anna." Hao said, making his way to the hole in the wall, "Protect him with all you can."

Anna nodded, "Understood…" she said in her usual monotone voice.

"See ya later, Anna-sama!" Lee said with a wave before following Hao in the skies.

 **Rating Game Dimension – Honest's Base**

Honest sighed as he succumbed to the comfort of the throne he was seated in. His base was something more suited for the high-class Bael- a medium sized castle in the middle of a large, abandoned city with a massive wall surrounding it on all sides. It was clear that he had some form of favoritism from the Bael members that managed the Rating Game.

"Now that the fifteen-minute recess is over, we can finally go on the attack." Said the man as he munched on a large piece of meat like an animal, "General Budo, I assume there was no complications in the making of your thunderclouds."

"None to report, Honest-sama." The rather large man responded in respect for his [King], "I'll be sure to make these thunderclouds as strong as possible for the battle to come."

"Good, good." approved the former Bael Council member, "And I'm sure everyone remembers their roles?"

"Yes sir!" saluted Wave, "Originally, I was placed to combat against Orochimaru, but now that he isn't here, I assume I'll be with group 2, Honest-sama?"

"That's correct, Wave." confirmed their [King], "I'm expecting you to take care of that meddlesome [Rook] of theirs as well. While he won't be much of a factor in this Rating Game, taking out one of their members to an already small peerage will negatively affect their motivation. We'll slowly break their spirts one retirement at a time." he grinned, revealing his disgustingly yellow teeth.

"Akame. Tatsumi. Bols." The three perked up at their master's call, "Go. You have your assignment."

"Yes, Honest-sama." The three bowed before leaving the throne room, but not before Tatsumi waved goodbye to his unresponsive wife.

"Wave. Run. Mine." The two males stood at attention, while Mine continued to look at the floor with dead eyes, "I want Hao dead. That monster of his allows him to steal the magic of those it eats, as we've seen from their past Rating Games and the legends of the Cherufe we've studied. Taking him out is a priority. Go." With the command of their leader, the trio left the throne room, leaving Honest by himself with Esdeath and Budo, his strongest peerage members, and Leone.

"When do you two plan on leaving?" he asked the two, not ordering them around like how he would his other peerage members.

"Whenever that shark comes, which I know he will." Esdeath said with a sinister smile as she leaned against the wall-arms crossed, "Naruto can wait…and seeing the condition he was during his entrance to his peerage's departure point, he's to injured to fight anyway. However, I have a grudge set out for that Demon on his team…running my ice through his body will be very pleasing to me."

"I'll be able to sense when he's under my forecast. Unlike most beings, who can hide their magical presence, his is unstable and wild, making it impossible to hide." Said the giant that was Budo, standing next to Honest as if he were his bodyguard, "If he comes, I'll know."

"Hmmm…very good!" smiled Honest, "Whelp, I might as well get comfortable. I'll let you two run the show for now. Make sure to make me proud."

Esdeath rolled her eyes at Honest's words, almost revolted at the fact that she served the man. "Please…as if I'm in this to make you proud, Honest. I have my own intentions with the outcome of this game, and I better get it." she said with a small glare directed at the fat man.

"Esdeath! Esdeath! Calm down!" Honest waved his hands in front of his as he broke out in a cold sweat, "I promise you we'll win, and you'll marry Naruto soon! Just stick this out for a little while and your wish will be granted."

"Hmph…" Esdeath decided to walk out of the throne room, wanting to leave the revolting man's presence for now. "You better be right about that, Honest…" she said before leaving, deciding to take a walk around the castle grounds.

Once she was gone, Honest heard snickering come from his side. It was Leone, covering her grinning-mouth with her hand to try to hide it. "Still can't control your peerage members, eh?" she managed to get out before succumbing to her laughter.

"Yes, yes. Very funny…" Honest sighed, annoyed by his servant as he continued to eat his meat.

 **With Lee and Hao**

The [Rook]/[Bishop] duo were walking through the dense forest at a leisure pace but remained on guard for any hidden enemies. They really didn't have a destination in mind-they just were waiting to run into someone from the opposing peerage. The two were well off in their opponent's territory, they just needed to find someone to retire.

Hao was the one to stop walking, alerting Lee in the process. The Asakura's brown eyes darted around as he picked up on a foreign magic source. "Lee…prepare for battle." he stated.

"Yosh, they're already here?" asked the [Rook], entering his usual battle stance.

"Correct, but they are hiding like cowards." said Hao, crossing his arms under his large poncho as he awaited their pursuers, "They are near. Since I have more stamina, let me be the main form of attack. You back me up."

The duo awaited their pursuers in a tense silence for some time until Wave stepped out of the tree line. "Geez, I thought we coulda caught y'all by surprise. Guess not when we're going against folks as strong as you two."

"If you don't want to die in agony, then it would be best to give up now." said Hao, cutting straight to the point, "I don't have the patience to play around. I need to take out as many of you as possible."

Wave clicked his tongue on the top of his mouth as a cocky smirk grew on his face, "No time to play around, eh? That's funny…"

Wave reached inside of a magic circle he summoned, pulling out a short, black blade that gleamed in the light. "…I was gonna say the same thing…"

"He's not alone, Lee." Hao warned the rookie member, "There's no way he came here by himself. Look out for any sneak attacks."

"Hai!" shouted Lee as he prepared himself for battle.

 **Hao Asakura, Full-Blooded Mid-Class Devil, [Bishop] and Rock Lee, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Rook]**

 **vs.**

 **Wave, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Knight]**

Wave quickly started the match by dashing at the duo with the intention of slashing through them with his blade. Lee quickly jumped in front of Hao and blocked Wave's blade with his wrist. Wave was surprised by the action as his blade bounced off Lee's bandaged wrist like he had clashed with his blade as if it were a sword itself. ' _Probably some type of armored seal…'_ thought Wave as he jumped away from the torrent of flames that dropped right where Wave once was.

Lee didn't let up though, following Wave using his impressive agility to appear behind Wave to kick his unguarded back. Wave didn't allow it as he spun around and blocked with his blade. As he landed on the ground, he pushed Lee away and attempted to swipe at the [Rook] again, but Lee dodged every attempt using his superior agility before finding a weak point and slamming his fist into the blue-haired boy's chest.

Wave reeled back in pain from the force of the blow as he was knocked away, visibly hurt from the force of Lee's punch. ' _Gosh, that hurt…'_ he thought as he winced at the stinging feeling in his stomach, _'Is that his regular strength?'_

Lee didn't pursue Wave any further, which surprised the boy. He quickly understood the [Rook]'s actions as three giant flamethrowers were shooting towards Wave. Had he not set up a barrier, he would have quickly incinerated under the intense heat.

Three magic circles surrounded Hao, releasing the intense fire at Wave as Hao watched. Lee landed next to Hao and allowed the fire user to take over, amping his fire's intensity in an effort to cook the trapped Wave. "He seems to be holding back somewhat…" said Hao as held out his hand and opened his palm, creating a miniature head of Spirit of Fire, "Let's make him regret that." he said before throwing the miniature head into the flames.

Meanwhile, Wave was struggling as the fiery temperatures of the hot flames was beginning to affect him. He couldn't drop his shield because he would succumb to Hao's flames if he did. Said flamethrowers hadn't weakened since the start of their assault and were burning through Wave's shield. "Shit, shit, shit…" he uttered, trying to find away out of his current predicament.

His situation only worsened when the small head of Spirit of Fire made its way to Wave and suddenly expanded in size by one hundred. The head, which was now about three times the size of Wave, opened its massive jaw and engulfed Wave and his shield in one bite.

"Spirit of Fire: Overheat!" commanded Hao. The head of Spirit of Fire quickly convulsed as it superheated itself. Lava spilled from the corners of the spirit's mouth and steam erupted from its top. The ground beneath it quickly melted at the extreme temperatures.

However, Hao's danger senses rang off in his mind as he tilted his head to the side, avoiding the spear of light that sped by his head and clipping a few strands of the Asakura's long hair as the spear buried itself in the top half of Spirit of Fire's head.

The lava inside of the spirit spilled out like blood from its new injury, burning through the ground like acid. The head bulged as blue light pierced through it before exploding, sending lava everywhere. Out of the flames jumped out Wave, who now had on a sleek, dark blue armor protecting him. However, there were some holes in his armor, most likely being melted by the ungodly heat of Spirit of Fire's mouth.

"Gosh! The fight just started, and I already am forced to resort to my Balance Breaker!? You guys are good!" complemented Wave as he restored his armor with his magic.

Hao was hardly listening to Wave though, focusing more on the newcomer behind them now. _'That was a spear of light…only Angels and Fallen Angels should be able to do that. If that's true, then this Rating Game will be even trickier than I thought…'_

"It seems you won't be able to handle them by yourself, Wave. No matter…" said the blonde-haired man as he pocketed the book he had inside his robe, "…I'll help you from here."

"Yeah, they are tougher than I thought…" said Wave as he jumped out of the lava pool, landing on solid ground, "We'll just have to take up it a level to complete the plan. We don't want to make Honest-sama mad now, eh?"

"No…." Both Hao and Lee held back their shock as three sets of strong black wings erupted out of Run's back. The blonde-haired man stared at the duo with coldness, but Hao noticed the underlining feeling of guilt coming from Run, confusing him. "…we don't…"

"Shit…." Hao, now knowing Run's linage. Devil's were weak to light magic from both Angels and Fallen Angels, so for Honest to have such a member apart of his peerage made Run's retirement a new priority for Hao, "Lee, we need to take out the Fallen Angel as quick as possible. Watch out for his light-based attacks."

"Yes sir!" he shouted before disappearing in an impressive display of speed.

Run tensed, thinking that Lee was heading for him, but was surprised to see the Green Beast attack Wave instead. However, the newly armored teen caught Lee's leg without even turning around. "I can tell that you're not at fully capacity. You're hesitant with your motions, probably from soreness…"

In an instant, Wave flung Lee over his own body and smashed him down into the ground, creating a medium-sized crater in the ground. While the attack didn't affect him as much, his [Rook] defenses protecting him from such a regular attack, his previous injuries were aggravated, causing him to wince in pain.

Suddenly, three blades of light were on top of Lee, ready to pierce through his body with precision. The young [Rook] would have been dead had Hao not stepped in, kicking Wave away while burning through all of sword beams with his fire burning through them all. "Get up!" he shouted before blocking another round of light swords.

Lee bounced to life before rocketing towards Run with a few streams of fire sent by Hao backing him. A purple barrier appeared in front of Run along with an array of magic circles that shot out purple streams of light all directed at the approaching [Rook]. They energy beams did nothing as they were either blocked by Hao's fire or dodged by Lee himself as he appeared in front of Run's shield and smashed his fist into it, significantly cracking but not breaking the shield.

Lee sped away and allowed the stray fire shots blast into the barrier, breaking through it and leaving Run vulnerable. Hao stomped on the ground, creating an array of magic circles that erupted with lava. The sky was littered with lava droplets, causing Lee to retreat to Hao for protection and for Wave to do the same with Run.

"He's good with crafting spells…he must be a [Bishop]!" Lee said to Hao, who summoned the arm of Spirit of Fire to protect the duo from the raining lava.

"Agreed. But no matter. I have them both trapped now." Hao said with an evil smirk, "Let's see them survive this…"

Unknowing to both Wave and Run, the lava that landed around the duo was burning a large magic circle into the ground with Wave and Run right in the middle of it. Once the lava storm was finished, the newly formed magic circle lit up before an eruption of lava shot out of the seal, encasing Honest's subordinates in red.

The eruption was strong, but Hao rose an eyebrow when he saw Wave and Run casually step out of the eruption with a purple veil of aura protecting them. "Tch…." He snapped his fingers, ceasing the lava flow to save on magic. "They're going to be annoying."

"Hao-sama!" Out of nowhere, Lee pushed Hao, sending him to the ground. The older Asakura was confused-and slightly pissed off-at the move, but understood why the Green Beast did so as he felt blood splatter on his face.

Hao's eyes widened at the scene of Lee covering the newly formed hole in his right shoulder. Whatever attacked him went through flesh and bone, leaving a small, smoking hole in the ground below. "Le-lee…" Hao stuttered, still in shock at the sudden change of events.

He quickly gathered himself though, crafting a shield to block a kill attempt by Wave, who tried to swipe through Hao with his sword. He grabbed Lee and took to the skies. Run was following him, shooting deadly blades of light at the duo as Hao dodged them all. However, Hao's focus wasn't centered on Run at all as the big question ran through his mind.

' _There's somebody else targeting us from afar?!'_

Not that Hao could see it, but far away from them was Mine, resting on the ground in a sniper's position as she aimed a massive gun almost half her size. She was atop a cliff side with a clear view of Hao in the air. Once she was locked on, she pulled the trigger, releasing a concentrated shockwave of magic through the skies.

The bullet zoomed through the air at unavoidable speeds, slicing through the skies as approached Hao's forehead after traveling such a long distance in a matter of seconds. The assassination attempt failed, however, as Hao quickly burned the bullets into nothingness with small flamethrower from his palm.

He landed on the ground, releasing Lee from his grasp. During their time in the air, Hao allowed Lee to tear his clock to make an arm sling for the [Rook]. His left arm, while supported by the sling, would no longer be of use for the rest of battle.

Lee winced, covering his new injury with his hand as was bleeding uncontrollably. "This is problematic…" said the Green Beast, not as lively as before.

"Shit….we need to get you to Anna so you can be healed." said Hao, discarding his torn cloak.

"Your guards dropped!" Both Lee and Hao split up as Wave slammed his blade where to the two once we're. However, an uneasy feeling grew in Hao's mental as Wave didn't chase after either of them. "Run! Now!"

"Understood." Creating two blades of yellow light, the Fallen Angel, to the surprise of Hao and Lee, threw it at the ground in front and behind him. The blade scraped against the forest floor, digging up dirt as it carved a small line between Naruto's [Bishop] and [Rook]. "Heaven's Gate." Chanted Run.

Instantly, yellow light erupted from the blade's trail, growing from the ground and reaching towards the skies, effectively splitting Hao and Lee on either side.

"No!" yelled Lee in anger, now stuck on the side with the armored Wave.

"Seems like you're split up from your partner! That means nothing's here to disturb our fight." Wave said in a tone that send a small shiver through the injured Lee's body.

' _Damn it. Damn it!'_ Hao gritted his teeth, slowly losing his usual cool composure at their current predicament. He could try to break through the light field separating from Lee, but it would come with a heavy cost in the form of his health since Devils hate anything to do with holy light.

"I'm sorry for what we're going to do to you two," Hao glare moved to Run, who had a noticeable frown on his face-displeased with the current situation, "but it must be done for my master's sake. Again, please forgive me."

"Shut the hell up…" growled Hao as a dangerous aura emitted from his body, "You've already pissed me off enough. I'll be sure to feed you and whoever is shooting us from afar to Spirit of Fire." A massive magic circle phased to life behind Hao as the Spirit of Fire's gigantic form stepped out of it, its murderous eyes locked onto Run, growling at the Fallen Angel.

"The legendary Spirit of Fire…" mumbled Run, taking in the spirit's intimidating form, "I must say…no type of preparation is possible to overcome the fear of this creature…" Run flexed his wings as a multitude of magic circles phased to life around him, "But I have a mission that must be upheld…for my master's sa-

"It sounds like you're forcing yourself to say that," Run flinched at the accusation, visibly proving Hao's statement to be true, "but I don't care. You hurt Lee-which is punishable by death. If you think that piss-poor barrier will stop me-think again. You've done something that hasn't been done in a long time…"

Spirit of Fire released a monstrous, ear-piercing screech that reverberated throughout the dimension as it's body flashed red. A strong gust was kicked up by the screech, causing Hao's long hair to flutter wildly as summoned two small flames in both hands. The evil gleam in his eyes was focused on Run, not even looking to block another assassination attempt from Mine as an energy bullet that was aimed for his forehead was eradicated by his flames.

"…You've pissed me off…." He finished before starting their battle.

 **Rating Game Dimension – Team Pickle Rick's Base**

Anna stared out the window as she listened to Spirit of Fire's screech. She could see the spirit's gigantic form from across the dimension along with the flashes of magic and fire attacks.

"It seems things are getting pretty hectic out there…." she whispered, turning away from the window to rejoin the Goki-possessed Naruto. He was currently sitting in an old recliner, staring off in the distance in silence. He only responded once Anna called out to the Shikigami, "Is everything alright, Goki?"

She got a nod as confirmation. Her guardian spirits never talked much, so it was expected the lack luster response. Taking seat in a chair next to Goki, Anna closed her eyes and began to concentrate. The barrier she put up earlier would alert her of anyone bypassing it, and so far, nothing had set it off. She also made sure to lay a good number of traps around their base for extra precaution…

The surrounding area was quiet….

….

…

…

…Too quiet…

' _I don't like this…'_ she thought to herself as she began to feel uneasy. Glancing around the room, she didn't see anything-which was how it was supposed to be-but the feeling of someone watching her was starting to take its effect. The hairs on her neck stood straight as a small amount of sweat dripped down her forehead. Something was wrong.

…

…

…

…

"….Goki-"

A body dropped down in front of the two, catching the Shaman/Spirit duo off guard. A flash of light gleamed through the dark and Anna felt the sharp pain of being cut on her arm caused her to create a mulit-layer shield around Naruto and herself.

"Naruto-sama!" she shouted, checking her [King]'s body for any injuries. The only one she could see was the small gash on his chest-the hoodie the controlled wore now torn as a small amount of blood leaked out.

Knowing that Naruto was safe, Anna's furious eyes landed on their attacker-a black haired girl with a dangerous sword. Her cold, blood-red eyes locked onto Anna's black as she muttered into a communication seal, "Mission complete" before it fizzled away.

"Akame…" Anna growled out. From their studies of Honest's peerage and going off what Naruto told his peerage from his experience with Honest, she knew who the woman was. However, since she hadn't fought in any of Honest's past Rating Games, the team didn't know of her capabilities. "How did you get past my barrier?" Anna questioned, honestly wanting to know how the woman was able to bypass her barrier without alerting her.

"…..I am an assassin." Akame answered back in monotone fashion, similar to Anna's own, "Getting pass barrier's is my specialty….killing as well."

Anna winced as she felt something off from her arm. Glancing at it, she was shocked to see black curse mark grow from her injury, slowing dancing across her arm and expanding to the rest of her body. "A….curse mark?"

"My sword, Marusame, secretes a poison that enters my foes body once cut. The cursed poison will course through your body, causing your bodily functions to fail until it reaches your heart-constricting it and killing you." She explained as a dark, evil aura exuded from the sword's steel.

Anna checked Naruto's injury for confirmation of Akame's abilities. A wave a panic went through her body when she saw the same curse mark she had begin to grow on Naruto's skin. She mentally cursed as she began to combat the poisonous curse with her healing magic.

"With your level of healing abilities, you, of all people, may be able to dispel the curse," continued Akame, nonchalantly watching Anna heal Naruto and herself, "but it will take a great deal of magic. And by the way he isn't responding, something is wrong with him…I guess the Norse Curse Run activated did more damage then we thought."

"Shut up." Growled Anna as she focused on fighting back the curse's influence. She could feel the poison eating away her insides. It would take a large portion of her magic and time to cancel the curse.

Akame peered at Naruto in curiosity, "He isn't talking….which is far from his usual behavior" The assassin hummed in thought before her eyes widened slightly in realization, "You're a Shaman correct? That means you can control spirits. Did you force possession of his body then?" Anna's silence all but confirmed the assassin's wonders, "I'm sure Honest-sama would appreciate knowing this information. My job is done here. Let's see if you can handle what's to come." And with that, Akame vanished, leaving the injured duo to themselves.

Anna held back her frustration as she fueled her healing spell with magic. The pink aurora surrounded their body as it fought back Murasame's curse, but it would take some time until it was fully dispelled. _'They came prepared…'_ she thought.

However, what caught the blonde Shaman's attention next was the scent of something burning. Glancing out the window, Anna was greeted to the sight of the forest around base burning by a large fire that came out of nowhere.

"So their trying to smoke us out…and it won't take long before this base is burned down…" she muttered.

While she didn't like laying into her opponent's hand, she had to leave base to avoid the fire and to find a new place to concentrate on healing both herself and the Goki-possessed Naruto. Flying out of the base, she scouted the forest from the skies, looking for the source of the massive forest fire.

She found it not to long after she left base in the form of Bols, who was washing the area around in flames with the rather large flamethrower he had. Amidst his burning down of the forest, he noticed Anna in the air. "Oh!" He momentarily stopped his burning of the forest to speak to the red bandana-wearing Anna, "Hi there! I'm sure you're not familiar with me, but my name's Bols! How's it going!?"

Much to Anna's secluded nature, she didn't respond to Bols at all, deciding that staring at him with her cold eyes enough. The masked man shivered under her gaze, "Whew….you really are a scary one, huh? Not really friendly either…oh well….Guess its back to burnin' down this forest." Bols whispered to himself before returning to his previous task.

The man wasn't threatening Anna, so she decided to leave him for now, especially since she had the major priority of taking care of her blonde master.

"More annoyances…" she muttered to herself as her sensory skills alerted her of another incomer closing in.

A few seconds later and another one of Honest's servants made their way towards Anna, a few dozen meters of space separating them. "Seems like that guy really is out of it…" mumbled the newly arrived Tatsumi, rubbing his chin as he glanced at Naruto, "Hey there, fella! I wonder if you can hear this? I'm sure you remember me from out run in at the movie theaters, huh? Ohhh how I've been waiting to tear into your guts, but Esdeath-sama would get mad if I did that, so I'll just beat up your little servant instead."

Tatsumi's once neutral look did a 180 as he licked his lips, madness filling his eyes. "Blood and guts is gonna be everywhere when I'm through with you! I'm so happy Honest-sama said I can go crazy for once! This is gonna be blast!"

Anna could feel an insane amount of magic bubbling underneath his skin, larger than even her own-which was steadily decreasing as she had to keep Akame's curse at bay. _'I've got a feeling that this isn't going to be easy at all…'_

Her thoughts were proven right as two, large draconic wings burst out of Tatsumi's back. A thick line of drool crept down the sides of his mouth as his teeth grew to the point of jutting out his mouth. His once lightly-tanned skin was replaced with thick gray scales that was like an armor.

" **It's been so damn long since I've been able to transform!"** His demented voice grew darker as Tatsumi grew in size, now well over a few meters extra in height and counting. His wicked red eyes were filled with bloodlust as Tatsumi's body continued to grow in size. **"I'll show you why they kicked me out of the Dragon Mountains in the Gremory Territory! None of them could calm me and now I get to release all of that anger on you!"**

What was once Tatsumi was now a giant dragon with red and grey scales serving as an impenetrable armor. It's wide, intimidating smile matched the crazy within its eyes as it locked onto Anna's small form. **"…food…."**

Hadn't not Anna created a barrier just in time to block Tatsumi's enormous fist, he body would have been smushed into paste by the force of the impact. It was strong enough to destroy her shield, causing her to face the recoil as she was knocked out of the skies, losing Naruto's body in the process. _'No!'_

She landed harshly onto the hot flames that tore through the forest. She hissed at the dangerous flames that licked her skin as she summoned her wings to fly out of the oven she landed in. She quickly found where Naruto was since she had to protect him at all cost. Fortunately, Goki knew how to maneuver Naruto's body enough to summon his wings to use as an air brake.

She wasn't given the opportunity to return at Naruto's side as she countered a barrage of green-plasma breath shot by Tatsumi with a continuous blast of magic.

Tatsumi repositioned himself during the attack, blocking Anna's path of reaching Naruto. **"Everybody else is gone, huh!? And you're the only one that's able to heal him! Hehehehe…."** He laughed creepily, **"Once I kill you, that blue guy's next…if Esdeath-sama and Budo-sama haven't done so already. Or maybe we'll go for that stupid, headphone wearing husband of yours, eh? When Esdeath-sama's finished with him, he'll be nothing but a slave to lick her boots clean…"**

Pink magic exploded out of Anna's body as a red horn grew from her forehead. Her cold eyes were now like a blizzard as her anger took over at the mention of her love.

Behind her, a massive magic circle appeared, lighting up the darkened skies as a red foot slowly made it way out it.

"…..Oh-Oni…" whispered Anna, summoning her ultimate spirit.

Tatsumi couldn't hold back his grin as he prepared for battle.

' _All according to plan, Honest-sama!'_

 **Rating Game Dimension – Honest Bael's Territory**

The duo of Kisame and Yoh had finally made their way to Honest's territory without any problems. The streak from one side of the dimension from the next was long, but they were able to cross it with minimum effort, hiding out from Honest's peerage members to converse strength for the battle to come.

The sky was filled dark thunderclouds as the two were stood outside the city that acted as Honest's territory-protected by a massive wall that revolved around the city. "The fuck!?" Questioned Kisame, clearly annoyed as they approached the walls, "How the fuck do they get a fancy fucking CITY as a territory and we get the fucking, creepy ass woods filled with bugs and dumb trees! There's clearly sum' favoritism going on here!"

"I agree, but I really don't care…" muttered Yoh, scratching the spot on his head where his headphones would be, "I feel weird because I don't have my headphones….like I'm naked or something…"

"It's about time you took them old shits off anyway. You always have them on your head! Let your hair breath for a day or two." Snorted the shark Demon, "Now…where's the door so can get into the dumbass city…"

"We could just fly over-

"Fuck it. Samehada!"

Kisame grabbed the unwrapped Samehada and gathered a large amount of magic within the demonic sword. After a few seconds to charge, a blue cannon of energy shot out of Samehada's large mouth, easily piercing through the giant walls and doing a decent amount of damage to the nearby buildings.

"There we go!" Kisame said as he threw Samehada over his shoulder while standing on some rubble, "That's how The Great Kisame makes doors!" he exclaimed with a shark grin.

Yoh sighed at his colleague's antics, "You've got to learn not to rush things, Kisame…."

"Pfft…please…" Kisame rolled his eyes as he trotted into the city, Yoh following his lead, "With all the life I've lived, I know that taking things so is for losers…like you, Yoh. I can't be out here living like a hippy! Gotta stay on the edge, ya know?'

"Sure…" Yoh didn't like the fact that Kisame was making fun of him, but he knew that it was just how the shark Demon acted. He would have continued the conversation had he not felt of pulse of energy hit his skin.

Both Kisame and Yoh looked back in the direction of their base, feeling Anna's energy course through he air. It put Yoh off somewhat, not liking the fact that his wife was using so much energy unless she absolutely had too. ' _What's going on?'_ the concerned Yoh thought.

Kisame, however, being the better sensor out of the two, knew exactly what was happening. "Seems like she ran into trouble….oh well." He shrugged his shoulders and kept walking

"What!" yelled the shocked Yoh, "W-we have to go back then! She's in trouble and has Naruto-sama with her! She needs hel-"

"She can take care of herself, Yoh." Interrupted the blue-skinned man, "She may be a bitch all the time, but that fiancée of yours can handle herself. Just leave her alone for now…plus, if you leave me here, I'd probably die dealing with those two shit sticks, so I'm gonna need you here with me."

Yoh lightly grit his teeth in thought. Of course, he didn't want to leave Kisame here to deal with two Ultimate-Class Devils, but he didn't want to leave his fiancée alone with their heavily nerfed [King] either. He knew back-up wouldn't come to save her since Lee and Hao were fighting somewhere according Kisame, and Kuroka still had about twenty-five minutes until she woke from her meditation. But he understood that he had a mission that needed to be carried out regardless of how he felt for the situation.

"A-alright…" he mumbled, not too confident in his answer.

The two [Knights] carried on, going deeper into the abandoned city. As they walked, the thunderclouds above them roared as random lightning strikes illuminated the city. They were halfway to the main palace, which was in the middle of the city before Kisame stopped walking, surprising his partner.

The Shark Demon looked up at the skies with an intense scowl firmly set on his face. Samehada was growling, responding to its master's growing anger.

"Uh…Kisame?" questioned Yoh as the thunderous booms started to get louder, "Everything alright?"

"Get your bitch ass from up there!" Yoh jumped at Kisame's sudden yelling, but his friend wasn't yelling at him. Instead, he was shouting up at the skies as if someone were up there. "I know you're there you fucking itch in my ass! Get down here and face me like you got some balls-even though its probably the size of my pinky toe, bitch!"

Yoh thought that Kisame was delusional for moment, but after a massive eruption of lightning, the giant that was General Budo appeared from the clouds-his body surging with electricity. Kisame couldn't hold back the grin as he stared at his nemesis with excitement. "'Bout damn time…" he said an anticipation.

Budo's flew done to the ground, standing adjacent of Kisame and Yoh by a few meters. His arms were crossed as if he weren't interested in the two but based off the huge thunderclouds and momentary sparks jumping off of his armor, they could tell that the huge blonde was ready for anything they threw at him.

"It's been sometime, Shark Demon…" Budo greeted Kisame, "…..Hello, Asakura member."

' _Oh? He seems nice.'_ Thought Yoh, _'Maybe this won't be as bad as I tho-_

"Finally stopped hiding from those clouds like the bitch you are!" fumed Kisame, "Where's that fake-ass Sera-bitch wanna be at!? I know she around here, so come on out! Me and Hoe-

"My name is Yoh…"

"Me and Yoh is gonna break both of your necks!" he yelled.

"Still the same idiot from all those years ago." Said Budo in clear disappointment, "I would feel sorry for you, but I have my mission in killing you today. This battle will be your last, so I hope you enjoy it."

"Last? Who decided that? You?" Kisame reached for the bandage-less Samehada and slammed it into the ground, "Only I decided when I die. By the end of this match, you'll but cut into ribbons…." He growled.

The duo would have continued their banter, if not for the sound of a slow applaud filling the air. On top of a nearby building was the blue-haired menace, General Esdeath, Honest's [Queen] and the second Ultimate-Class Devil apart of his peerage.

Her chilling grin made Yoh shiver somewhat. Even though the peerage watched a lot of film of Esdeath and her past matches, her evil aura and presence still made the younger Asakura twin slightly uneasy.

"Well, well, well…isn't this quite the reunion." said Esdeath, looking down on Kisame from her higher position, "The last time I saw you, you were shaken by my presence, no? It was the day that I claimed Naruto as mine."

"Ho, ho, ho? Shaken? More like slightly surprised." Edited Kisame, not worried in the slightest that another Ultimate-Class Devil joined them, "I hope you came ready to die, cuz' you ain't making it outta here today. I've got unfinished business with both of you losers, so get ready."

"Hmmm…how exciting…" smiled Esdeath as her eyes moved to Yoh, "…and it seems you brought a friend. Yoh Asakura, my fiancée's other [Knight]. I'm glad you could join us on what is going to be an historic battle. Hopefully, you can keep up with the pace of the match."

Yoh didn't respond to Esdeath's jab, retaining his neutral stare. "Hmph…nothing to say?" said the blue-haired beauty, "Well, it doesn't matter. Tatsumi should have invaded your base by now, which is where your fiancée is stationed at. While she is strong, she won't be able to handle Tatsumi's might. She'll be dead in minutes."

To the untrained eye, one wouldn't have been able to register the speeds that Yoh moved at. In an instant, Yoh was right in front of Esdeath with Harusame aimed for her neck. His sword clashed with Esdeath's rapier, which she unsheathed at the last second.

Any fear that Yoh once had was gone as he stared at Esdeath with a set of cold, anger-filled eyes.

"Don't talk about my wife." It was an order more than a statement to the ice-magic user before the duo jumped away from each.

Esdeath, the battle manic that she was, could only grin in excitement as she dropped down next to Budo and stared at her opponents.

"That's what I want to see!" she yelled as their battle started.

 **Kisame, Half-Blooded Low-Class Devil, [Knight], and Yoh Asakura, Full-Blooded Mid-Class Devil, [Knight]**

 **Vs.**

 **General Budo, Full-Blooded Ultimate-Class Devil, [Rook] and Esdeath, Full-Blooded Ultimate-Class Devil, [Queen]**

To start the match, Budo generated a massive amount of lightning around his body and shot it to his opponents. Countering, Kisame jumped in front of Yoh and absorbed the magic-based attack with ease before conjuring a shield around them to block the hail of ice spears summoned by Esdeath.

"I like your spunk," Yoh looked up to Kisame as the blue-skinned man counseled him, "but I don't need you losing yourself to your anger-leave that to me. We gotta stick to the plan if we wanna beat em', so stick to it."

"Yeah…sorry about that…" sighed Yoh, "She kinda riled me up by talking about Anna. I'll be calm for no on."

"Good. Now set up the field spell." Ordered Kisame.

Nodding, Yoh rested his hands on the ground and began a long, complicated chant as he called forth a large amount of magic. "Earthen Pillars of the Valley.." he finished as the ground began to quake.

Esdeath and Budo watched as large rock pillars broke through the ground, ignoring any buildings and all as they all rose from various points within the large city. Nearly fifty earth pillars towered over Honest's base, casting large shadows over the city.

"What is this?" questioned Budo, on edge at the new terrain. The pillars weren't doing anything, but he suspected they served some type of purpose.

"Not sure, don't care." Esdeath rocketed towards the duo once Kisame dropped his shield, rapier in hand. She collided into Yoh midway, blocking his Harusame before summoning an ice spike overhead.

The young Asakura used his god-like speed to swivel around the kill shot and continue his assault, he and Esdeath entering a fierce sword fight, matching each other in speed and accuracy. Esdeath went for a multi-jab attempt at Yoh's body, only for the young Asakura to dodge every attempt and counter by disappearing and fazing behind the [Queen]. He swiped at her back, only for it to be blocked by a thin-but durable-wall of ice.

From the ground in front of Esdeath burst Samehada, it's large mouth wide open to bite the blue-haired ice user. She jumped away from the living sword with agility but was met with Yoh behind her with his sword aimed for her back and Kisame in front of her-his right fist cocked back to deliver a devastating punch to her jaw.

That what would have happen had Budo not shot a bolt of lightning at him from a magic circle and Esdeath quickly turned to knock away Harusame. Samehada came to Kisame's rescue, jumping in front of the magic-made lightning to absorb it all. Kisame grabbed its hilt with a grin. Both Esdeath and Yoh jumped away as Kisame slammed it down on the spot they once were.

Five magic circles sprung to life behind Kisame, releasing a torrent of water he used to surf towards Budo. The great general charged his lightning before releasing it at the nearing geyser. A loud, thunderous boom filled the air as it shot at Kisame, but the Demon blocked it using a multi-layer shield, jumping off the water and landed next to the giant blonde.

' _That lightning was natural…'_ The demon thought as he ducked Budo's gauntlet-enhanced fist. _'I can sense when he's using natural and magic-based attacks, so I'll just make sure my switching from offense to defense it on point to kill this fucker!'_

Kisame had watched enough film to understand Budo's battle-style, starting the battle with magic-based attacks while stalling, letting the thunderclouds high above create more and more lightning over time, which he would use to finish off his opponents. It would work on most foes, but Kisame, while not smart in many things, was a genius on the battlefield and hade developed counter measures for the general.

The water from the wave Kisame created morphed into three giant water sharks, all aimed at Budo's back as Kisame slapped another pummel attempt and kicked the giant of a man in his back with incredible force.

Even with such force backing Kisame's kick, Budo was only thrown back slightly, he boots sliding on the rough ground a few meters. As he gathered himself, the water sharks crashed into his body, knocking him off his feet and bursting through a nearby shop.

"Piece of shit." Growled Kisame as he jumped in the air, holding Samehada overhead as he dropped down where Budo was, slamming Samehada with brute strength. The attack created a small crater that swallowed what was once a store.

The strong attack was blocked by Budo's gauntlet, plainly holding it over his head to block Samehada. Without word, a massive discharge of lightning erupted from Budo, consuming the entire area in a flash of blue. Kisame received the shock of his life. He could feel his body tense at the close-range eruption of lightning that coursed through him without mercy.

As soon as the eruption started, it ended just as quick. A fizzling Kisame left standing as Budo pulled back his arm to deliver a monstrous punch to Kisame's abdomen but was caught by surprise when the seemingly motionless Kisame caught the punch. A mad grin was on the Demon's face as his right arm muscles bulged from under his robe's sleeve.

"I've built a resistance to your little lightning tricks, bitch!" he shouted as he threw Budo high in the air with pure strength. Three large magic circles appeared over Kisame, flashing blue with energy. The trio released a large, compressed blast of water all centered at the flying general.

Budo, in an effort to defend himself, called upon the natural lightning gathering above him from the thunderclouds he created at the start of the Rating Game. Lightning dropped down from the dark clouds, but instead of falling on him, the lightning bolt disbursed itself to the various pillars that Yoh created earlier.

' _Lightning rods.'_ Was the first thought that came to Budo's mind as he conjured a barrier to protect himself…only for the water beams to pierce right through it and knock into Budo's mid-section.

Kisame summoned his wings and flew at Budo's body in pursuit. _'That last attack he hit me with was natural lightning, meaning he's stored some natural lightning within him before the fight, which just complicates things.'_ He thought as he neared Budo, who had nearly recovered from the hit. _'Thanks to Hoe-Yoh's rock things, any lightning attack he creates from the sky will be pulled there, so there's only one thing we gotta do…'_

Budo crossed his arms over his head again as Kisame slammed Samehada into him, the forcing shooting him back down to ground in his own personal crater.

' _We just gotta keep him outta the fucking air and we'll win.'_ He finished as flew down at Budo.

"I gotta a way to beat you know, bitch!" he shouted as neared Budo, only to be kicked out of the air by Esdeath, who was riding a pillar of ice she controlled.

"Dropping your guard can lead to your end, you stupid Demon." Laughed Esdeath as she summoned a hailstorm of icicles aimed for the fallen Shark Demon

Kisame caught himself midair and skidded on the ground before coming to a stop. Yoh, now donning his White Swan armor, appeared behind Kisame's back as the two entered a deadly dance, slashing and bashing at all the icicles threatening to pierce through their flesh. Being [Knights], the duo's agility was more than enough to break through ever icicle with ease.

"Yoh!" Kisame shouted once they finished breaking through the ice storm.

"I know!" he shouted as he jumped into the sky.

' _It'll be hard for him to dodge in the air like that!'_ Esdeath thought as she created multiple ice pillars that honed onto Yoh.

Pushing off an earthen magic platform, Yoh changed his trajectory and headed straight for the incoming ice pillars. He landed on top of one, skating down its slippery slope, before jumping off to avoid being pierced by another as he continued his descent to the ground.

Yoh blitzed down to Esdeath and clashed against the ice wall she made-his White Swan armor protecting him from the icicles behind him. Esdeath jumped over her shield and shot a blast of magic at Yoh. She read his dodge to the left and followed through with a kick, only for this armor to move over his stomach to block the blow.

Budo appeared to his right with a gauntlet-enhanced fist charged with electricity aimed for his head, but Yoh swiftly ducked under the blow and swiped at the generals leg-only for ice to grow from the ground and clash with his sword-before rolling away as Kisame shot a barrage of magic streams at the duo.

Lightning danced around Budo as he released a plethora of lightning strikes to combat Kisame's blast before entering the smoke with no hesitation, Esdeath following his lead as they neared the Demon. Two ice walls blocked any escape route he may had, giving Budo a straight shot to Kisame as he prepared to deliver a blow to Kisame's head.

The blonde general was slightly surprised when Kisame's body turned into water as the real Kisame burst out of the ground with Samehada in hand. The demonic sword position itself to swallow the top half of Budo's body but was kicked away by Esdeath as she used her superior agility to summon an ice lance to pierce through Kisame's shoulder.

Yoh erupted through the ice wall and slashed through Esdeath's lance, grabbing Kisame and jumping away as Kisame released a consecutive blast of magic at the duo. A massive explosion enveloped the area, breaking through Esdeath's ice walls like they were paper as a small portion of the city was destroyed.

Yoh landed on a building, a good distance away from where they once were. "You alright?"

Of course, Kisame's extreme healing capabilities already took care of his injury-the hole in his shoulder now closer as he crushed the ice that was once in his shoulder. "Fuck yea." The Demon responded in his own, unique way.

Glancing up at the sky, Kisame took in the sight of the thunderclouds growing larger and large by the second, crackling with lightning that lit up the skies. "Even while fighting, that overgrown bitch is still charging up the natural lightning in the sky."

"If we just keep him to the ground, it'll be for naught." Said Yoh, his armor gracefully hovering around his body, "We just gotta keep on-

Both of Naruto's [Knight]s jumped off the building they were on was destroyed as a plethora of giant ice spikes broke through everything. The two zoomed through the air but was met with Esdeath riding a pillar of ice. She grinned evilly as a massive, blue magic circle phased to life, covering a third of the city. "Let's see you dodge this, hm?" she said with arrogance as she activated her spell.

From the magic circle dropped out a massive meteor of ice freefalling directly on top of them. It blocked the sky as it casted a large shadow over the city, further adding to the horror of the damage the meteor would cause if the two servants of Naruto Bael didn't find a way to either block or dodge it.

On the other side of the city, Budo, using the natural lightning he collected before the start of the match, slammed his gauntlets into the ground, creating an explosion of lightning as it danced through the city.

A lightning barrier grew from the ground, trapping Yoh and Kisame within the crash zone of their coming doom. "Can sense any magic…natural lightning…that bitch." Kisame said, referring to Budo, "Guess I gotta do this hard way!"

"Well, I'm going to need you to do it quick!" shouted Yoh as the meteor got closer.

Esdeath watched as the two retreated back to the ground. The meteor was a few meters away from her, but instead of crushing her under its weight a small hole appeared on its surface, just large enough for her body to fit through as she slipped through the entire meteor.

Now on the ground, a white aura of power convulsed angerly around Kisame, causing a mini earthquake. His shit-eating grin only grew as if their doom wasn't only seconds away. "You think you can scare the Great Kisame, you Serafall-wannabe ice bitch! THINK AGAIN!"

By this point, Samehada's frame enlarged four times than usual with smoke escaping the gaps between its razor-sharp teeth. Pointing the closed maw of his sword at the approaching meteor, Kisame released all of the energy he had been gathering with one blow. "BEAST BOMB!"

Out from Samehada's mouth shot a compressed, black missile of magic with a devastating roar. It sliced through the sky before connecting the meteor, exploding on contact and causing a massive explosion that covered the entire city. Ice debris was thrown everywhere uncontrollably, destroying large parts of the city without mercy. The tornadoes-like winds tore through buildings and ripped up trees in the nearby forest, leaving a massive scar on the land.

In the middle of the huge crater in the ground stood a smirking Kisame and Yoh. "Hehe…." Laughed Kisame, not caring for the destruction he caused, "They really thought that I was pussy! You got another thing coming for ya, you oversized, steroid addict and ice bitch! I'm the great Kisame-sama! I run this shit!"

"Great job, Kisame…" said Yoh, wincing at Kisame's loud yelling, "I'm sure they get your point. No need to yell so loud."

"Oh yes…" Kisame and Yoh grabbed their individual swords as Esdeath came into view with Budo following her, "Quite impressive indeed, but all you did was kick up some dirt. My colleague and I are still uninjured."

"Ohhoho, just you wait…" growled Kisame, increasing the grip he had on Samehada's handle, "You'll be dead before you know it, bitch."

"Hmmm…sounds like the start of round 2." Esdeath said as she grasped her rapier.

The two sides stood in silence for a while, awaiting the others movement. From up above, a crash of thunder reverberated through the dimension, signaling their start as they rushed each other.

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 **I know….y'all. Ya boy NarutoPlug is so, so sorry…**

 **It's been almost two months since I last updated. Broski, I been trying to type for this story, but I got hit by a serious case of writer's block and college fucking being a bitch. I thank you all for sticking with me as I go through this rough patch of my life. I do have more freetime compared to last semester, but that writer's block really got me.**

 **I decided to chop the Honest fight into two chapters because it's just taking way to long for me to update this story. This way, you all will have an idea as to what's going on in the story and seriousness to it. Team Pickle Rick is at a huge disadvantage at the moment, so this will be a hard fought win…**

 **If they win, that is…..mwhwhwhhahahahahahahahahah!**

 **Gosh I'm so fucking evil!...I love it!**

 **I hope you Nackers (yes, I did say it) enjoyed this chapter. It's shorter than usual, but again, this is only half of the fight between Naruto (well, technically Kuroka) and Honest. I had Kuroka in the title because she's acting as the leader since Naruto and Orochimaru are out for now.**

 **I hope you all liked how I handled the Phenex Tears. I felt like Anna and Yoh would be the best bets based off of their tough position they're in. And even with the Phenex Tears, you can see that the team is still going through a lot. Honest was prepared for Naruto and his team, something I really wanted to show in this chapter. This will NOT be an easy win….if they even win…MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Lol, anyway, in other news-I've actually thought of continuing my FanFiction career after BreakThrough is over. This My Hero story I've had has been hitting me a lot and I think many of you would enjoy it. Since the story is coming from me, the great NarutoPlug-sama, you know that this story idea will be interesting and unique-not found on FanFiction yet. That is, until these copycats try to bite my style-but they'll never be able to do it, ya dig? My style is too unique and fucking weird for these young Nakers to copy!**

 **I'm the one and only NarutoPlug, ya dig!**

 **So yes, I may be coming back to FanFiction probably around the summer. I'll have more time to work on a story since school would be out. A new story would allow me to try different things, like shorter chapters. While I'm known for my long ass chapters, I feel that if I change up my writing style a bit, I could paint the same picture in your amazing minds with less words. It'll save on time (both for you, the reader, and me, the writer) and I would be able to update more often.**

 **So yea! Look out for me in the summer once I finish BreakThrough! I just may be coming back after all!**

 **Just want to say thank you to this amazing fanbase that I have! You all are the reason why I keep going! I love all of you and wish you the best, ya dig? While I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, I promise you that I'm working on getting it out sooner rather than later.**

 **I love and appreciate all of you.**

 **But yea, that's it for me.**

 **NarutoPlug, signing out,**

 **Like a real Naker should….**


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